Power steering issue?

[Pimbers]

A couple of months ago in the snow I ended up going straight on at a corner, sliding into the kerb and putting my steering out. Took it to a vw specialist and they have simply turned in the rod ends at one side and out on the other to recentre the steering which has worked. The only unusual thing is that the steering now feels heavier when I turn left when compared to right. This is only obvious at speeds greater than around 30 mph.

Weird thing is that before they got the steering spot on it was still slightly off in the opposite direction to where the hit made it go (they pushed it too far the other way) and these symptoms were reversed, I.e heavier right than left...

Anyone have any ideas on what this could be? It's not a major issue but just clearly feels like something isn't right...

 

[LouG]

Did they do a proper alignment check, or just twiddle the tie rod adjustment?

 

[Pimbers]

Did they do a proper alignment check, or just twiddle the tie rod adjustment?

This time it was just twiddling but previously they did the alignment and it was pretty spot on (apparently)

 

[LouG]

Well I can guarantee it's no longer spot on. Any hit that alters steering wheel position alters alignment. Then "twiddling" without measuring the changes on an alignment machine will compound the problem.
Did the cowboys even check for bent steering parts?
Get someone reputable, preferably with a laser aligner, to do it properly, and ask the Wild Bunch for your money back.

 

[Pimbers]

Did the cowboys even check for bent steering parts?
Get someone reputable, preferably with a laser aligner, to do it properly, and ask the Wild Bunch for your money back.

Yes they did a pretty thorough check and did the alignment. Even before they adjusted the steering slightly the weighting of the steering was still weird. They're a decent VAG specialist so I hope they know what they're doing.

 

[Walone]

It sounds to me as though the rack may be bent, I had a similar problem on a car I owned, although it was a completely mechanical steering rack.
I would also suggest checking the tyres for uneven wear and or feathering over a few hundred miles.

 

[Pimbers]

Tyres are pretty even, if it is a bent rack, can it be fixed or will it need a new one? Second hand ones on eBay are fairly reasonable at around £150 but EuroCar Parts is around £900....I'm guessing fitting isn't that simple?

 

[LouG]

You've completely lost me. Are you saying they did a check and alignment after the hit, then adjusted the tie rod ends later?

 

[Pimbers]

You've completely lost me. Are you saying they did a check and alignment after the hit, then adjusted the tie rod ends later?

So after the hit, they checked out the suspension/steering for anything that was obviously bent, recentred the steering from the rod ends, and sorted the alignment. After that the steering was still very slightly out, hence the second tweak.

 

[kazand]

Surely if they 'needed' to 'adjust' the tie rods, something had moved substantially. Simply adjusting tie rods does not resolve the original issue, just mask it. Think about it. If you've clattered one side enough to move the rack ( quite possibly) then adjusting the tie rods will not bring the rack back into line. This could possibly be why your steering feels off. Or, worse still, you could have bent a suspension component ( wish bone etc) . I'd take it to someone who knows what they are about and leave the original bunch to shoe-ing horses.

 

[Andy ap]

If the steering feels heavier there's a not unreasonable chance the castor angle has been knocked out (increased) by hitting the kerb. This would likely be either a bent ball joint or track rod end or less likely a twisted wishbone.

If you can get a tape/ruler/micrometer get under the car and compare sides? Personally i'd start at the ball joints then check the track rod ends are straight and equal then lastly look to see if the wishbone is damaged (unlikely as the bushes will of taken most of it).

 

[Pimbers]

If the steering feels heavier there's a not unreasonable chance the castor angle has been knocked out (increased) by hitting the kerb. This would likely be either a bent ball joint or track rod end or less likely a twisted wishbone.

If you can get a tape/ruler/micrometer get under the car and compare sides? Personally i'd start at the ball joints then check the track rod ends are straight and equal then lastly look to see if the wishbone is damaged (unlikely as the bushes will of taken most of it).

Thanks, I'll give that a go. I did have quite a few bits on that corner replaced (top mount, roll bar link, bushes) after it happened so I would have hoped one of these things would have been noticed....

 

[Andy ap]

Thanks, I'll give that a go. I did have quite a few bits on that corner replaced (top mount, roll bar link, bushes) after it happened so I would have hoped one of these things would have been noticed....

If the top mounts been changed that could probably account for a change in castor. Unless of course someone who's actually had their struts off can correct me there to see if there's room for adjustment on the mount.

Was a four wheel laser alignment done after changing those parts to check everything's in tolerance and adjusted accordingly? If not that's also a good place to start and doesn't cost too much and should be more accurate than the whole tape/ruler malarky i suggested it will show in red what angles and measurements are out and what's fine in green.

 

[LouG]

Measuring with a tape will only show major differences, not a few degrees. If they merely adjusted the tie rod ends to remedy their initial poor effort at aligning, without having the car on the aligner when they did the twiddling, that will have compounded the problem.
The original alignment would have shown any incorrect settings due to bent parts, if done properly.
And yes, I have done quite a few vehicles on a laser aligner a few years ago.