My steering rack developed a notch dead center. When i turn the steering wheel right or left just off center, it feels like it has to get past a bump, but then is smooth the rest of the way either direction.

This is a rack that i purchased from the fiero store back in 2009. It's never really felt right tho i think some of that is my own fault. I didn't know that i was suppose to adjust the pre-load after a few months of driving. Went almost 2 years before making the adjustment (loosening the lock nut, turning the adjustment until it seats, then backing up 90 degrees).

Did i kill my new rack or is this normal? My records show that i have just under 23k miles on it. oh, 87GT.

I didnt know you are supposed to re-adjust the rack either......

Ya i was surprised to learn that as well. But I don't know if that could have caused what i'm experiencing. It's a simple rack, two gears and a few bushings!

Any suggestions on what can be causing this?

is there any shaking in the steering wheel?
only other thing which comes to mind is maybe something in the steering column u-joints making a sticky spot

Unless there is a worn out spot on the rack where the rack bearings rest (under the adjuster plug or at the passenger end of the housing) I can't think of too many reasons why that would happen only at that spot. I doubt that the rack is worn though since it's made of some pretty hard steel.

Other areas to consider are the two universal joints in the intermediate shaft that may be worn out, though again, I would expect the problem would present itself at orientations of the steering wheel other than just while turning from straight ahead. You should be able to isolate the problem to either the rack or the column by disconnecting the pinch bolt at the rack and turning the pinion shaft with a wrench to see if the notchiness is there or in the column. If it's still in the rack, then the next step would be to disconnect the tie rod ends from the knuckles to see if perhaps the notchiness is coming from one of the ball joints.

thanks blooze..im having a tough time believing that the rack is shot. I am running 215-60-15 tires on all 4 wheels. Could what im feeling as a notch just simply be the wider tires up front? whats weird is that there is no clunking or thunking up in front. We've checked recently for tire rods and to make sure that everything is tight yet, i get a funky shimmy in the steering wheel when turning even if it's just to change lanes on the freeway. too bad im out of warranty....maybe i should call GM to complain! hahaha

Hi, I am running 225 -50 15 in front and I don’t have any issues, I am sure that the tires is not the problem.
I have an 86 GT and I just rebuild mine in a local shop here in Greece.

If it is the coupler it should bind at any time the steering wheel is in that position. Should be able to check that by just raising the wheels to take the weight off the rack.
Contrary to what most manufactures request, racks typically didn't get serviced properly. Early racks were supposed to be removed from car for inner tie end replacement. Early racks from the late 70s and early 80s seemed the most fragile. It was normally required to remove the boots, turn the rack to expose the rack teeth, support teeth in soft jawed vise or fixture when taking off or retorqueing the ends. Most racks now can be safely done with a tie rod tube or have somewhere where they can be held in car. If not the pinion can chip teeth, rack or pinion, or the pinion can be forced against the housing causing a crack. Cracks were most noted on power racks due to the fluid ports.
Bent rack shafts are not unheard of. A good hit to a wheel at the right angle can damage racks. They would bent at there weakest point. where the teeth are. This would normally cause binding in one direction.
With left wheel removed, remove clamp and pull back left boot. Turn wheel to right stop. you should be able to see/feel the teeth. At least most of the left teeth to a little over center. Feel for debris. Can't see the pinion.
With it still up have someone turn the wheel to both stops several times. Check to see that the rack shaft extends and returns without radial movement. Bends will cause slight angle changes and migration of the shaft (up, down front, rear)

Thanks guys for your replies. I did not remove the rack when I replaced the tie rod ends although I did support the gear (rack) with a large open end wrench while spinning the old one's off and new one's on. Even with the wrench offsetting the twisting, it's very possible that I screwed up the rack.

In addition....what i've been dealing with is a strange steering wheel shimmy that comes and goes when I go around long freeway turns. As I go into a turn, the shimmy slowly rears its ugly head, progressively gets worse and then slowly goes away. My guess is that I have a bent rim or two. The tire shop said that they did not notice any excessive runout when the wheels were on the balancer but I wonder if they're FOS and never really looked.