steering wheel shudder at low speeds

[c2105026]

hello all, my recently acquired 38,000km VX series 1 is experiencing a bit of a steering wheel shudder at low speeds, like when parking etc. The power steering fluid level seems a bit low, but there are no visible leaks. I was going to ignore it for now, becase it is only during parking, and steering is otherwise fine and there are no obvious leaks.

Any thoughts?

[oska]

sorry to burst your bubble but i doubt it's only done 38,000 K's

what did you pay for it $25K

[c2105026]

car was $11,500, bought from a reputable holden dealer, and there is full service history, plus the absence of wear in key areas suggests such a low mileage. To boot, the car has its original tyres, with a new spare in the boot....

please, only constructive comments only.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

I would be looking at the tyres. Low k's on original tyres, they could have flat spots from standing still too long. Replace them, see how you go.

And oska, low k Commodores do exist, they weren't all taxi's and police cars.

[graham7773]

I"m with him^. tyre safety experts recommend that you replace tyres more than 6 years old as the properties (grip, flex etc) that make a tyre work well fade dramatically after this length of time, sometimes before depending on tyre quality. As your tyres are more than 10 years old, I suggest getting new ones asap. Have you checked them for flat spots, bubbles/bumps in tread area and other faults?

[c2105026]

tyres? really? this is like very low speeds...sub-10kmh. I was thinking it was more steering related. However, yes, when I have the money will get a new set of tyres.....

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Think about it, the tyres are what contacts the ground, any irregularity in them will cause feedback through the steering wheel at low speed.

[Jarrad]

hello all, my recently acquired 38,000km VX series 1

Nice work!!!

[c2105026]

i think we may have the answer - recently I had a parking incident that damaged the bumper and the panel under the AC condensor and a pipe visible through the cooling air intake. The pipe in fact belongs to power steering system. A quote has been done up, and an insurance claim raised. Could be fixed next week, depending how long Shannons takes to assess claims.....

[graham7773]

sounds like your power steering cooling pipe. Is it squashed? Wreckers and ten minute job to replace. You didn't mention the bingle in your OP.

[c2105026]

yeh sorry bout that, i thought the part was air-con related. Will go down the wreckers path if the claim is rejected for some reason, I don't know why it wouldn't be.....yeh it is kinked significantly, that would disturb the flow of fluid in the system I imagine....