JayMac88

JayMac88

Member
Over the last few weeks ive been trying to find the cause of my steering problem on my 90, 300tdi. First i had death wobble (hitting a pothole sends the steering wheel mad with shaking) which i resolved by checking swivel preload and that wobble went away.

Next my steering was feeling really rough and clunky so i replaced all the bushes with polybushes and still didnt fix the problem, then i tried to tighten the steering box up but that had no influence on the roughness.

So in total ive replaced all the bushes, replaced steering box with a new one, replaced the swivels for new ones, all steering bearings have been done, steering column UJs have been done. So in total all the steering has been replaced and yet my steering still feels rough with lumps, bumps and tight spots!?

Im at a complete loss on what it could be since everything that moves has been replaced, everything that shouldnt move has checked and tightened!
 
What about the drop arm ball joint? A surprisingly small amount of wear can give surprisingly large steering 'weirdness'
 
Ball joints are tight, were replaced 2years/8000 miles ago, all i can really think of is maybe the box is a dodgy recon?
 
Rule No1.

Don't rule out the bleedin obvious.

Have you checked the fluid level? :p


Seriously might be worth taking some fluid out and putting some Lucas power steering leak stop in it ;)

Not cos it leaks (hopefully anyway) but it may at least make it work better ;)
 
Last edited:
If it started when you did the swivel preload then that's where I'd start to look. They could be too tight.
 
There's always the bit where the steering column goes in its tube through the bulkhead. You don't often hear of them going wrong but it could be a possibility. Maybe the steering column lock is binding. Can you undo one of the column universal joints temporarily and check it?

Swivels - get the steering rods off so there's nothing restraining them and see if they move smoothly from lock to lock with a little resistance that's uniform throughout the travel. I checked mine a while ago and discovered that they had developed a notch in the straight ahead position. Not surprising for tiny little roller bearings that take the weight of the car. So they got replaced when I did my axles at the end of last year.
 
To expand on brown's comments above, were it me I'd be breaking the system into sections to find out where the dodgy bit is.

Disconnect the steering relay shaft and check the column, then disconnect the drop arm and make sure the steering box rotates smoothly thru its range.. then onto the swivels with the tyres off the ground (and off the car for inspection purposes).

I am going to go out on a limb here and suggesst you may have had a bearing collapse in one of the swivels - sometimes a new bearing can go bad, or get buggered up in installation or some such.

one other thing to check is the ball joints - they may be only a few years old but I have seen them fail and seize - which could definitely give you notchy steering.

lastly, never assume something is good because it's new - had a situation on an RRC a few years ago where I fitted it with new front wheel bearings - and then did it again when the (off-brand - all i could get and I needed the car) bearings failed in less than a thousand miles.

Start with a fresh loook, come at it methodically, and you'll find your gremlin.

Alan
 
All fluids are good, swivel preload is good. I think im gonna replace the UJs on the steering column tomorrow, for the sake of 2 quid each ill do them anyway. And ill see if i can spot any wobble or play as soon as the wife gets home and is willing to help me by wobbling steering for 15 mins!
 
If you're buying £2 UJs then I wouldn't place any bets, they'll probably be worse than the old ones. Last time I changed a set I think it was about £50 for genuine parts, well worth it.

I have heard of 'recon' boxes being worse than the ones they are replacing too, though I've no personal experience of that. Given the price I'd just buy a new one from Adwest anyway if I were in the market for one.
 
Ill have a go at disconnecting the drop arm tomorrow to see of the roughness is caused by something above or below the steering box.

As of the Uj. Id never bother paying stupid money for a genuine part when you can get bearmach for a fraction of the cost! £9 for a bearmach UJ as opposed to £50 fot a genuine!
 
Without feeling the roughness it's hard to advise, but I will chip in some of my experience. The steering of any car feels horrible if there's the slightest contact between the wheel and the column trim/cowling. The top bearing in the can fail. It's a very cheap needle roller and I had to replace one on my SIII because it felt rough. I could feel some radial play, so check for that.
 
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