Hi I am new to this forum, I bought a tc 2 years ago and have not had any problems till lately. The car is a 05 has 80,000 on it. The problem I am having is that when i am going around a corner ( usually over 30mph like on a highway ramp) the steering feels like it shifts. Also there is a pop I can sometimes hear and feel it in the steering wheel.

When I come out of the turn my alignment of the steering wheel to the wheels is off. I will go into the corner with the steering wheel slightly to the right( my alignment is off but I refuse to get it aligned till I figure this out) and when i come out of the corner it will be straight. The alignment is straight as an arrow the whole time its like the steering wheel shifts.

I am not sure how else to describe it. I can feel the wheel get loose for a second during the corner and the steering suddenly isn't enough to continue the turn, I have to turn the wheel even more to make it.

The related mods i have are D2 RS coil overs and new sway bar end links also enkei super 7's. I was thinking it might be a tie rod or a ball joint. I hope it is not the rack. I do not want to take it some where because they will prob jerk me around.Any ideas on what it may be would be much appreciated.
BTW I know you guys are big on the searching but I looked at everything i could pull up and I couldn't find anything quite the same.

 

I don't know if this is related but I once went over a bump in my tC and I felt something pop in my steering column and my power steering went dead for a second. Afterwords my steering wheel was slightly turned to the left even though my car was tracking straight. Only happened once and there were no other problems to speak of. I took it in to be aligned and I told them my steering wheel was off and thirty minutes later my wheels are aligned and my steering wheel was straight.
I only ever had this happen once and it seems that this is a recurring thing for you so maybe its related, maybe its not.

 

Thanks for the reply. This happens daily some days worse then others I don't think it is the power steering I do not have trouble turning the wheel or anything and the fluid is full.

 

I have a similar "pop / click" feeling in my 05 TC as well with 118K right now, I was once told it could be the intermediate shaft for the steering column. Get that checked out

 

Do you think the intermediate shaft could cause the shift in the steering? I am not worried as much about the noise. I am worried about the shift in the steering. I will have to get the intermediate shaft checked out.

 

Also I recently had my drivers side drive shaft replaced and I didnt notice this issue until after that. Could there be a problem with that? Improper installation?

 

if your steering wheel isn't in line / straight when your vehicle is going on a straight way, it's off centered and that usually results from installing coilovers / springs. you can just get a shop to re-center it.

 

does it make a clunking noise when you're turning? if it does, it could be a loose bolt. retorque your bolts.

 

Thanks for the reply. It does make a clunking noise. I will have to get under there this weekend and check the torque on the bolts to see if that is the issue. Hopefully that's the issue.

 

keep us posted

 

Thanks for the help guys. I am waiting on parts yet to do this. I noticed some mechanics say to have the car on a ramp when doing the control arms, cause of something with the bushings if you tighten them while on jack stands, but a lot of people in mechanic shops also on youtube torque the bolts while the car is in the air.

What is the correct way?

 

They should be torqued while they are at relatively the same position that they will be in when the car is sitting on all four tires. When I do suspension work I typically put the car on drive-on ramp front and rear to make sure everything is torqued at 'normal' ride height and where the suspension would naturally sit when the car is in use.

 

Thats what I figured after hearing some say that. Thanks.

 

This.

The only exception I know of would be if you replaced everything with urethane bushings that have sleeves and don't bind. But the style rubber bushing style will bind and should be torqued in operating position if possible.

 

Get a bottle jack or use the hydraulic jack to simulate load on the control arm and torque.

 

Is this info accurate? https://www.wikihow.com/Add-Transmission-Fluid

When adding the transmission fluid, going through the gears, and checking the fluid level what is the ideal level? I know it has 2 markings on cold, and hot, and I know to check it when its hot. Do I want the fluid as close to the middle of the hot as possible? Is it recommended to drive after putting fluid in or just moving the car to a flat surface, and go through the gears while sitting waiting on the car to heat up?

Also is this info I found correct?

Transmission drain plug 36ft lbs
pan bolts 71 in lbs
filter 49 in lbs

Lower control arms 101 ft lbs

Thanks in advance.

 

Those torque specs sound correct, as does the procedure for checking ATX fluid. If your dipstick has both hot and cold readings, fill it to full on the cold side when adding fluid after draining it, then check it again after it's warmed up in park and on a level surface. The ones I've serviced only had full and low, which are meant to be checked at operating temp. You will want it to be full when it's at operating temp.

 

ok, thanks. Do you go through the gears while sitting still? If so how many times?

I have a picture of the dipstick lower 2 marks are cold, and upper 2 marks are hot. Do i fill it inbetween the 2 marks the best i can? Or go for the upper mark?

 

Personally, I'd go to full. I always figure the top dot exists for a reason and that's where it should be filled to, but anywhere in between is an acceptable range. Just try not to go over.

Hard to cycle thru the gears in an ATX without moving. I'd probably pour in the amount the book says, see where the level is, then drive around a bit to warm it up and then recheck and add accordingly (in my experience the book is generally a bit low).

 

Ok, thanks. So while driving around I should go through all the gears? How many times?

I couldn't find anything about the transmission in the manual.

Also the drain plug for the transmission from what people are saying is 10mm hex head.