Dodgy steering - A cure

[Kevin Bacon 5]

This will interest a handful of VR6 owners on here (DrMat, MondyVR6 et al) that are plagued with clonky and loose steering.

 

It was the ball joints, as I initially suspected.

 

It seems that at certain angles and loadings, old BJs have some slack which is undetectable with the usual checking methods.

 

So start with those, then the track rods, wheel bearings etc before suspecting the rack/column and you might be surprised.

 

Those followed by a recamber and tracking and the steering is back to it's usual weighty, feelsome and clonk-free self and also no more pulling to the left. There is also no more crashiness or tugging so I no longer avoid bumps in the road. The car just rides over bump and absorbs it like a modern car.

 

So there you have it. Cheapy parts + Vince = one big smile all the way home :lol:

 

K

[dr_mat 0]

Matt books his ball joint replacement... :)

[RobyD 0]

That could be the problem with mine then too! Was there any play in your wheels cos i've tried mine and their solid as a rock but there's still clunking noises from the steering at low speeds?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

VAG only please :wink:

 

They're only £13 odd each.

 

When you get the aligment redone, take it somewhere decent as the Corrados are very fussy with geometry. It has to be spot on or nothing.

 

K

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Roby, to all intent and purposes, my suspension was 100% A OK during normal inpsection. I have asked Stealth (with me watching) to check all the suspension parts and there was no play at all, in anything.

 

I just had a nagging suspicion that the original Ball joints were screwed and asked them to change them regardless, and it cured the problem - completely.

 

There is a still a slight vagueness at the dead ahead on the motorway but from my 13 years experience of VWs, they've always been like that anyway. Around town etc, the steering is solid at any angle.

 

K

[dr_mat 0]

Presumably vince can supply VAG ones..

You know how long it takes, kev? D'you think he'll be able to do it one saturday morning?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Matt, he will get VAG ones if you ask him to, otherwise he generally uses GSF stuff, which is Febi/Bilstein. They're OK but with heavy metal parts, I like to stick to VAG and trust me, there *is* a difference.

 

Yes he can do BJs, Top Mounts and Alignment in a Saturday morning. Should take approx 3 hours as you're getting TMs done at each corner aren't you? Or is it just the fronts?

 

K

[dr_mat 0]

Well the fronts are the most important, but ideally all round. So yeah, I'll give him a bell on Monday morning. :)

How about brake disks too... (I always find other things to add..)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I doubt you'll find anything wrong with your rear TMs to be honest. I know Mike Edwards posted a pic of his which looked like they'd been mummified, but I'm convinced that is an isolated case. Vince stripped my entire rear end to satisfy my own fastidiousness and *all* of the consumables (TMs, top plates, rubber gaskets etc) were as new after 90,000 miles use. So it all went back on (with new parts anyway) so that I could tick those off my mental list.

 

Brake discs..... Have yours got a big wear ridge? I would put VAG steel on to be honest, along with a fresh set of pads. Preferably Pagid Fast road ones as they seem to work exceptionally well with VW metal.

 

That's quite a chunky amount of work for a 9 till 1pm day, so best discuss with Vince really.

 

K

[dr_mat 0]

Yep, disks were an "advise" at the MOT, so could do with sorting. Don't need them done right NOW though, and it's an easy job, so doesn't desperately need Vince's magic touch.. :)

I'd try it myself, if it weren't for the caliper rewinding bit, which could get tricky...

And yeah, I'm gonna stick to VAG disks. Even badly worn as they are, I can stand the car on it's nose, and give the ABS a fit, even on smooth, grippy tarmac, so I think that's plenty of bite for me!

[RobyD 0]

I'll have another inspection and will probably give the BJs a try.

 

Cheers for the tip kev :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah it can't hurt as it's £30 + an hour's labour.

 

Hope it sorts your problem, or reduces it at least.

 

K

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Just been out hunting down all the shit roads in my area and all of the clonking, tugging, tramlining has totally vanished.

 

Country lanes are no longer the battle they used to be, with each front wheel trying to do it's own thing. The steering wheel doesn't budge off centre over bumps at all.

 

And *now* I can see why the motoring journalists at the time heralded the C as one of the best FWD handlers of all time, because it is :lol:

 

Ask my mate in his Scoob trying to keep up with me yesterday.

 

K

[dr_mat 0]

Dunno where you get your BJs from Kev, current parts pricing says: £17.80 + VAT!

GSF only want £9!

Wonder if GPC can beat that for a genuine part..

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Mine weren't that much, but then I did buy them last year :lol:

 

As I said, with heavy metal parts, VAG only. Don't even think about putting £9 ball joints on your car. I've used Febi/Bilstein ones before and they don't last terribly long.

 

K

[dr_mat 0]

Yeah, I'm agreeing. It's just a tiny bit of a surprise when I was expecting £26ish for parts and it's going to be £40.. :|

[PhatVR6 0]

And *now* I can see why the motoring journalists at the time heralded the C as one of the best FWD handlers of all time, because it is :lol:

 

 

certainly the best handling FWD car I've ever driven, by a LONG way.

[benson 0]

Kev,

 

Hi - first log-in this week and another topic close to my heart!

 

Lowered my C with a mate at the weekend using Koni TAs and H&R springs and took the opportunity to fit new TMs and strut top bearings. Corners like it's on rails now and as a bonus seems to have got rid of the slight clonking noises I had around bumpy corners, but the steering wheel still seems to want to wrench out of my hands - is that the infamous BJs? Are you talking inboard or outboard joints here? Inboards means rack off doesn't it?

 

Cheers, G.

[dr_mat 0]

"Inboard BJs"?

Whatchew talkin 'bout, Lewis?

[benson 0]

:lol: :lol: Am I being a gimmer?!

 

I guess from that we're talking outboard then Dr-Mat?!

 

Never looked how the inboard trackrod-to-rack joint looks on my car, but I'm used to looking at race car racks which traditionally have a ball/socket arrangement that could be called a ball joint amongst other things.

I just wanted to clarify you're all talking about the trackrod end / outer ball joint / thingumywhatsit attaching the trackrod to the upright/hub carrier etc! :wink:

 

Good old terminology - always catches me out. Anyway - d'ya have the answer to my question! Is it the o/b trackrod joints giving my wrists a hard time through the twisty stuff?

 

G.

[Henny 0]

nope, the ball joint is the mount at the bottom of the strut which bolts/rivets onto the end of the front suspension arm.

 

Trackrod joints are just known as trackrod ends... 8)

[dr_mat 0]

We have to keep our club as excusive as possible. The terminology gives us plenty of opportunity for belittling newcomers, we like it like that... ;)

I just booked to get my ball joints replaced by Stealth when it's in next month, so fingers crossed that works for me aswell as you, Kev! :)

[dazzyvr6 0]

the mk2 golf 16v's had a ball and socket type of rack which you had to change with the track rod end,he could be on about them,dont know if the early 16v corrados were the same though

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yes I was referring to the outer balls, the ones at the end of the wishbones.

 

If the inboard BJs go bad then the rack can stay put. Each track rod has a ball joint at both ends, so no need to be thinking of rack removal just yet!

 

When you say the steering wheel is wrenched out of your hands, do you mean the classic bump steer or the wheel just weaves left to right over bumps?

 

The BJs got rid of 90% of steering complaints and I'm not replacing the rack and column to cure the remaining, and very minor I hasten to add, 10%.

 

K

[benson 0]

Yes I was referring to the outer balls, the ones at the end of the wishbones.

 

If the inboard BJs go bad then the rack can stay put. Each track rod has a ball joint at both ends, so no need to be thinking of rack removal just yet!

 

When you say the steering wheel is wrenched out of your hands, do you mean the classic bump steer or the wheel just weaves left to right over bumps?

 

The BJs got rid of 90% of steering complaints and I'm not replacing the rack and column to cure the remaining, and very minor I hasten to add, 10%.

 

K

 

Ok I'm there!!! Cheers for all the explanations everybody - dunno why I was thinking you were talking about the trackrod joints when you actually meant the big-ass lower ball joint.

 

Yeah - my pet mechanic stuck his jemmy bar in all the joints a while ago and pronounced all to be A.O.K. yet it's a bit sloppy in the bends. I'll stick that job on the list next time I get a month with less than £200-worth of other problems to sort!

Suppose I need to do the ball joints before I shell out on a 4-wheel alignment though - damn-it!

 

When I say it wrenches the wheel, I mean a combination of bump steer - which the 4-wheel alignment will undoubtedly help - combined with it feeling like there's a Focus RS diff in there!!

 

G.