VP steering problem

[jackvanlawick]

Hey guys.

Sorry if this has already been covered but I wasn't able to find any info.

My steering has been playing up lately. It seems as though I have to turn my steering wheel quite a bit for it to even think of turning.

Also.. If I was driving on a straight road there would be no quick response from turning the steering wheel. So if I needed to swerve out of the way of say..... a moving car coming towards me. I would have to turn my steering wheel at least 90 degrees or more for it to do so.

Anyways, my question is.. Do the older model commodores require the steering wheel to be turned to more of an angle to actually do anything? or may i be in need of a alignment or something?

I swear this never happened when i first bought the car..


Thanks in advance.

Jack

[LAP004]

i did have a problem like that where the intermediate steering sharft was slipping. the intermediate steering shaft is the bit betweenthe steering rack and the the steering colum. the steering coilum can colapase becoming so short in the end that it starts tgo slip then disconects from the inermediate shaft altogeter, which is extreamly bad

[Alloytec]

Do you have excessive play in your steering at all ?

[VPRob]

I wouldn't muck around with that problem or drive the car any further than absolutely necessary until you know what the problem is and get it rectified. It sounds like your steering could fail altogether and you owe it to yourself and others to know it is safe. Get under the car while someone else works the steering and check for play partic between steering shaft and steering rack. It sounds like more than worn tie rod ends or bushes. Good response from LAP004 above. I think there is a universal joint in the steering rod and I guess that could fall apart. Maybe a very worn rack that could also fail. If you can't nut it out then it's a job for your trusted mechanic or local steering/suspension specialist. Good luck with it

[jackvanlawick]

well to be honest i think it may have always been this way.

I mean, my car needs an alignment as the front left wheel is pointing inwards a fair bit. But as for the steering, everything works well it's just as if it's lost all response. I always thought any quick movement with the steering wheel would result in the car swerving... Am I right?

maybe the older commodores didn't have as good steering and it could also just be that my model car doesn't have the speed sensitive option.

Thanks,
J

[VPRob]

Well if your car needs an alignment so badly that you can pick it by eye then it will be costing you heaps in fuel consumption and chewing out tyres. Whoever is doing the alignment should check it out first and if there are serious problems they will need fixing first........ problem solved.
Your description above sounds pretty alarming. If you are not sure about what you are doing you should have it looked at. It doesn't mean you can't DIY but you need to know what the problem is before you can fix it and you need to know your steering is not going to fail halfway round a bend

[jackvanlawick]

Yeah you're exactly right VPRob...

I know I could diagnose and fix the problem myself but with rego around the corner I might as well take it to a mechanic and get it looked over just so I know if there is anything else that needs to be replaced.

Thanks,
J

[Jxw]

as above get someone to turn the wheel back n forth slightly until the wheels start moving left & right and look over the all the steering component from where it comes out of the column near the firewall to the inner & outer tie rods on the rack to the stub axle and the bushes, it shouldn't take much movement of the steering wheel to move the tyres. if the alignment is so far out that you can see excessive toe just by looking at it then this will be effecting a) fuel economy b) tyre wear c) handling and response

can also be dangerous, if you hit a wet patch on the road or some lose gravel and 1 tyre grips while the other slides then the car will head in the direction the gripping tyre is facing... hopefully straight, was following a car one day in a 100 zone and he hit some water on the road on a slight left hand bend, result was he went from being infront of me to instantly being on the side of the road between 2 big trees when he finally stopped.. he and his passenger were fn lucky and very shaken, that i'd put more to his tyres weren't in the best shape but same thing could happen if your alignment is to far out.

[jackvanlawick]

yeah exactly. better safe then sorry!

anyways this all happened after I first crashed it. Hit a gutter and bent my k frame and castor rod etc etc. But I since replaced everything on the front end. Except I hadn't gotten an alignment yet because the car wasn't being used very rarely. Now that I am using it everyday I suspect the alignment may be the problem. After all when I replaced the k frame and all that we had looked over the steering components with no signs of play anywhere.

Also another thing to consider... When I move the steering wheel it responds instantly. (Lets say I move it 30 - 40 degrees. both wheels would then move slightly to whichever direction. So I am thinking when on the road the response may be a little different because the alignment is out of whack.

Might get an alignment within the next few days and see how we are afterwards.

Thanks,
J

[Bux]

Try turning the wheel without the engine running (no power steer) and see if it slips. Had the intermediate shaft come apart on mine, didnt notice with the engine running, only when i turned the wheel with engine off and put a bit of force into it i found it.

[LAP004]

Try turning the wheel without the engine running (no power steer) and see if it slips. Had the intermediate shaft come apart on mine, didnt notice with the engine running, only when i turned the wheel with engine off and put a bit of force into it i found it.

same symtoms as wat one of mine had. i didnt know wat they ment untill my girlfriends one fell apart while she was driving. lucky we were turning around on a side rd when it happend other wise it would have been extreamly bad.

also as said a bad alignment can cause a car to drive very weired and dangerously