Steering Problem - Quite Bad....

BRUN · Mar 5, 2004

right, noticed this on the way home tonight, been thinkin was somethin wrong for a day or two now and it was really obvious tonight

basically whats happening is

if im cruising along straight, and i accelerate pretty hard then the car drives to the left towards the kerb
if im accelerating straight and let off, the car moves over to the right, this movement can be quite severe depening on how hard i was accelerating
now when i had my engine put in, i had new wishbones, with poly bushes, got poly bushes on the roll bar aswell, also had new suspension (GAZ coilovers)

tyre pressures are fine, just checked them

anyone got any ideas ?...........is there any bushes on the steering rack/column?.....or anythin to do with it ?

doubt its wheel bearings as im gettin no tell tail noises and there both reasonably new.....

BenR · Mar 5, 2004

have you got each damper setup the same, sounds like your right damper is softer than the left.

Right now, it sounds like he right hand side of the car is causing the problem, probably to do with suspension movement.

Andy GDI · Mar 5, 2004

there are bushes on rack.... or clamps...

also check rear trailing arm bushes... rare but worth a look

needs to go on a ramp and have it looked at

BRUN · Mar 5, 2004

im gonna set the dampers tomorrow as i still havent got around to playin with em...........

hope its somethin as simple as that

BRUN · Mar 5, 2004

well my steerin rack has done over 100k now so could those bushes on the rack be fecked..........is it easy for a garage to check those ?.........are they cheap to replace ?

BenR · Mar 5, 2004

It cant be a left side bearing or sticky brake as it might seem with the accelerate left lunge. Or itll lunge left under accel. Im thinking its the right damper too soft.

Or a multitude of bushes/play.......rod end on the left side?

Andy GDI · Mar 5, 2004

might be the rack itself..... when the car is parked... move the steering wheel left to right and see if there is a knock noise coming from rack area... if there is ..... start to look deeped.

BenR · Mar 5, 2004

Quote: Originally posted by BRUN on 05 March 2004

well my steerin rack has done over 100k now so could those bushes on the rack be fecked..........is it easy for a garage to check those ?.........are they cheap to replace ?

jsut get under the car and shake it hard, use a screwdriver/prybar to check for play on each side.

BRUN · Mar 5, 2004

its pretty hard to get under my car at the moment, cant get my trolley jack under the front, but ill be trying tomorrow all bein well cos i wanna raise the car a bit

BRUN · Mar 5, 2004

gonna get the rack replaced on Tuesday, as i have heard a few clunks while drivin recently

BenR · Mar 5, 2004

you sure its the rack....you looked at everything??

BRUN · Mar 5, 2004

no but pretty much everythin on the car has been replaced bar the rack........theres not much else it can be really and with it havin done over 100k its the obvious choice.........ill get the mechanic to check it all out first

crono33 · Mar 5, 2004

i seriously doubt it could be the rack. it is pretty easy to check a steering rack, and it should last more than the car. i have seen very few broken racks and anyway that wouldnt be the symphtom. a worn rack would just have steering play but no tendency to steer underacceleration/liftoff.
that really looks like torque steer, double check the wishbones bushes and shocks settings. also check subframe is not loose.

Quote: Originally posted by BRUN on 05 March 2004
no but pretty much everythin on the car has been replaced bar the rack........theres not much else it can be really and with it havin done over 100k its the obvious choice.........ill get the mechanic to check it all out first

BRUN · Mar 5, 2004

hmmmm......

Swervin_Mervin · Mar 5, 2004

Sounds like torque steer and a dodgy column to me.

BenR · Mar 5, 2004

aye, but what causes torque steer?

Swervin_Mervin · Mar 5, 2004

Err, too much torque and too much grip?

BenR · Mar 5, 2004

lol.....sorry, thought it was a rhetorical question.

If onewheel gets more grip then it will apply a torque moment to that side, and due to offsets and scrub radius it will steer that wheel.

KDF · Mar 5, 2004

Could be ball joint no ? had exactly the same problem on my old 205 GTi and it was a knackerd ball joint.

BRUN · Mar 5, 2004

if it is then its buggered up quick, there only about 5 months old....

cliopower · Mar 5, 2004

suspension spring cracked? hit a cerb and knocked it alignment out?

BRUN · Mar 5, 2004

jus drove about a bit.........

i get a clunk when braking from slow speeds and get one when pulling away....

adjusted the fronts to one turn, about to do the backs now

BRUN · Mar 5, 2004

backs are now 5 clicks up from softest

BRUN · Mar 5, 2004

couldnt spot anythin obvious when i took both wheels off

but i dont really know what to look for.....

2 live · Mar 5, 2004

sound like uv finally found pressed the accelerator pedal hard enuff to get torque steer mate

JAY172 · Mar 5, 2004

poss:-

play in lower balljoints.

play in tracks arms or the steering rack(track arms the most commen).

suspension incorrectly set

play in steering column

i would suggest getting a mechanic to have a look if your unsure what to look at.

Rajk · Mar 5, 2004

just an idea.....................top mounts, i think mine need changing but that where you might get some clunks!

BRUN · Mar 6, 2004

they seem tight to be honest mate......

ive got a feelin again that its gonna be the rack, on the way home tonight it was a bit floaty on the road

JAY172 · Mar 7, 2004

have you jacked up the front end and felt for play in the front wheels?

adiclio16v · Mar 7, 2004

Quote: Originally posted by 2 live on 05 March 2004

sound like uv finally found pressed the accelerator pedal hard enuff to get torque steer mate

LMAO

adi

BRUN · Mar 7, 2004

Quote: Originally posted by JAY172 on 07 March 2004

have you jacked up the front end and felt for play in the front wheels?

yup, no play at all

BRUN · Mar 7, 2004

and i know this is a crap description, but it seems to be gettin floatier

BenR · Mar 8, 2004

clunks are usually balljoints (bottom) or bearings.

crono33 · Mar 8, 2004

check the rubber joint in the steering column, thats probably thre cause of "spongy" steering (very common in clio)

as for the clunk and steering under power/liftoff, the clunk definitely indicates something sloppy in the suspension, still doubt about the faulty rack.

Quote: Originally posted by BRUN on 07 March 2004
and i know this is a crap description, but it seems to be gettin floatier

BRUN · Mar 8, 2004

thanks for all the replies, certainly given my mate a few things to think about when he checks it out for me tomorrow mornin

BRUN · Mar 9, 2004

well its in the garage now, checked everythin over and we went with replacing the rack, there doin it atm

when they disconnected the old one though it was really floppy at the ends

cliosportcraig · Mar 9, 2004

how much is a new rack fitted ?

BRUN · Mar 9, 2004

well the rack and new track rod ends was £88 but thats with a £15 surcharge, there fittin the rack for about £40 for me, puttin some pads on aswell so possibly £50-£60 final bill for labour

crono33 · Mar 9, 2004

a rack costs at least 500 euro so there must be something wrong there

Quote: Originally posted by BRUN on 09 March 2004
well the rack and new track rod ends was £88 but thats with a £15 surcharge, there fittin the rack for about £40 for me, puttin some pads on aswell so possibly £50-£60 final bill for labour

Swervin_Mervin · Mar 9, 2004

Thats well cheap. New racks (having to send the old one back) are usually £250 from Renault. Good work!

Steering Problem - Quite Bad....

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