You did cap off the steering rack right? With oil in it? They don't take kindly to being used dry.

There's no reason to expect screws to come out. In fact, what you can expect if you live somewhere that gets road salt is for the screws to never come out no matter how hard you try.

I've put probably a couple dozen screws in the underside of my pickup, mounting various accessories and grounding them. I've never had a screw come loose, and some of them have been on there for almost the whole 184,000 miles.

maybe I am a little too cautious about metal screws but I have messed up too many tires. I can't say where all of the screws and what not came from and I do live way out in the sticks (or at least I used to).

they are a lot cheaper than the plastic pieces I was talking about.

I have never used them on my vehicle so I can't really say (the metal screws that is) so maybe my concern is one of an overly cautious nature.

Ill most likely end up using regular screws for the job, but thanks for all the input.
Kyle I am particularly concerned about your comment; I simply took of the power steering unit. Im afraid I don't know what or where the steering rack is, and I definately did not add oil to it. :(
I remember after I took it off there were screws that could have been screwed back onto where it is mounted; could this be where I need to add oil and return the screws? Also what kind of oil should i use?
Thanks again for the gracious help.

Additional thought.
I am now experiencing a minor vibration and increased road noise(that goes away when i turn left). I diagnosed it as a bad bearing and am about to replace the strut and related assembly.
Could my road noise and vibration be a consequence of not putting the screws back where i took the power steering from?

I doubt the sound is from the bolts not being there unless they held something else on.

If you have no intention of putting the power steering pump back on you can simply refill the lines, hack the connectors off and connect the two hoses together, it'll just recycle. Power steering or transmission oil should be just fine. It just needs some oil in there and something to keep dirt and water from just going down into the rack. Unless it's raining or you go down dirt roads you are probably okay for a while, especially if you left the hoses attached and just lying where they went to the pump, but I'd recommend working on that in the next month or so.

Ok :) ill def be doing that. I appreciate your help.

Another thought.
What have people done in the past as far as "votex generators." I have seen them on the back of the car above the rear window. I am a little skeptical but for a cheap price i would do it. Any ideas on a cheap way of making some?

I have seen them made (on this site) from small pieces of aluminum , I think the aluminum from a soda can would be strong enough , just make sure to wear leather gloves when working witht that stuff it is sharp.

There are some good posts on DIY vortex generators.
https://www.google.com/cse?cx=0157303...rtex&sa=Search
I remember I liked one that had instructions for making them out of CDs.