My son describes this issue: When turning the steering wheel to the right from straight ahead when driving, resistance is felt. Applying more pressure to the wheel overcomes the resistance, and then it lessens as the wheel continues to be turned more. He says it gradually goes away as the car warms up. Doesn't happen turning left. Because of that, I'm thinking steering rack. I suppose it could be a strut bearing. Ball joints are relatively new, so I'm discounting that possibility. What do you think? Anyone experienced this?
Resistance felt in steering turning right
- Thread starter itwonder
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Any difference in effort with change in rpm? typically, if resistance is felt at idle but goes away at 1500-2000 rpm, that is a defining symptom of steering rack issues. Not sure how VAPS could affect a one-sided problem, I suppose you can keep it as a fallback idea. Not thinking fluid either coz of the one-sided-ness.
Suspension bits are definitely worth checking, hard to say what could be involved, without any noises. There are several poor quality aftermarket suppliers out there, but I don't think someone of your knowledge level and experience would have used them. People do that on the Edge all the time, and OEM/Moog are usually the way to go. OEM by far.
Suspension bits are definitely worth checking, hard to say what could be involved, without any noises. There are several poor quality aftermarket suppliers out there, but I don't think someone of your knowledge level and experience would have used them. People do that on the Edge all the time, and OEM/Moog are usually the way to go. OEM by far.
Update on the problem. He says the resistance is not felt when sitting still. It is first felt around 10-15 MPH, and is pretty bad by 30 MPH. He says "I can either go straight or change lanes to the right; hard to move right a little". Its worst when cold, improves as the car warms up. He describes a thump type of noise when the steering overcomes the resistance moving right. The rack is a TRW distributor-closeout from Rockauto a few years ago. This is a two-port rack; no VAPs on this car as far as I know. I'll have him check at different RPMs; good idea SHOdded.
sperold
Last to Know
It doesn't sound like a rack issue.
Look for something unusual in the steering geometry. Are all the replaced components like ball joints from the SHO or police options?
Look for something unusual in the steering geometry. Are all the replaced components like ball joints from the SHO or police options?
I had one like that, and I decided that the issue was the sensor on the steering shaft that detects how much steering effort you are putting in, so it knows how much boost to add. I decided that it was not worth changing the rack for that, since it was just an annoyance to me. In my case it was also much more noticeable in one direction than the other, but I don't recall which direction was worse.
Disconnecting the vaps so it is always on high boost will make it less noticeable, but also make it a little more twitchy at high speeds.
Disconnecting the vaps so it is always on high boost will make it less noticeable, but also make it a little more twitchy at high speeds.
No Vaps on this year SHO; first year for Vaps was '93. Yes, all suspension parts are quality stuff. Last suspension/steering work was inner tie rod ends, changed because the ones that came on the rebuilt rack were junk, but that was thousands of miles ago and everything has been fine up until now. The only recent work was replacing a rear brake line.
mavericksav
SHO Member
My 1991 has VAPS. Rack is changed but electronic module is still behind dashboard.
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