aprotogerellis

Hya!

Over the years there's been a bit of play on the steering of my 951. I.e. you can turn the steering a little bit in each direction without the wheels moving. This was checked at the annual MOT (the mandatory vehicle check in the UK) and it got a warning (but still passed).

It doesn't affect casual driving but I'm wondering if this could get worse suddenly while driving to the point it becomes dangerous.

(not sure what may be causing this - if there are any checks I can do without removing the rack happy to do them and report back

All advice most welcome!
Thanks

audi49

If the tie rods are worn and potentially fail, sounds serious to me.
(If it's something in the rack itself... also would be a concern to me).

MAGK944

It could also be the steering intermediate shaft u-joints. The UJ’s are a common issue for these old cars. Whatever it is you need to address it because, well it’s your steering and you don’t want to lose that at any speed. Also, it will never get better on its own, it will only get worse to the point of failure and nobody knows when that will happen.

T&T Racing

I support MAGK944 observation that it is the intermediate shaft u-joints. My 1983 944 steering was acting the same and the issue was the u-joints failing.

Aivar88

Is there any high quality shafts available by now? Or still only that crappy one that develops play in less than a year from new ??

ElRicardo

Another possibility is worn rubber mounts that hold the rack to the crossmember. These can develop some side to side play. The rack can actually move a bit before turning the wheels.

aprotogerellis

Many thanks for all the advice guys! Sounds like I need to look into this!

In case it helps, here's a small video - the car is stationary with the engine running in this vid...

fejjj

They all pretty much have that much play.

T&T Racing

Contact The Machine Shop at
https://mwthemachineshop.com/

MAGK944

There will always be some backlash on our racks but mechanical wear is different. See what movement you have at the shaft UJ’s or elsewhere.

aprotogerellis

Thanks, that's my next step - to figure out where this slack is coming from...

StoogeMoe

It’s probably not from one place. They all add up and contribute to the whole.

I had a wheel shimmy at 60mph and changed the tie rod ends and ball joints and it went away. Both were just a little loose. It doesn’t take much.

aprotogerellis

Thanks for the info! Will keep me from going crazy if I can't find a single thing that's to blame