anyone elses steering rack take a dump?

[criket]

Mine does it sometimes. It did it when I left work this evening. I even felt my steering wheel bump to the left, lol.

It would be cool to put hydro assist on it in addition to the power steering pump already there. You could probably turn it with a pinky, lol.

[paroxysym]

The next time you park your car, turn the steering wheel left and right a few times when you're sitting still. That's what I get the pop sound.

Driving around normally there's absolutely no issue or noise.

same here.. its a pretty loud pop.

[BonesWK]

just to make sure, this pop is different than the pop/sound you get when your sway bar bushing go bad?

Change the bushing, and or end links and see if that stops the popping. Fairly cheap items to have change or change yourself. Good place to start IMO

[Matt]

If the popping sound is like mine and does not do it at all while driving but can be repeated while sitting still and just turning the steering wheel (ie the sway bar is not moving), then its not the sway bar.

Also, if it can be repeated while sitting still and turning the steering wheel, there's an even cheaper method to diagnose the issue rather than throwing parts at it...... have someone turn the steering wheel while you track down the origin of the noise and then replace the part that's actually popping. (That's what ill do when I get some time anyway)

[robby]

I believe every poster here that can hear/feel this is actually feeling a bind/slip in the steering column at the steering u joint.
Very common, not just to Jeep.....just about every manufacturer has had issues with this design.
As most have noted, the feeling is worse with the engine off because there is no assist.....the steering shaft is really being loaded hard with the engine off.
Some of us that have been on the various forums from the XK's beginnings should remember this issue when these things were only a year old.
Many of us had the dealer replace the shaft under warranty, only to find the sound/feel had returned in just a few months.

Anyways, highly unlikely this is a rack problem.

Rob

[Matt]

Yup... very common issue with GM trucks as well and they even came out with a new design to try and correct it.

[jrabenaldt]

I noticed that sound twice just after I installed the lift. That was before the alignment and not a sound out of it since then. And that is with almost 97K on it.