Free play at steering wheel

[trefor]

I have a '95 PAS Chimaera. I'm sure it has recently started to have a little more free movement when I turn the steering wheel. i.e. with the ignition off, sit in the driver's seat and try to turn the wheel. I haven't measured the amount, but there is a definitely a tiny amount of free play before it 'stiffens up'. Around 1/2 inch either way at a guess (I will measure tonight). The car had a new rack fitted 5 years ago (When I got the car basically).

- Could this be an indication of an expensive PAS rack rebuild coming up?
- Could it be a problem with the steering column UJ (which I've never had done).
- Is there a limit to the free play allowed at MOT time? (next month for me).

Thanks for any hints/advice.

Trefor/.

[Lance]

I'm not a mechanic but every time I've had a problem like this in the past it's been worn ball joints on the track rod ends. Quite dangerous (they snap and your f***ed) and a major MOT failure. Cheap to fix though...£50 each? Get a mate to look at them while you wiggle the wheel

[plipton]

- Could it be a problem with the steering column UJ (which I've never had done).

Trefor/.

My UJ was replaced last year - it was stiff due to being positioned where road crud gets to it rather than going slack.

I would try Lance's idea first - any slack on the ball joints and you should replace them.

An extra check would be to reach in through the side window and wiggle the steering wheel and see if the wheels move left and right. In my experience there is always a slack spot until the tyres load up so if you can see both wheels moving chances are it's OK. If there's movement at the steering wheel and no movement at the wheels than look further.

As Lance says, you don't want to pop a BJ when you're driving.

[trefor]

Ta - track rod ends are an easy enough job - I should have thought about that myself. I had one snap on me once on my mk1 Escort (studentmobile) ... a nice guy gave me a ride to the local motorists discount to get another and I fitted it in 10 mins. There are decent people out there!

T/.

[GreenV8S]

I would check the top UJ in the steering column, it's a common point of failure. If you replace it, it's well worth adding a gator to protect the new one from heat/dirt, improves the life dramatically.

[the jiffle king]

If it is the steering rack, rather than getting TVR to do it, Andy at APM told me of a cheap place who do it for far less than the Blackpool price. If you need the number, let me know, or contact Andy.

I started a thread on steering rack to be re-conditioned about 4 weeks ago, so might be worth looking at that.

T-J-K

I'm here to help link added. www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=8&h=0&t=25428

>> Edited by ABBTVR (moderator) on Monday 3rd February 19:48