Nissan Maxima: 97 Maxima Steering Rack Adjustment

This concludes a long-standing effort to diagnose the tendency of my Max
to bump-steer and drift. I began noticing the drift at 80k, currently it's
at 123k. In the end, tightening the pinion tension adjustment corrected the
problem. However, the cost was nauseating: $713 to adjust the rack, replace
both inner rack boots, and one of the rack bushings. Supposedly they didn't
bill for the entire labor amount since they hadn't done the job before. The
rack boots and bushing were only done because we were digging in that
deeply.

Before, the car would wander or drift when going over uneven road and
bumps. Similar cars that I've driven would hold a straight line much better
because of the extra effort required to turn the wheel. On mine, there was
practically no resistance to moving the steering system by turning the front
wheels (when the front was raised).
After, the car holds a steadier line and rides smoother due to the bumps
not being transferring into the rack and pushing the car off-line. It feels
like new.

I was correct in having the rack adjusted according to Nissan TSB
00-37B, but I was completely blindsided by the cost. The adjustment screws
are positioned nearly flush against the sub-frame, and the mechanic had to
remove the y-pipe and subframe to gain access to the rack. In the TSB
illustration, the adjustment nut faces down and forward, making it easily
accessible. On a Maxima (the TSB covers more than one Nissan vehicle) it's
the other way around.
Their original estimate was 2-3 hours, and the final tally was twice
that. I guess I learned my lesson to set a price ceiling on EVERYTHING I
let a garage touch my car for. And in the end, they did nothing I couldn't
have done myself - especially if I knew Ihad a $700 budget for additional
tools. (My main obstacle to the DIY option)

Just to rub salt in the wound, I had to pay for the shop to purchase the
Kent-Moore tool J35999 to measure the rack tension. On the TSB
illustration, it looked suspciously like a cheap spring-based fish scale,
and when I mentioned that to the mechanic he chuckled. But they went ahead
and ordered it, only to find it was indeed only a fish weighing scale. It
even has a built-in measuring tape. So Kent-Moore sells a $5 fishing scale
for $32 in a Kent-Moore box. Trust me, go to Wal-mart and get any other
0-50lb scale instead. So now I am the proud owner of a $32 fishing scale.

My recommendation: if you have a drifting steering in your Maxima, and
you're determined to make it go away, be prepared and take it to someone who
is fast and efficient. If you're lucky, they will have done this job
before, and take them a 50lb fishing scale you bought yourself.

Dave

"JM" <net> wrote in message
news:google.com... 

I feel I was hosed by circumstances, not necessarily the shop. There are
still some open items I need to research - in fact I think they didn't
follow the latest revision of the TSB (which I provided for them). The shop
gave me a feedback card - I may use that as leverage for a partial refund if
it appears they did not do it correctly.

The rack bushings shouldn't be a big deal to inspect and/or replace the next
time you have an alignment done, or any time someone suggests replacing a
tie rod. If the bushings appear worn but the rack never moves around, you
could probably leave them alone.

I considered doing this entire job myself, and had they called me when they
decided it was necessary to remove the frame, I may have taken the car back
and re-evaluated. I was worried I wouldn't do it correctly myself, but in
the end I feel that would have been safer. I am now convinced the shop had
no more knowledge or expertise than I do on this issue. The risk of them
blowing my bank account was much greater than I anticipated.

Dave