Jim Bowen 1 Posted June 13, 2007 before i bought the car and took it for a test drive i noticed when parking etc the steering would creak and whine quite a bit when turning, especially turning wheels quickly at low speed. the chap who owned car said it was something to do with the top mounts, i'm sure he said it started after he replaced them? anyway it seems to be more noisy now, also has a kinda metallic vibrating noise, hard to describe but sounds like metal vibrating almost a buzz i spose and the steering clunks when you are stationary and turn the steering wheel left and right, or when you are driving over bumps etc any ideas? i was thinking of getting ball joints replaced, the car generally feels unstable at speed and feels like effort to keep up with lesser more modern cars round the bends Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
herisites 0 Posted June 13, 2007 My steering is clunking when stationary and at parking speeds and i have just replaced all front bushes and ball joints etc so im thinking it might be the rack :( Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toad 0 Posted June 13, 2007 3Corsameal Sounds like the pump, check the belt to the pump, and the fluid level is ok. You might have the wrong grade of fluid in there. Best bet is to buy new fluid from VW, drain and replace the old stuff. The power steering pump has to do a great deal of work to turn the wheels at low speeds especially if it's got wider wheels than standard, they do wear out after a lot of use. Herisites do you mean you get a clunking sound when you turn tightly? I expect that is your knackered cv joint. Or do you mean there is play when you turn the wheels? The MOT should have picked this up, but it could be steering ball joints (DId you swap them) or the trackrod ends on the rack. Both of these can be replaced, to save money on a new rack. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
herisites 0 Posted June 13, 2007 Herisites do you mean you get a clunking sound when you turn tightly? I expect that is your knackered cv joint. Or do you mean there is play when you turn the wheels? The MOT should have picked this up, but it could be steering ball joints (DId you swap them) or the trackrod ends on the rack. Both of these can be replaced, to save money on a new rack. Its not so much turning tightly but just turning the steering really, when i get in the car and turn the engine on and turn the steering i hear the clunking as the wheels are turning, i try to get the car moving before turning the steering but even when its moving slowly i can hear it. I thought it could may well be the joint, i will be replacing it soon anyway so i will see if that sorts it. I asked the garage to check the track rod ends etc when they were doing the tracking, they said that there wasn't too much play in them and should hold on a while longer yet so might not be those, although they may well still need replacing as they are still 12 years old!! Eventually i will change them and anything else under there, but only when needs must and funds allow, i certainly have the confidence to change them myself now anyway :D Oh and i was thinking of changing my PAS fluid as my steering is quite heavy! Would that help or will i need to change the belt as well? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted June 13, 2007 now you mention a belt, there is a noise when i start car, which sounds like a belt type of noise, everyone says it sounds like a starter motor over running but to me it sounds like a belt having a groan :lol: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted June 13, 2007 its days like this that make me wanna just go and buy and replace nearly everything on the car :lol: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
herisites 0 Posted June 13, 2007 its days like this that make me wanna just go and buy and replace nearly everything on the car :lol: I know the feeling! Hence why i booked a week off work last week and replaced most my drivetrain parts myself! Definately worth doing though if you can afford it and are able to do it yourself (which even if you think you are not you could do it, i did and i had never done anything like it before!!). I still have lots more to replace ideally, the worst being the rear axle bushes, dont fancy taking my rear axle off just yet! :lol: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted June 13, 2007 did you just buy VAG parts from the dealership? i might start amassing all the bits i need, i already need to buy discs and pads all round, hopefully the calipers will be alright for a while, but ideally i want to upgrade them at some point. not sure what to get? i've had the droplinks down a while ago, bloke said top mounts had been changed already, how much are these ball joints? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
herisites 0 Posted June 13, 2007 did you just buy VAG parts from the dealership? i might start amassing all the bits i need, i already need to buy discs and pads all round, hopefully the calipers will be alright for a while, but ideally i want to upgrade them at some point. not sure what to get? i've had the droplinks down a while ago, bloke said top mounts had been changed already, how much are these ball joints? Most of my stuff was VAG but i got some parts from GSF which were good enough. I think the only things from GSF to stay away from are bearing and sometime bushes depending on what you get apparently :S I put new brakes on mine as well, i couldnt go any bigger because of my brocks so i went for Black Diamond discs and EBC greenstuff pads and they are a big improvement over standard. Dont get drilled though as there's no point for them and they just make the discs weaker, i went for just grooved for a tad more bite. The main ball joints are only about £15 and dead easy to do yourself, but you just need a ball joint splitter, i only had the type you whack with a hammer to split it but if you have one of them make sure once the new ball joint is on its on and you dont have to split it again as the splitter fcuks them up big time! You can get better ones that safely press the ball joint out which i will get next time but i only had the hammer type and i knew i was replacing them anyway. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted June 13, 2007 i really must get a bentley manual or equivilant, thanks for the info, i think i'll try some bits myself, it just seems never ending :lol: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
herisites 0 Posted June 13, 2007 i really must get a bentley manual or equivilant, thanks for the info, i think i'll try some bits myself, it just seems never ending :lol: Tell me about it! I just got the PDF bentley manual and set up my laptop in the garage with it on, its helpful but i found searching the forum more helpful and Toad helped me out a lot as well over MSN. But it was nice having the laptop there with the manual for bits i werent sure on, plus my desktop background cheered me up when i got a bit stressed :wink: :lol: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Bowen 1 Posted June 14, 2007 just been to VW and got some prices, the steering noise was making a horrible noise when parking :! really must sort that, it deffo coming from the wheel area, almost sounds like the disc wobbling, is fine if the car is moving even if only a little, but turning on the spot or when your just using the biting point of the clutch to move it sounds BADDDD :( anyway some prices got (just the parts) -discs & pads all round + bits needed = £276 -ball joints on the front = £76 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
