Wife took our FX through some large puddles the other day and now we're experiencing odd steering behavior:

• The steering wheel feels normal for 180 degrees and then becomes 30% stiffer for about 30 degrees and then back to normal.
• This is consistent in both directions and the hard steering starts in the same spot every time.
• She claims this issue didn't start until the following morning so I can't be completely certain that it was water related.
• This happens with wheels on and off the ground and I can also feel it with the car turned off
• PS pump is not making noise
• I swapped out PS fluid just to eliminate that as any sort of possibility.
• Boots look fine
• alignment seems fine with no dead zone

It would seem to me that the steering wheel shaft, rack or some other component is bent, clogged or binding. I'm really struggling with internet searches on this one to find similar symptoms just because it's difficult to describe. Grasping at straws for any additional troubleshooting steps.

 

Not totally sure about the FX so maybe some other folks can chime in but the G35 has a very small u-joint on the steering shaft right before the rack & pinion that is a notorious point of failure/binding. It can be "fixed" with a health dose of lubricating spray, WD40 actually does really well for this situation since it penetrates AND repels water.

When that u-joint begins to fail the common complaint is symptoms similar to yours, if lube spray doesn't "fix" the problem I would isolate components to see where the problem actually lies, jack and support the front, disconnect both tie rod ends, turn each steering knuckle by hand as well as manually turning the steering wheel so you can find out EXACTLY WHAT component is causing the problem. It's quick and easy, leave the tires on, on the G35 the tie rod end nut is torqued to 25 ft/lbs and don't forget to reinstall the cotter pin.

 

I appreciate the suggestion and the FX is based on the G35 sedan so I figured any common symptoms should carry through. I did thoroughly WD40 the upper and lower rotating knuckle for the steering shaft with no change. I'm also replacing the clock spring soon because I started getting a driver airbag code about 3 weeks prior to this issue starting. While I wouldn't think the 2 issues are related, the timing is close enough to suggest otherwise. Assuming that doesn't change the physical steering issue, I'll have to dig into the physical parts further.

 

Once you have the old clock spring out and rotate it by hand you'll know immediately if that's the problem or not. Word of advice on the clockspring install, they are NOT infinitely turning, they turn about 2.5 full turns each direction and there is a physical locking plate so make sure you have the new one turned to the EXACT same position as the existing one when you install, when you take the steering wheel off with the wheel turned perfectly straight ahead make a sharpie mark on the old one for reference and a picture of the old assembly installed. If you don't get it 100% perfect you'll have a steering angle sensor trouble code that requires recalibration at the dealership.

 

I've had the small u-joint problem on my coupe, I found out about it from watching an Altima video; I wouldn't be surprised if the FX has the same part though. Instead of just lubricating it only try beating it to hell with a BFH. If it unbinds for a little while then that is your problem. I did that on mine and gave a couple hundred of more miles before I needed to swap it out.

 

Thanks everyone! I installed a used G35 clock spring which fixed the SRS blinking light. I also resprayed that lower ujoint just before the rack and the hard steering every 180 degrees is "fixed" now. I did it while my kid was turning the steering wheel to get it from all angles and that seemed to do the trick. Also had the splash guard removed for full access. The first time I did it, I just sprayed with the splash guard on and then went into the car, turned the wheel a bit and then sprayed again. That's wasn't thorough enough.