I bought this car 2 years ago. I replaced the struts, inner and outer tie rods, did the alignment, power steering pump, and everything has been fine. Even wear on the tires, but every time I leave my house, and turn right the steering is strange. I turn the wheel, and it moves a little extra not sure which direction, cause it happens so fast, and fixes itself so fast. Its strange, and only happens with my car. I have 3 cars, and this is the only one that has issues with that turn. I can turn that left in other areas with no issues.

 

Could be so many issues. Possibly a wheel bearing, lca, tie rod, or ball joint.

 

Thanks for the fast reply. I will check that stuff out when I have some time. What is lca?

 

LCA = lower control arm. The tC's only have one on the bottom of the front suspension where everything bolts to.

 

Going to replace the lower control arms, and the transmission fluid, filter, gasket.

What is a good brand? I don't want to spend an arm and a leg. Also what transmission fluid is recommended? Brand?

At max I am willing to spend $200 for everything including the transmission fluid.

I found some control arms for $80 for both or $120 for 1. Not sure of the quality though. I did replace the ball joints, and the sway bar links 1-2 years ago as well as the other stuff I mentioned. I have over 100K on the car, and the lower control arms look to be the culprit, and the transmission pan is in the way to access on the one bolt,but the fluid should be replaced as well, and the transmission filter while I am doing it.

 

You can usually get away with putting a floor jack under the motor to lift it slightly instead of pulling off engine components when getting LCA bolts out. Worst case, separate the transmission mount to get the motor higher.

Can't go wrong with OEM - they lasted this long so they should be solid to keep using as a replacment. Likely not <$200 though. Have had decent luck with Moog but their quality is hit or miss since they went global. ACDelco is usually pretty solid.

For transmission fluid, are you A/T or M/T? If M/T the tC1's like Redline MT90. If A/T I'd just get whatever the OE requires, either from Toyota or your brand of choice.

 

Thanks. I actually bought centric 62344825, and the other one for the other side. Found a great deal. It's an automatic so I went with Toyota atf t Iv. I couldn't find that anywhere I'm my manual, but when I cleaned up the dipstick so I could read it it said to use T IV.

I saw toyota recommends changing the transmission fluid every 60-100k and I am a little over 100k. Figured i'd just do it especially if it's in the way anyway.

 

Fluid is easy enough to change, I do a drain and refill every 30k on every vehicle I own. Some say it's overkill but you can feel how much smoother the trans operates each time.

 

Wasn't sure what gasket, and filter to go with so I got this one. I also bought a 5 pack of the crush washers incase it doesn't come with.

Now when I replace the fluid should I go off what the dipstick says for max when cold? I know it needs to be checked when the engine is warm after driving for about 10 min, and from what I read leave the car running while checking the fluid? Thanks in advance.

 

Yes check while running after vehicle is at operating temp in park and had a chance to go thru the gears. Should be able to find how much it holds in the manual or online, and fill it close to that and then add accordingly. Better to be a bit under than over at first, then just add in slow increments until it's full on the dipstick. It's not an exact science for ATX, as the amount you put in will depend on the amount that comes out and needs to be at the right level so it doesn't get mad.

Not sure what gasket and filter you're talking about - must be ATX stuff.

 

Ok. The gasket and filter are for Automatic Transmission. What's the x for?

 

ATX - automatic transaxle
MTX - manual transaxle

 

I replaced the lower control arms, and the transmission fluid. Seems like the steering is worse on certain roads. I noticed vibration noises when at red lights since I got the car, and I researched which was a common thing. Anyway, tonight I noticed when I turned the wheel while sitting at the light the noise would go away, and when I stopped turning the wheel it came back. I am assuming something with the rack and pinion. Going to have the garage inspect that too when it goes in. Not doing that myself. Looks a lot easier if you have the car raised really high.

 

If you go with rack and or pinion maintenance, consider replacing the old, mineral-based power steering fluid with synthetic fluid. Synthetic has a higher burning point and wont load your rack and pinion with carbon deposits. DEX VI is backward compatible with DEX III and the maintenance interval is much longer.

You can tell if your fluid is burned if your plastic reservoir is too black to read. Mine was solid black at ~38,000 miles. Fortunately, DEX VI cleaned the reservoir and more importantly, the screen filter inside.

 

Thanks for the info. I replaced the power steering pump 2 years ago so I forget what the fluid looked like. I can see where the fluid level is now, but it's a little hard. I forget forget what fluid I bought. I did see that Lucas oil power steering stop leak says "Totally corrects rack and pinion problems." Thinking about trying Lucas oil to see if that helps before I decide to have the rack and pinion replaced. I know I have to remove fluid, cause the fluid isn't leaking its still at the full mark when cold.

just not sure if I should change the fluid again, and use the Lucas stop leak, and top it off with DEX VI. Not sure how to remove all the fluid either. I just drained whatever came out of the reservoir, and power steering pump when I did the first fluid change.

 

Tough call. Toyota uses ATF. Not sure how Lucas' PSF would work with that.

 

I saw on another forum for scionlife somebody used valvoline transmission fluid for power steering and it was too thick, and they added lucas oil which made it worse.

Sounded like they mixed the rest of the lucas with something else, and didn't see an update on it so I am assuming it worked out.

Anyway, I was looking at the fluid, and think I should do a flush, and add fresh fluid to see what that does. What fluid should I get to replace the power steering fluid? I don't have a Scion TC manual to look it up. I saw in the thread people said to get this

Mobil 1 MOB123130-1 Coastal D&M Automatic Transmission Fluid which is not synthetic

I don't see that in stock anywhere near me. If thats what I need I will order it online. I know somebody said Dex 4, but I read thats not good to use since its recommended dex 2 or 3. I also want to check the bolts on the rack and pinion to see if they are loose. What are the torque specs for the rack and pinion?

 

DEX is a specification, not a brand.

DEX II is obsolete. DEX IV is incompatible with your car. You're limited to DEX III (mineral) or DEX VI (synthetic). Your example looks like DEX III. I'd go DEX VI because it doesn't burn (and may be the last time you need to change it.)

Brand name is not as critical. Any brand licensed to sell "DEX " is required to mfg according to DEX specification.

Please check your PM.

 

Thanks. I'll get castrol import if it's full synthetic and dex vi. I hate valvoline used to use them all the time, but had 1 bad experience which they didn't resolve for me. It's a long story.

Just got 2 quarts of castrol transmax full synthetic multi vehicle. The back says certified for vehicles that require dexron vi.

https://www.autozone.com/motor-oil-and-transmission-fluid/transmission-fluid/p/castrol-transmax-full-synthetic-multi-vehicle-automatic-transmission-fluid-1-quart/260526_0_0?spps.s=4606&cmpid=LIA:US:EN:AD:NL:1000000:OIL:8362709232&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwfiaBhC7ARIsAGvcPe6dNQTe9jn8fcBCnSqjhWUCDAGewqSTQ9AhAD-0GnRknCOMYNy79mMaAr89EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

I think that's what I bought. So far, ~30,000 miles with no black soot.