'Lumpy' feeling steering.

[whitevanman88]

Don't know if this is a problem or not, but recently I've noticed that the steering on my car feels 'lumpy' at speed. It only happens around the centre of the lock, mostly when turning mildly towards the left.

It's not lumpy as the wheels go around, but the actual motion of the steering wheel feels lumpy.

Any ideas?

[dern]

Check your power steering fluid levels.

[whitevanman88]

dern said:

Check your power steering fluid levels.

Checked, I'm afraid. All as it should be.

[MJK 24]

Check the tension of the power steering belt.

[whitevanman88]

MJK 24 said:

Check the tension of the power steering belt.

I assume that's driven from the aux belt?

[davepoth]

Check for tyre pressure in the front tyres, then for any wheel damage. Also check the steering gear/driveshafts if fitted, and grease them if necessary.

[whitevanman88]

davepoth said:

Check for tyre pressure in the front tyres, then for any wheel damage. Also check the steering gear/driveshafts if fitted, and grease them if necessary.

OK here's what I've done:

Tyre Pressures
Checked for physical tyre damage
Checked for damage to front wheels
Checked PS flud
Checked Aux belt (which I believe the pump runs from)
Everything behind the wheels looks connected / not bent / split.

It's come on gradually over the last few hundred miles, mostly motorway miles.

[dern]

The only other think I can think of but it's quite unlikely is that the pump is pulling in air from somewhere. Are the hoses to the pump in good nick and are they secured to the reservoir (if it's separate) properly so that air can't get in.

If it's not that then I think you need to get the front wheel of the ground and see if you can feel this lumpy feeling with the engine running and without so you can possibly start to isolate the rack, pump, steering column and so on.

Edited by dern on Tuesday 12th January 09:26

[whitevanman88]

dern said:

The only other think I can think of but it's quite unlikely is that the pump is pulling in air from somewhere. Are the hoses to the pump in good nick and are they secured to the reservoir (if it's separate) properly so that air can't get in.

If it's not that then I think you need to get the front wheel of the ground and see if you can feel this lumpy feeling with the engine running and without so you can possibly start to isolate the rack, pump, steering column and so on.

Edited by dern on Tuesday 12th January 09:26

Had the old axle stands out this morning. No dodgy noises when the wheels are turned, and can't feel the lumpiness when the wheels are stationary (or up in the air).

It only seems to happen when load is on them / vehicle is on the move.

Will go and look at the condition of the hoses.

Car was only MOT'd a month ago. Most annoying.

[Orb the Impaler]

My SL is currently in being fixed for a PAS problem £££££££££ and it also had that "lumpy" feel. When reading up on it it appeared that one of the causes could be something called a "flow control valve" which is sticking.

(In my case I think my PAS is simply fooked).

[TwistingMyMelon]

Sure its not the road surfaces? Ice , slsush and grit changeing the way the steering feels?

[dern]

whitevanman88 said:

It only seems to happen when load is on them / vehicle is on the move.

In that case pull the pump belt off and take it up the road. Hopefully it won't be so heavy to steer it'll not mask the lumpy feeling you're getting. Then you can decide whether it's the mechanical bits or the pas bits I guess.

[eji4202]

Hello,
I have and Audi A4 B5 Quattro that has developed a lumpy steering issue at speed.
It is hard to keep in a straight line as the steering is harder to correct at speed.
Its fine at low speeds or stationery though.
Did you find out what your issue was?