Heavy Steering on my S3....
Discussion
Having just purchased my first TVR and not ever having driven one before I was surprised to discover how heavy the steering is. When turning, it actually requires pulling back onto the straight and narrow, whereas my normal car goes some way to straightening itself when I accellerate away. Is this the norm with S3's...?
The cars history shows it had a refurbished steering rack some 2 years ago. Of course it could be my spindly hairdresser arms... advice appreciated...Paulo.
The cars history shows it had a refurbished steering rack some 2 years ago. Of course it could be my spindly hairdresser arms... advice appreciated...Paulo.
S3Paulo said:
Having just purchased my first TVR and not ever having driven one before I was surprised to discover how heavy the steering is. When turning, it actually requires pulling back onto the straight and narrow, whereas my normal car goes some way to straightening itself when I accellerate away. Is this the norm with S3's...?
The cars history shows it had a refurbished steering rack some 2 years ago. Of course it could be my spindly hairdresser arms... advice appreciated...Paulo.
The steering is heavy-ish at low speeds, but the steering should self-centre. Check the steering column UJs. For some reason it's usually the upper one that goes first. More details in the bible.
Or it may be a problem with the steering geometry...or the rack.
The steering on an S should only be stiff at parking speeds. I always found that both my S's were, if anything, a little light at speed. There is however a reasonable amount of feedback, which means the wheels should self-centre. It sounds as if you have one of the common faults which afflict S steering, the bulkhead bearing or upper UJ, both of which are covered at length in these pages. A couple of tips on diagnosis:
1) If you can put the front of the car on axle stands, the steering wheel should then turn with very little force. If it is still stiff, then this confirms that something is wrong.
2) Undo the single clamping bolt on the upper UJ on the triangular section of the column (Near the bulkhead and below the clutch master cylinder). This allows you to disconnect the UJ. The steering wheel is now not connected to anything, and should rotate freely. If not, then the bulkhead bearing needs replacing. On the other part of the linkage which runs forward to the rack, you will either be left with a freely articulating UJ, or a UJ ceased at a jaunty angle which takes a bit of force to articulate.
Be warned! The bolt you undid which attached the UJ has locking compound on the thread to prevent it becoming undone. In theory, this should be replaced rather than reused after it has been removed. In practice, unless somebody has already used it several times you can get away with reusing it BUT DO IT UP TIGHT AND RECHECK IT At INTERVALS UNTIL YOU ARE SURE IT IS NOT GOING TO COME LOOSE.
The UJ and the bulkhead bearing are both fairly easy to replace if necessary, the UJ being the easier of the two due to access. In my experience the bulkhead bearing goes more often, and I have a theory that it is related to another common S problem - the leaky master cylinder - as clutch fluid runs down the bulkhead and into the bearing.
>> Edited by rick.e on Wednesday 27th April 17:53
1) If you can put the front of the car on axle stands, the steering wheel should then turn with very little force. If it is still stiff, then this confirms that something is wrong.
2) Undo the single clamping bolt on the upper UJ on the triangular section of the column (Near the bulkhead and below the clutch master cylinder). This allows you to disconnect the UJ. The steering wheel is now not connected to anything, and should rotate freely. If not, then the bulkhead bearing needs replacing. On the other part of the linkage which runs forward to the rack, you will either be left with a freely articulating UJ, or a UJ ceased at a jaunty angle which takes a bit of force to articulate.
Be warned! The bolt you undid which attached the UJ has locking compound on the thread to prevent it becoming undone. In theory, this should be replaced rather than reused after it has been removed. In practice, unless somebody has already used it several times you can get away with reusing it BUT DO IT UP TIGHT AND RECHECK IT At INTERVALS UNTIL YOU ARE SURE IT IS NOT GOING TO COME LOOSE.
The UJ and the bulkhead bearing are both fairly easy to replace if necessary, the UJ being the easier of the two due to access. In my experience the bulkhead bearing goes more often, and I have a theory that it is related to another common S problem - the leaky master cylinder - as clutch fluid runs down the bulkhead and into the bearing.
>> Edited by rick.e on Wednesday 27th April 17:53
Gassing Station | S Series | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff