Mantooth

I had my car aligned 3 times last year and neither time lasted more than a few hours. Needless to say, that gets expensive. I have slop in my steering wheel, a long with a *clicking* noise. The steering rack was replaced, so I know that's not the culprit. What else could it be? My mechanic is still looking into it, but for the most part I'm stumped...

GT-ER

maybe the U-joint in the steering shaft has play? I haven't really looked into the E55 steering system much but I believe it has a U-joint under the dash and one in the engine bay. I've seen this go bad in many cars.

Mantooth

Thanks, I'll make sure they look into that.

stockC43

I would say if the noise can be easily duplicated and your mechanic can't find whare it's coming from, u need a new mechanic. Put it on a drive on rack and turn the wheel left and right to make the noise while he checks the steering/suspension. Sometimes you won't find loose/worn suspension components when the suspension is relaxed. Hope this helps

Mantooth

Okay, we'll try that. The dealerships I've taken it to could replicate it, couldn't align it, but still said it was fine. It seems like all they do nowadays is check the ECU for codes. No codes = happy car. I apologize in advance if you actually know how to chase down problems instead of just checking for codes.

Shifter

Bad bushings can cause your alignment to go out of wack, and not stay put. So can pot holes etc.

As far as the clicking, hard to say by that description, but there is a dtb for a new rack plate to eliminate a similar noise.

Mantooth

Bad bushings could be part of the problem, too. Forgive my ignorance, but what is a "dtb"? Something like a recall?

Thanks!