hey all, i have a 2003 sle and i checked over the whole front end. rack was replaced tie rod ends are new. balljoints are tight strut mounts seem to be good struts are good and lower control arm bushings are good and intermediate steering shaft was replaced with tsb revised double d design. my problem is that i still get a bit of a loosness or a rattle that can be heard and felt thru the steering wheel over minor imperfections in the road. it doesnt do it on big bumps. the revised iss seemed to make it 80% better but still does it. does anyone have any ideas??? my thought im turning to now is maybe sway bar bushings and links.

Have you checked for play in the axle?

Check sway bar and bushing. Also check your front struts and springs.

i have checked for play in the axle and found it has endplay. however ive never felt an axle that hasnt had some kind of play in it. also i dont know if this is related but i also have a high speed vibration from the front end. and the car has had the tires high speed balanced and they are in good condition. there is a tsb for these cars to replace lower control arms for this for a revised bushing problem but am unsure if the car has had them replaced already because i havent had it that long.

i checked the sway bar and bushings and found that the endlinks seem to be tight but the bushings in the links are a little cracked and mashed down from age but overall dont seem to have play. the bushings over the sway bar seem to be tight however, if you jack up one side of the car and then look at the bushings they gap out pretty bad, u can see light thru the other side. i was thinking since this is happening they cant possibly be good. all the previous exposure ive had to sway bar bushings had proven to show that the bushing is always tight around the sway bar no matter what. am i correct?