Dodgy steering - A cure

[Linus Van Pelt 0]

DTM - are things still OK after your visit to RAengineering??

 

Indeedy... muchos funtastic hooning aplenty

 

...we shall just have to see how long it lasts though... :roll:

 

In fairness, the way home from work when traffic is stuffed [emergency route #2] does involve some country lanes with more potholes than the roads in Sri Lanka, so I'm fairly sure most of my problems involve things getting loose, which means there will probably be a drop off in steering over time. Since I'm still on astro-mileage commuting, my car will be serviced every 4-5 months, and since it's going to be with RA from now on, I can just get them to repeat what they did at the last service (that's the theory at least!)

 

LvP

 

(the forum member formerly known as DtM)

[monVR6 0]

Sounds like things are good !! I'm not hideously far from Reading - so might get my servicing done there. If I mention you, do you think they will remember what they did - and do the same to my VR ?? I plan to get ball joints done anyway - they seem cheap(ish) !!

[Linus Van Pelt 0]

Sounds like things are good !! I'm not hideously far from Reading - so might get my servicing done there. If I mention you, do you think they will remember what they did - and do the same to my VR ?? I plan to get ball joints done anyway - they seem cheap(ish) !!

 

I'm pretty sure they will :) I can't remember the chap's name that I always speak to, but he's a really nice bloke and it appears his mechanics know their stuff. From what I can tell they treat every car as individual, so just say you're having similar problems and I'm sure they'll let you know if anything is amiss. One of the reasons I liked them so much was because they were keen to get stuff sorted, without needless replacements and parts for the sake of it. A rare things these days!

 

As an example on costs, they charged me £73.95 (inc VAT) for complete diagnostics (fuel/ignition) and subsequent replacement of the distrubutor; £225.20 for a full service (inc spark plugs, all filters, oil and wipers); followed by £181.95 for changing a front engine mount, 4-wheel alignment, reseal on the exhaust and the labour for what they did to fix the steering (some of which was done during the service I think). They are open on Saturday, but only until 1pm, and you'll need to give maybe two weeks notice to get it in on a weekend (I'd ring them rather than e-mail btw).

 

Good luck getting it sorted, and if you do pop down on a w/e, give me a shout and I'll come along and say hello!

 

I think they have a rolling road too :lol:

 

LvP

[monVR6 0]

Good luck getting it sorted, and if you do pop down on a w/e, give me a shout and I'll come along and say hello!

 

OK - will do. I'll give them a call next week and see when I can get booked in. I've got quite a list ! Thanks for the details.

[stevemac 0]

Linus Van Pelt, I've updated the "recommended garages" section to include RA engineering. :wink:

[monVR6 0]

Hi LvP - OK - spoke to Michael at RAengineering today and have basically followed up with an e-mail explaining all my symptoms - (well the cars symptoms !!). I described the steering as vague, how it feels different at various steering wheel positions - and how it feels a bit too lively and affected by road conditions for my liking. I've asked for a quote for ball-joints - and to generally look over the steering. Did you ask for anything further - or describe things differently?? Not sure when I'm booked in yet - I'll let you know. Cheers . .

[Linus Van Pelt 0]

Linus Van Pelt, I've updated the "recommended garages" section to include RA engineering. :wink:

 

Good man ;)

 

Hi LvP - OK - spoke to Michael at RAengineering today and have basically followed up with an e-mail explaining all my symptoms - (well the cars symptoms !!). I described the steering as vague, how it feels different at various steering wheel positions - and how it feels a bit too lively and affected by road conditions for my liking. I've asked for a quote for ball-joints - and to generally look over the steering. Did you ask for anything further - or describe things differently?? Not sure when I'm booked in yet - I'll let you know. Cheers . .

 

8) Sounds fairly similar to mine and that's more or less what I said.

 

I originally took the car in for a service (and a 4 wheel alignment) and just gave him my "list of things that aren't right with the car" :lol:

 

Regards,

 

LvP.

[Gman 0]

Hey is there a how to for the ball joints?

I started to do mine on the W/E but i think it is going to be a bigger job as the pinch bolt is rusted in solid. main thing i want to know is after you take the nut off the pinch bolt. Is the bolt threaded in the upright ( do i have to un screw the bolt or should it just pull out.) I got the nut off and tried tapping the bolt ( that didnt work ) so i tried to unscrew it but when i got to the point of turning the head slightly and the shank was staying still i decided to stop coz I need the car for the next 3 weeks.

I am thinking i will have to pull the whole lower control arm off and heat it to get it out.

Any ideas would be gr8

 

Thanks

 

G

[Henny 0]

stick the nut onto the end of the thread and then beat 7 colours out of it with a hammer until it just starts to move... you should then find it'll unscrew... there's no thread as such, it just grows in something rotten... LOTS of WD40 or PLUSgas will make your life a lot easier... ;) 8)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Hi LvP - OK - spoke to Michael at RAengineering today and have basically followed up with an e-mail explaining all my symptoms - (well the cars symptoms !!). I described the steering as vague, how it feels different at various steering wheel positions - and how it feels a bit too lively and affected by road conditions for my liking. I've asked for a quote for ball-joints - and to generally look over the steering. Did you ask for anything further - or describe things differently?? Not sure when I'm booked in yet - I'll let you know. Cheers . .

 

Any progress on this MonVR6?

 

Mine was behaving much like yours and it eventually took an entire chassis rebush, wheel bearings, rack, rack mount, BJs and Tie rods until I was happy! There is still a certain amount of twitchiness of the steering wheel but a lot of that is down to the nature of the beast and my massively stiffer than standard suspension.

 

One thing I have found with the Corrado is it is very fussy with aligment too, so that needs to be 100% if the steering is to feel as the factory intended.

[Gman 0]

O k

I soaked the bolts in Plus Gas but still not budging. didnt want to hit it if there was a thread in the upright as that would have meant that i would have to park the car for a few weeks ( something i cant afford to do) will do the job rite when i am next at home in about 3 weeks. ( load of time then) also is it easy to make the tool to remove the tie rod ends.

 

G

[Supercharged 2]

O k

I soaked the bolts in Plus Gas but still not budging. didnt want to hit it if there was a thread in the upright as that would have meant that i would have to park the car for a few weeks ( something i cant afford to do) will do the job rite when i am next at home in about 3 weeks. ( load of time then) also is it easy to make the tool to remove the tie rod ends.

Tie rod ends - just use a fork type BJ seperator, ou will need to replace them afterwards as you damage the boot taking them off...

 

BJ's - You will need the allignment doing after this...

[stevemac 0]

Did a pair of lower ball joints at the weekend.

 

Had some new lower suspension arms & CV boots to fit as well so I removed the whole hub assy from the car. Ball joint pinch bolt shouldn't be too difficult to remove. The pinch bolt was siezed solid in the hub assy so I removed the nut & used a claw hammer to lever the hub open around the bolt. I put a socket & 2ft bar onto the bolt to loosen it before tapping it out with a hammer.

 

The difficult part was getting the lower ball jounts out of the hub assy. The joints sit too far back into the hub to use my ball joint splitter. I ended up beating the old joints out with a big hammer.

 

There was no way I'd have been able to remove the lower ball joints without removing the whole hub assy from the car first !!

[Gman 0]

Hey thanks for the info.

 

Where did you get your lower suspention arms from and also how much are they. mine look a bit rusty :) also need new CV boot on one side. I think i am in the same situation as you:)

 

How long did it take to do the job?

 

G

[stevemac 0]

There's a BIG clue in my "sig" as to where I might have got the parts from :wink:

 

Job took all day as I fitted a full poly suspension bush kit & some other stuff at the same time.

[Gman 0]

Hehehehe

Did the new bj's make a big diff?

 

G

[stevemac 0]

Did the new bj's make a big diff?

 

G

 

Job was done for Blue_Joe here on the forum - so far as I'm aware he's very happy with the results.

 

Doing same job to mine at the moment - the old bj's are really loose so the new stuff should tighten up the front suspension/steering a fair amount.

[monVR6 0]

Any progress on this MonVR6?

Hi - just back from holiday - hence lack of response. Haven't got the car back yet as I've been away and they are doing some other bits and pieces. Hoping all will be fantastic ! Will provide an update when I have it back.

LVP - sorry - forgot to let you know when I dropped it off - I have a small and virtually empty head !!

[Linus Van Pelt 0]

LVP - sorry - forgot to let you know when I dropped it off - I have a small and virtually empty head !!

 

Not a problem, I know the feeling well...

 

...who are you again? :lol:

 

Hope it's all luurvly for you when you get it back :wink:

 

LvP.

[Gman 0]

Hey anyone change ball joints before. AM in the middle of doing it and it it not working.

Any one live near congleton in cheshire?

 

thanks

 

Gman

[Blue_Joe 0]

What's not working about it????

[Gman 0]

well i have got all the bolts undone but i cant get the ball joint out our the upright

[Blue_Joe 0]

Presumeing you've loosened the bolt off that clamps it in, do you have a ball joint splitter??? You really would need one. If you haven't you'll probably need to take off the whole hub assembly and beat s**t out of it with a hammer. See if you can get to halfords or similar before they shut to get a decent ball joint splitter. I did mine a few weeks ago and it really is the best way!

[Gman 0]

ok

so it can be done with out taking the hub assy off. I am looking for a splitter now. I dont have one but am phoning around. I have taken teh bolt out. all that is left it to get the bj out of the upright.

 

Am off to buy a splitter

 

G

[Gman 0]

Hey Blue Joe

thanks for the help. got a splitter and got the joint out. it is so easy when you have the right tools.

 

Gman