steering problem.

[Philly]

Alright.. maybe someone can help me cause this is driving me NUTS.

i should mention the car is fine when it warms up..

but when its cold and whenever i turn the wheel for a corner, i get a hateful WHINING/SCREETCHING/almost sounds 'grindy'.. im not 100% sure how to describe it... but the noise varies by the amount the wheel is turned/how quick its turned/etc etc... its fairly loud... mostly when taking 90' corners from a stop sign... its barely noticeable when the car is moving at any speed over 40km/h.... and feels perfectly normal when going in straight or fairly straight.
I can feel it in the wheel too while im getting the noise... almost like 'twitches' is the best way i can describe it... the wheel doesn't fight me at all but i can feel it 'twitch' back a little bit at a constant intervals throughout the turning of the wheel....

any ideas that i should look into?
the powersteering is ran by the serpentine belt on the engine right? on cold mornings before this problem with my steering, the belt would hum and haa a little, but normal when warmed up as well... could that be it?

suggestions please!

[DustenT]

Check your power steering fluid level. Sounds like you are low or out.

[Philly]

lmao.. thanks dusten
you know i thought about that when it first started but then it completely slipped my mind... what a bonehead i am... i gaurentee thats it.... ill check tommorrow.
i don't get under the hood much with a 55+ hr work week, -10 weather and no hood shocks.. lol

[weezer]

If it's moaning, almost grinding when turning, it's the front wheel bearings, which are sealed and have to be replaced as a whole. I have the same problem and will probably have to replace both fronts as the weather gets warmer.
The parts cost about $80.00 per side including the washers and dust cover at Pelican.

[zboot]

try turning the wheel when you're at a stop. Not enough that power steering kicks in, just short quick bursts. Do you still get the sound? My wheel squeaks when it's cold too but in my case, its not indicative of any serious problems

[Philly]

it is not the power steering fluid.

yes, the wheel still makes the noise when parked... identically to when moving...
me and my buddy had a quick lookover at the gas station, but it we were inconclusive...

Could the PS pump itself cause this??

any other ideas??
I can fix it myself, its just a matter of diagnosing the problem!

[Philly]

and it may very well be the bearings fariz, im not sure.
any way you can get a sound clip of this hateful noise, so i can see if its similar?




as i said, the car is fine once the steering is warmed up...
if the engine is warm but not driven, it will still make the sound... but it stops after i take a few corners, and i can park it and turn the wheel and there is no more noise...... would this knock out bearings as a potential problem???

[zboot]

Originally Posted by rwd_king

and it may very well be the bearings fariz, im not sure.
any way you can get a sound clip of this hateful noise, so i can see if its similar?

Unfortunately I can't. I picked up my car in MA a couple weeks ago and stopped in Pittsburgh to visit a friend. Now that it's home in tallahassee, its probably going to be a long time before it's cold enough. . .

I guess this is more evidence that it's a cold weather issue since I've never heard the squeak here in Tallahassee.

[3DGE]

I think its the balljoints. For my ti I need new bushings and balljoints for teh front. I am also getting my tranny fluid checked. If thoes 3 dont fix my issue IDK what i should do.

Do you drive a auto or manual?

[zboot]

Originally Posted by 3DGE

I think its the balljoints. For my ti I need new bushings and balljoints for teh front. I am also getting my tranny fluid checked. If thoes 3 dont fix my issue IDK what i should do.

Do you drive a auto or manual?

Mine is manual. The reason I asked about doing the short quick turns of the steering wheel when stopped is because that procedure would isolate whether or not the issue was solely at the wheel or further along that linkage. With those small quick turns when stopped, your wheels should pretty much not move since you're essentially just taking up the slack in your steering wheel. So, I'm inclined to think it's not balljoints.

[Philly]

definitly not ball joints for my case.... ball joints don't make that kind of sound.... plus my front ball joints were replaced about 15,000 kms ago.

its a steady high pitched hum/whine noise. not a low clunk noise like a bj... and balljoints wouldn't stop making the noise once the car took a few turns.

[zboot]

Originally Posted by rwd_king

definitly not ball joints for my case.... ball joints don't make that kind of sound.... plus my front ball joints were replaced about 15,000 kms ago.

its a steady high pitched hum/whine noise. not a low clunk noise like a bj... and balljoints wouldn't stop making the noise once the car took a few turns.

exactly. I'm guessing it's an age thing with our steering wheels. Mine is the original stock (98' ti w/ 120k miles)

[Philly]

after a little searching..
i found this.. almost describes my problem to a tee.

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...t=12521&page=1

Dusten, what ever happened to your problem? or anyone else who had a similar problem... was it the rack?

[zboot]

Originally Posted by rwd_king

after a little searching..
i found this.. almost describes my problem to a tee.

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthrea...t=12521&page=1

Dusten, what ever happened to your problem? or anyone else who had a similar problem... was it the rack?

Cool, I'm glad you're closer to a solution

[bullmand]

You're going to think I'm crazy, but it could be in the steering column itself. There's a spring in there that can bind up and make all kinds of racket. I helped a friend try to get his to quiet down. We ended up just spraying a bunch of lube in there as it's almost impossible to get to. Check the diagram here.
It's number 9 and it gets rusty and hangs up in part number 10. It's worth checking since the fix is cheap and easy. Good luck.