Steering Roughness - Lock?

[TooMany2cvs 65]

We've had a bit of an oddness develop in the steering over the last week, to the point I'm not 100% happy driving the car.

 

If the steering wheel's position is "12 o'clock" as you drive straight ahead, then from about 1 o'clock to about 4 o'clock, there's a roughness in the feel of the steering. The worst bit is around the centre of that - between 2 o'c and 3 o'c. It's stiff enough there to overcome the self-centring and retain a bit of lock if you let go of the wheel, needing a bit of a heave to get it back on track. It does it each revolution of the wheel, from lock to lock, consistently, leading me to somewhere in the column.

 

The UJ at the bottom of the column is about two months old. There's a few mm of up-down movement at the wheel, but no side-to-side.

 

The steering lock doesn't appear to do anything - the audible click is there when you withdraw the key, but the wheel can be turned freely from lock to lock with the key out.

 

My initial thought was the indicator switch - 'erself has noticed an occasional oddness in turning off from LH indicating - but I've removed the self-cancelling collar from the back of the (leather GTi) wheel, and it still does it. The self-cancelling tang on the back of the switch appears fine.

 

Thoughts? I'm suspecting something inside the steering lock's either jammed or broken. How difficult is it to get in there? Do you think there's a risk of the lock engaging whilst the car's being driven...? Would YOU continue to drive it?

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Things I would check

1. Lower column in engine bay, check bolt is tight, check for play, check it isn't fouling on anything
2. Upper column inside car, there is a UJ up here too, so check this too, for play, roughness, being seized
3. Jack the front of the car up to take the weight off the wheels, is the stiffness still there?

Steering lock is easy to remove, take off plastic cowl, there is a single screw that holds it in a sleeve. Remove screw then look closely at the end and you will see an arrow, turn the key so it aligns with the arrow, you can then push in a peg which will let it slide out of the way.

[rallysteve 22]

Is the steering wheel the same distance as it was from the dashboard before you changed the UJ? I seem to remember that you can slide the inner column in/out of the outer column, if you have moved it too far out of place then tightened up the UJs then the steering lock will no longer engage. mine was like this after I refitted the column.

 

Steve

[TooMany2cvs 65]

Is the steering wheel the same distance as it was from the dashboard before you changed the UJ? I seem to remember that you can slide the inner column in/out of the outer column, if you have moved it too far out of place then tightened up the UJs then the steering lock will no longer engage. mine was like this after I refitted the column.

Now that's an interesting thought, Steve - I didn't DIY the UJ, a local garage did. It'd failed the MOT after taking the car out of 18mo storage, and we were 150 miles away with no easy way to get it to us.

 

I'll have a look - that's the section of column which comes up diagonally by your clutch foot?

 

I'll get the front end up in the air later - probably tomorrow - but my suspicion is that it'll be the same as with weight on. With the car stationary, you can't feel it going lock-to-lock, since you're putting enough elbow grease in. It's really only at low-speed manouvering that you feel it.

[welshpug 1,655]

slacken the upper UJ clamp and give the wheel a tug upwards, tighten the clamp and see how it is.

[Strictly_Derv 34]

I had this issue but alot worse, to the point where it would have to be forced to the centre. A replacement UJ sorted this out and make it so much lighter.

The old UJ had one free hinge but the other waws so seized it had to be hit with a hammer to move, hence the notchy feel.

[TooMany2cvs 65]

Is the steering wheel the same distance as it was from the dashboard before you changed the UJ? I seem to remember that you can slide the inner column in/out of the outer column, if you have moved it too far out of place then tightened up the UJs then the steering lock will no longer engage. mine was like this after I refitted the column.

slacken the upper UJ clamp and give the wheel a tug upwards, tighten the clamp and see how it is.

We have a (joint) winner!

 

Thank you, Mel and Steve - that appears to have been the problem. Too much of a tug, and the same symptoms were seen, but somewhere in the middle and it seems to be just right. Steering lock works now, too. Can't give it too much of a test, because the clutch slip is hilariously bad now - either that, or it's really, really icy out there...