Ormy 0 Posted August 16, 2008 (edited) Hiya everyone, Finally getting round to having time to do a few jobs on the old girl that need doing. The first is I'd like to sort out the steering, there's about an inch of play either way before anything really happens, is there a common reason for this (bushes maybe?)? Also when the wheels are dead straight the steering wheel is pointing to the right maybe 20 degrees, unsure where to start with this one. Any help would be great, cheers! EDIT: Wrong damn section! Edited August 16, 2008 by Ormy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
welshpug 1,657 Posted August 16, 2008 play could be track rod ends, inner track rod balljoints, steering column lower joint, upper joint, or the rack itself. jack the front up and grab the wheel at 3+9 o'clock and give it a shake, get a lever and wiggle the joints till you find the culprit. could also be loose steering rack mounting bolts... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirtdog 4 Posted August 16, 2008 If the road wheels are straight and your steering wheel is off by about 20degrees take the wheel off, making sure the road wheels ARE straight.. and then re fit the steering wheel so it's sitting centre Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boombang 2 Posted August 16, 2008 If the steering rack isn't adjusted to be central, moving the wheel isn't ideal as you'll get more lock one side than the other, which can lead to tyres scraping on the arch liners. I'd give everything a good check first then have tracking set properly so each of the rod ends have the same length. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pete1986 2 Posted August 16, 2008 (edited) Strange, i was going to post an almost identical post! My steering wheel is probaly about 10-15 degrees out with road wheels straight. After going round a left bend though, its a bit more central, then returns to where it started after a right bend. So there's obviously some play somewhere. Accelerating/braking doesnt affect it. Wishbones have been recently replaced, along with the wheels being alligned and a track rod end replaced. Edited August 16, 2008 by pete1986 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
damien 22 1 Cars Posted August 17, 2008 Strange, i was going to post an almost identical post! My steering wheel is probaly about 10-15 degrees out with road wheels straight. After going round a left bend though, its a bit more central, then returns to where it started after a right bend. So there's obviously some play somewhere. Accelerating/braking doesnt affect it. Wishbones have been recently replaced, along with the wheels being alligned and a track rod end replaced. mine is the same just apart from the wishbone bit. is your a PAS model? ive replaced the track rod ends and ive had the tracking done but there is still play and the steering wheel is off about 10 degrees. i know the car has had a side nock in its lifetime so i thought it could be a damaged steering rack but if it seems to be a common problem i mite have to look at other options Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
munster 0 Posted August 17, 2008 My steering wheel is about 10-15 degrees to the left when driving straight. I have a new steering rack, track rods ends and wishbones. It doesn't bother me to much, so its pretty low on my 'things to do' list. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jackherer 543 Posted August 17, 2008 Taking the steering wheel off and replacing it at an arbitrary angle so its straight when driving forward can cause more alignment issues. Its vital that the steering wheel is straight when the rack is centred and the tracking set from there, it must turn the same amount in each direction otherwise you mess up the ackermann angles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pete1986 2 Posted August 17, 2008 Strange, i was going to post an almost identical post! My steering wheel is probaly about 10-15 degrees out with road wheels straight. After going round a left bend though, its a bit more central, then returns to where it started after a right bend. So there's obviously some play somewhere. Accelerating/braking doesnt affect it. Wishbones have been recently replaced, along with the wheels being alligned and a track rod end replaced. To add to this, when accelerating hard it sometimes pulls hard to one side, not always the same way. Bloody dangerous when overtaking!! I wasnt considerng just moving the steering wheel as that is ovbiously not the problem. I guess i just need to check all the joints, as welshpug has suggested. Damien - Nope, its non pas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dirtdog 4 Posted August 18, 2008 I suggested moving the wheel as I thought maybe it had been removed before and not been put back on the right spline thing. I changed my wheel from the standard one to a smaller aftermarket wheel and put it on a spline or two out and only noticed when I started driving so I moved it back to correct position and it's fine now. I have however got play in the steering which my mechanic tells me is a track rod ball joint Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pete1986 2 Posted August 18, 2008 Strange, i was going to post an almost identical post! My steering wheel is probaly about 10-15 degrees out with road wheels straight. After going round a left bend though, its a bit more central, then returns to where it started after a right bend. So there's obviously some play somewhere. Accelerating/braking doesnt affect it. Wishbones have been recently replaced, along with the wheels being alligned and a track rod end replaced. Me and a mate had a fiddle around with it tonight. There seems to be play in the top bush of both drop links (one is only slight, but i think i will replace it anyway) and in the ball joints on the rack. Does that sound like the correct cause of the problem? Oh, and a wheel bearing! Expect to see a wanted thread soon... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ormy 0 Posted August 25, 2008 Right, as to the replies I'm going to replace the track rod ends and get the tracking sorted as a first step. Does anybody know what track rod ends cost from pug? Or am I better off just buying the ebay ones. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jrod 7 Posted August 25, 2008 About £27 iirc, Local motorfactors cost me £5.50 each. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
