Steering wheel shifting position (STRANGE)
05-20-2009, 03:45 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Steering wheel shifting position (STRANGE)
I am experiencing a very strange thing with my steering wheel. I just had my car aligned and the steering wheel was replaced at the same time with a 3 spoke OEM unit.
The steering wheel shift from time to time from being centered to pointing to the right around 30 degrees. It handles the same tracks the same but this is very concerning to me since I have this happen to me on the track two days ago and I have another event this coming Tuesday.
The car handled very well but the crooked steering wheel thing is not logical. The spline on the wheel is fine and the steering responsiveness is tight. The ball joint and the steering rack ALL look to be in good condition.
Any ideas...i know it sounds strange but it is happening! My instructor even made the comment that my wheel is WAY off.
The weird thing is that it will come back to straight for many miles then get crooked again.
The steering wheel shift from time to time from being centered to pointing to the right around 30 degrees. It handles the same tracks the same but this is very concerning to me since I have this happen to me on the track two days ago and I have another event this coming Tuesday.
The car handled very well but the crooked steering wheel thing is not logical. The spline on the wheel is fine and the steering responsiveness is tight. The ball joint and the steering rack ALL look to be in good condition.
Any ideas...i know it sounds strange but it is happening! My instructor even made the comment that my wheel is WAY off.
The weird thing is that it will come back to straight for many miles then get crooked again.
05-20-2009, 05:51 PM
#2
5th Gear
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Your track rod ends ((front toe links) that connect the steering rack to the hub are breaking down. The metal rods are connected by a rubber block. The rubber breaks down and gradually loses grip on the metal rod.
Hope this helps. You can fit motorsport parts which are solid metal and do not have a rubber intermediate piece. More feel, but more wheel kickback
Hope this helps. You can fit motorsport parts which are solid metal and do not have a rubber intermediate piece. More feel, but more wheel kickback
05-20-2009, 07:34 PM
#3
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There was an extensive link some time ago, detailing how to pin the rod ends and effectively make them solid, if you can get search to work.
05-20-2009, 09:20 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
When I was a younger whippersnapper 
, I had a similar experience with a 928: after a fresh alignment, the steering wheel kept moving anti clockwise to keep the car tracking straight down the road. The Porsche dealerships advice was for me to pull the steering wheel and recenter it to correct the condition 
...was my reaction .... but before this truely becomes a shaggy dog story, the cause was a loose lock nut on the caster eccentric . If caster moves, toe moves - ergo, the steering wheel center position shifts.
The 993 front end set up is different; however, as you have just had an alignment, it may be wise to jack up each corner and do a little 'wiggling' to affirm that front caster ( lower ball joint) and front camber ( upper bolt through the strut bracket, which acts as a quasi eccentric) are locked down. If not, they will dance around enough that the front toe setting varies as their geometries are all mutually dependant ..... which drives the steering wheel off center.
The 993 rear can also 'steer' the car: the one that caught me out was the kinematic arm adjuster: it does not have a normal eccentric as do the rear toe and camber - rather a 'half' eccentric that moves the adjuster through bolt in an enclosed recess via a 'slider' over a slot on the hidden side:: if that slider seizes in the recess, then the adjuster bolt is torqued down at an odd angle ..... which works perfectly well for ~ 5 miles leaving the alignment rack before vibration loosens it
.
What then follows is that the kinematic link starts flopping around - and this causes the rear camber to go nutz!! .... which steers the car, so the steering wheel moves to correct it.
All possibilities - but keyed on " what was last played with" - your alignment.
Odds are, there are two loose nuts - one on your suspension, and the second operating the wrenches under an alignment machine. No offence to any Pros, just my $ 0.02 comment.
, I had a similar experience with a 928: after a fresh alignment, the steering wheel kept moving anti clockwise to keep the car tracking straight down the road. The Porsche dealerships advice was for me to pull the steering wheel and recenter it to correct the condition ...was my reaction .... but before this truely becomes a shaggy dog story, the cause was a loose lock nut on the caster eccentric . If caster moves, toe moves - ergo, the steering wheel center position shifts.The 993 front end set up is different; however, as you have just had an alignment, it may be wise to jack up each corner and do a little 'wiggling' to affirm that front caster ( lower ball joint) and front camber ( upper bolt through the strut bracket, which acts as a quasi eccentric) are locked down. If not, they will dance around enough that the front toe setting varies as their geometries are all mutually dependant ..... which drives the steering wheel off center.
The 993 rear can also 'steer' the car: the one that caught me out was the kinematic arm adjuster: it does not have a normal eccentric as do the rear toe and camber - rather a 'half' eccentric that moves the adjuster through bolt in an enclosed recess via a 'slider' over a slot on the hidden side:: if that slider seizes in the recess, then the adjuster bolt is torqued down at an odd angle ..... which works perfectly well for ~ 5 miles leaving the alignment rack before vibration loosens it
.What then follows is that the kinematic link starts flopping around - and this causes the rear camber to go nutz!! .... which steers the car, so the steering wheel moves to correct it.
All possibilities - but keyed on " what was last played with" - your alignment.
Odds are, there are two loose nuts - one on your suspension, and the second operating the wrenches under an alignment machine. No offence to any Pros, just my $ 0.02 comment.
05-20-2009, 10:26 PM
#6
Racer
Thread Starter
It is going back to have the alignment checked tomorrow. I will report what he finds. I do believe it is an alignment issue since all was well just before the alignment.
