Steering vibration

[maggs]

Hi guys
Had my vy 11 steering hoses replaced on warranty but still have steering vibration when reversing out of driveway
Are there any other mods for the problem ?.
My dealer also pretended that they never heard of this problem as well but they put the mod on with hesitation.

[jimbo39aus]

I had the same vibration problem and the dealer replaced the hose as it is a known issue. In my case it seems to have fixed it ok but the dealer did warn me that for some reason it does not cure the issue for all affected cars. Looks like you may have one of those?

[Marks-VY]

Is it a vibration or a shudder in the wheel when turning? The warranty was to cure the "shudder" felt when actually turning the steering wheel (therefore pumping fluid through the system).

I might sound picky but a vibration suggests something different, unless you mean the shudder. Based on your wording it suggests it could be transmission, clutch or possibly handbrake? Is it happening whenever reversing or only when turning the steering wheel?

[vyblacklumina]

If it is the same as my problem recently fixed, it is a power steering hose. Dealer in ACT said lining of hose is too thin and makes shuddering noise as taking off just after starting. Probably only a $20 hose but dealer charges about $180 to put it on. Covered under warranty luckily. Hope this helps anyone. PS Thanks heaps for this site...learnt heaps. Cheers

[SPack]

Hey guys, i've been noticing a bit of a shudder in the power steering as well; usually when I start to reverse into a parking spot. Normally it's like an 'L' shape, turning the wheel to the left to bring the rear around as per reverse parking. It's not bad but noticeable--is this the same thing?

[Don Sutton]

Most power steering gears can be made to shudder at some point.
Shudder is where the valve opens and oil surges into one of the chambers (chamber depends on which way wheel is being turned) which forces the rack to move which closes the valve but as you are still turning the wheel it happens again in rapid succession. It can be worse in reverse since the caster angle is working back to front and trying to turn the whhel to lock rather than keeping the wheel straight ahead as when going forward.
What can make it worse?
Any elasticity in the system eg air, springy hoses, rubbery mounting of gear, rubbery coupling to input shaft. This is a general comment and a couple of the above do not apply to the Commodore.
How to cure?
Changing the hoses.
Different gain in the power steering valve.
Different pump flow rate.
Change of tyres to different brand.
As the valves are made to a tolerance sometimes changing the valve will effect a cure but it is trial and error.

[doggee]

I only get this shudder at parking speeds in both directions. Do you reckon it's still the hoses.

I also have a Triumph Stag and a way to fix some power stering problems is to jack the car up and slowly turn from lock to lock a few times and then lower the car. This gets any air out of the system.