91 964 C4: My steering suddenly feels vague on center... the best way to describe it is if I am sitting still, I can move the steering wheel about 1" left/right, and instead of wheel movement, I sense a bit of a plunk, or freeplay, before the wheels begin to steer. Especially when going from one side to the other rapidly.This also means that the wheels feel like they don't track to center while driving, so making the small adjustments while moving down the road are more of a chore suddenly... The car seems to have more of a mind of its own... This came on suddenly, but I don't recall hitting any potholes or curbs or anything.

The weather has dropped about 20 degrees in the last few days.. FWIW

The car doesn't feel more random, just the steering control has this inch of "vagueness" before it affects the wheels. It feels like it is closer to the steering wheel end of things than the road, but may be my perception...

So far, I have checked the wheels for bearing play (wheels off ground, grab at Noon and 6, and try to move the wheel, but I don't feel anything) I also changed over to my winter rims/tires with proper air pressure (just to eliminate tires) I don't see any fluid leaks, and the PS fluid is up to date, and full...

I also looked on Pelican, but I don't see a good diagram of what might be in there?

This worries me a bit.. any danger here? (besides the obvious?)

 

If this is a sudden change, I would be worried something has broken or become loose. If this has been a gradual change, then more likely, its something is worn. You checked the wheel bearings but I would jack up the front end and check it thoroughly. I would check the tie rods, ball joints, the shock mounts top and bottom, the wish bones, and the rack itself.

 

First off, I would not drive until you find out what's going on. Have you done anything to the car recently, ie did you just remove the steerng wheel? Could be a loose nut behind the wheel(seriously, the 24 mm that holds the steering wheel on). I would also get the front off the ground and check inner and outer tie rod ends, ball joints, control arm bushings. Also, you may want to call you local dealer and see if your car is under a recall for the steering shaft joint. Long shot, but I know that there was a recall for that. Good luck.

 

This is too ironic. I was just about to post the exact same question. I would call my steering loose or sloppy, but only at speed. This morning, at about 95mph, it was downright scary, I felt like it might go off the road. The difference here is that I just put on a new set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on Monday. I was assuming it was the tires. I had them put on at Tirerack here in South Bend and they said I had 14 days to return them if I didn't like them. If it's the tires, I can't stand them. I feel like an idiot, but I had the car for 2 weeks before putting the new tires on (no tread on the old ones) and have no idea what was on before, but they were not like this at all.

 

Rob, Davis-
Could it be as easy a troubleshoot as an engine-off, wheels-up, play of the wheel, and see which component in the steering train doesn't move in symphony?

Or, if it needs wheels-down, resisting contact, maybe doing the same thing w/ the front wheels on ramps of some kind? (to give your noggin room to get under there.)

 

I got cozy with the car tonight... it was soaking wet, so the drip drip drip was amusing. I pulled off the front under-cover, and had the front wheels on ramps (semi loaded, as the rear was on the jack points, and the engine is cantilevered out...) I had my son move the steering back and forth, and I observed, and listened with an automotive stethoscope. What's odd is that there is an element of static friction. If the wheel is unlocked, and there is a load on the tires, the most prominent feeling is at the first turn of the wheel. After that initial "break loose", kind of a soft pop, it is smooth, until you let it sit. (Stiction...) then it comes back. If you kind of throw the wheel left and right you can make it go for a few before it goes away. Its more of a feeling than a sound. It's definitely within something else, as the sound is far away feeling thru the scope.

I saw: cracked/destroyed steering rack boots, but the ball joints, and control arm joints look as okay as I can see. As far as I could tell the rack shafts don't look bad either. There is a barely perceptible rack movement, but hardly a 1/32 of an inch.. barely visible. There are no leaks from the rack. The sound is inboard of the rack-end fittings. I can just listen for a sharper sound with the scope, and it is not outboard, but somewhere near either the rack or above it within the body.

The only other clue is in the driver's side rack end fitting ( wheel BallJointC-control arm--]--Rack ) (at the "-]" there is a rubber fitting, that shows a barely perceptible movement... looseness, but it doesn't sound like the sound is originating there...

So, I am still a bit lost, but I don't think it is ball joints...

Is there a good in-car test for rack wear?

Any other bets?

 

I had a similar situation. First check up under the dash to make sure your splined coupling is O.K. My situation was some free play at the steering wheel, also, the wheel needed help to get back to center while driving. The cause was a totally separated rack boot on one side. Over time, crap must have accumulated and caused the problem. I replaced the steering rack and this solved the problem.

 

The only time I had something similar was when I had the whole front suspension apart, and didn't tighten the ball joint nut at the hub all the way. It was fine when I took it out for a shake down, but as I was driving, it would get loose. Good luck.

 

I would first check the car with both front end up in the air and the wheels off. I would inspect everything, looking for loose items and also wiggle everything. The suspension shouldn't move or rattle when you giggle it. If you don't find anything obvious, I would then have an assistant move the steering wheel while you watch from underneath. Looking for things that are not moving in sync with the rest.