Steering Issue...

[JSchleim18]

Well it's been 6 days and 300 miles on my car since it's been running. Runs GREAT...so happy /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I have one small issue though. When I'm about to go into an exit off the highway, I'll turn the wheel and the car takes a half a second to react to it. It's pretty scary and a little weird. However, when I'm driving straight and I turn the wheel back and forth, the reaction is instant.

Back in the summer one of my power steering lines broke so I had my friend fix it for me. Could there be air in the system making it slow to react? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[jepherz]

This doesn't make any sense to me. When you turn the steering wheel, you are directly coupled to the angle of the front wheels. The power steering is there only to make your wheel turning experience easier. Even if your power steering belt breaks and no fluid is being pumped, you are still directly connected to the steering mechanisms on the front wheels.

 

[belize1334]

As was just mentioned, if you're tie-rods are in-tact and your steering rack bushings are holding the rack firmly in place, there is no way that you can turn the wheel without affecting the steering angle. You may just be noticing the slow turn in of these cars. With soft-ish suspension and 60-series tires the front end responds with all the quickness of 60's Oldsmobile. When you're sawing back and forth you get the car rocking and the response feels more instantaneous but it's just because you've already upset the balance.

 

[JSchleim18]

I have D2 coilover suspension but everything else under there is stock. I guess these cars are just slow to turn /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif. At some points it'll even throw off my steering wheel. It won't be centered sometimes but adjusts itself back to center. Very weird.

 

[jepherz]

Uhh, it sounds like something is stripped on your steering column/rack and it's just missing teeth. I'd get that fixed ASAP... These cars aren't slow to turn in with the right setup.

 

[JSchleim18]

Aight I'll get that looked at. Thank you.

 

[belize1334]

Agreed. If you have a stiff suspension package it should be pretty snappy, though mooshy tires will still affect that. The off center steering wheel is disconcerting though. My first guess is that the steering column is slipping on the teeth where it mounts to the steering rack (in the engine bay, at the firewall, just below and inside the A/C compressor). Especially if you had work done in that area for the lines, maybe it wasn't correctly tightened. I'd turn the car off, have a buddy sit inside and turn the wheel and watch to see if the wheel moves w/o the steering angle changing.

 

[ktmrider]

Altered caster can cause some weird steering feel.
Most likely tho the speed sensitive valve in the PS is acting up. Look for a single wire in the bundle going to the alternator, it attaches to a stub on the front of the PS pump. Easy for the wire to fall off and cause the "bind" you are feeling. EDIT: This is only for the idle control, NOT the speed sensitive item like I mentioned ( sorry ).
There IS a valve inside the PS pump that can cause the sticky feeling, it happens to me when I run around an auto-x course and the RPM's are high. The spring tension can adjusted to keep the pump from slowing flow at higher RPM's via shims.
There's a great writeup on the FVAQ on modifying the valve stack. Another member on this board was gonna do a tech article but I never saw a follow-up.

 

[fivestardsm]

The first thing you need to check is your pivot joints on the coum where it links to the rack. Then you might want to check the bushings on the rack, if they are loose, your rack will actually shift instead of the tires turning. This would throw off your steering wheel center.
How far "OFF" does it make the steering wheel?

Here is the VFAQ link click, but it didn't have all the pictures on it when I looked at it.

 

[JSchleim18]

The steering wheel can be off by as much as 45* /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif.

I'm going to do the power steering cutout fix first as that was something I've wanted to do. If that doesn't help anything I'll investigate further.

Thank you all for the help so far. It *kind of* feels good to actually have problems that deal with actual driving lol.

 

[toybreaker]

Quoting JSchleim18:
I have D2 coilover suspension but everything else under there is stock. I guess these cars are just slow to turn /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif. At some points it'll even throw off my steering wheel. It won't be centered sometimes but adjusts itself back to center. Very weird.



Quoting belize1334:
My first guess is that the steering column is slipping on the teeth where it mounts to the steering rack (in the engine bay, at the firewall, just below and inside the A/C compressor). Especially if you had work done in that area for the lines, maybe it wasn't correctly tightened. I'd turn the car off, have a buddy sit inside and turn the wheel and watch to see if the wheel moves w/o the steering angle changing.



While doing this test, also watch the rack for movement on the crossmember. It's possible one of the mounting bushings is deteriorated/missing, and allowing the rack to move on the crossmember.

Also watch the back of the control arms. The rear bushing can deteriorate, and allow the the control arm to move around. You can put the car on stands and pry the rear of the arm sideways to see if it's a goner. Any movement there will cause the caster to get all wanky, and can give some pretty weird feedback at the steering wheel.

Then there's the rear suspension.
The balljoint ends on the two lateral arms can go bad, and the bushing at the front of the big trailing arm can tear. Either of these can also give some funky steering/alignment symptoms, especially if you're working the 4ws with some swervage at speed.

Inspecting the tires may tell you something as well. If one is wearing funky, that corner should get extra scrutiny.

When it's all said and done, I think setting the tire pressures, and running over to a sears or somewhere with lifetime alignment may be your best bet. There's usually a pretty savvy old guy working in most of the bigger stores, and he'll probably know what's what.

It's not really the equipment that makes a good alignment, it's the technician. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I'd also ask around the local forums to see if there's one alignment shop that stands out. I like a chain store, becuase they give a lifetime alignment deal, and they are everywhere, but there's something to be said for a savvy local guy that runs his own dealio.

Have them check it out and give you an estimate before they do anything. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[JSchleim18]

I should also mention that the 4WS is deleted and the tires are like 215/60/15. They have maybe 500 miles on them. All tire pressures are at 35 psi.

There's a guy pretty local to me that will corner balance all 4 corners and is good at doing alignments. I'll talk to him.