The Nissan Path

My daughter owns a 2000 Nissan Pathfinder. She has problems with her steering. When she turns her steering wheel to the left or right, the steering wheel most of the time does not return to a level position when the wheels on the road finds itself centered back on the center of the lane she is in. If she turns left of the roadway while driving, when the wheels on the road finds itself turning back to the centered lane she is in, the steering wheel will be at a left downward position not centered on the lane she is in. If she was turning to the right, then the opposite will happen. The steering wheel will be at a right downward position when the wheels on the road finds itself back to the center of the lane she is in. Also, when driving down the roadway on a level road, the car will start to veer off to the left or right side of the roadway on it's own. This is without anyone turning the steering wheel. Could this problem be caused from a defective rack & pinion? What test can I perform to see exactly what is causing this to happen? Thank you, Tommy.

It sounds like the mount bushings for the rack and pinion may be bad and allowing the rack to slide. Without doing a visual inspection of the steering and suspension components, it's hard to say 100%.

Ok, I will check it out and post my findings. Thank you for your support, Tommy.

I got the car on jack stands. I checked the two mounts. They were in good shape. The rack is bolted solid. I had someone start the engine and then turn the steering wheel to the left and right sides all the way. I told that person in the car to keep his hands on the steering wheel making sure that it does not rotate. I then pulled on the tire to see if it would rotate and to see if the steering tie rods would move inward on one side and outward on the other side. They did on both the left and right sides. Not much force was needed to do this. This tells me that the steering rack is bad and needs replacing. Does anyone concur with this? Thank you, Tommy.

How much movement on the tie rods are you talking about? How about with the motor not running, can you still move the tires? That's where you can see if the mounting bushings are slipping or not. Have your friend try to turn the steering wheel back and forth with the motor not running and the wheels on the ground and watch for movement of the ram body.
It's not really rack and pinion steering, it's hydraulic steering. Mechanical input from the steering wheel adjusts a pilot valve which sends high pressure fluid to one end or the other of the hydraulic ram and at the same time bleeds fluid from the opposite end. The rack and pinion are a mechanical back-up in case you have a complete failure of the hydraulic system and spill all the fluid out on the highway. I don't really know if it's mandated by law but it's certainly an industry standard. The rack also serves to keep the wheels aligned with each other but, you could remove the pinion completely and the hydraulic system would still work.

As mentioned previously the rack housing is solid in place. I tried prying it with a crow bar from side to side, up and down. It does not move. When pulling on the tire, the inner tie rods move a good 4" in either direction almost freely then it stops with resistance. I'm thinking it may be worn out seals or pinion gears. Thank you for your support, Tommy.

The symptoms still sound like mechanical slop somewhere. Before spending hundreds on a new rack and pinion assembly make sure the steering column is tight. No backlash between the input and output of the gearbox under the hood and also the flex joint where the steering column enters the pilot valve. Good luck.

Yes, I was watching for that while the steering wheel was being rotated. As soon as the steering joint moves, the wheels rotate in either direction. No slop or delay there. I will continue to troubleshoot the system before I purchase a new rack. Thank you, Tommy.

The tension can also be adjusted on the rack and pinion, but this requires some special tools. The resistance is measured by disconnecting the outer tie rods from the knuckle and using a tension gauge to pull on the tie rods to find out the tension and compare to specs. There's another tool to unlock the locking nut so you can adjust the tension. I remember doing this to a few R50's "back in the day" per a Nissan service bulletin for similar concerns that you have.

If I have to replace the rack and pinion assembly, how big of a job is it? Someone told me that I have to remove the steering wheel and perhaps the steering column as well. Not to mention all the other stuff under the car. Thank you, Tommy.

If you can move it with the engine running, but not with the engine off wouldn’t that point to a problem with the power steering system since it receives power when the engine runs?

I would agree with you on that. We decided to replace the rack and pinion, however, we have to wait for the money to purchase the part. I will post my findings after the rack has been replaced. Thank you all for your outstanding support.