HJV11

I had a weird steering problem in my 86 coupe this morning on the way to work. When I turn the wheel it turns normally then all of a sudden it stops and seems to bind. I can muscle it through the turn and it frees back up. It does not happen in the same place and seems to come and go a little. Any ideas?

DISCLAIMER: I have done no investigation into this and I throw it out for discussion.

KLehmann

Could be the rubber accordion boots binding up. Especially in cold weather. How new are the tie rods? Some of these boots age and start to come apart

Could also be the universal joints along the line of steering shafts that go from the steering column down to the steering rack. The joints get dry sometimes and need a bit of oil to lube them up. You'd be surprised how effective the dry u-joints can be at binding up your steering feel.

Another issue that could be causing this problem is loss of grease in the steering rack housing. This is probably not the main cause and i'd certainly try the other things I mentioned first. Still, I know from regreasing my rack a few years back that the rack loses alot of the grease needed to keep things smooth. The grease dries and separates, leaving you with little lubrication on the rack teeth and pressure block surface. I was shocked to see how little grease was in there, compared to how much should be present.

ron mcatee

Check to make sure the bearing at the top under the steering wheel is OK. There may be a ball or two going bad. I suggest jacking up the front end and moving the wheel left and right to see what might be binding. Of course, it may only occur under a load while on the ground.