23 replies to this topic

[C70drvr]

Strange, I got back in my car after it had sat for 3 hours, and the steering felt heavy and chunky.
It won't go away and is unpleasant. Steering fluid is fine.

[DHV70]

This is a legitimate question here...

Are you sure its not just you?

I've had days or times where I got in my car, and it just didn't feel right, even when it was.

There was one time I legitimately thought I had forgotten how to drive stick.

[yangotang]

DHV70, on 02 October 2009 - 04:58 AM, said:

There was one time I legitimately thought I had forgotten how to drive stick.

That's what she said.

PS Pump failure?

[Bah]

DHV70, on 02 October 2009 - 04:58 AM, said:

This is a legitimate question here...

Are you sure its not just you?

I've had days or times where I got in my car, and it just didn't feel right, even when it was.

There was one time I legitimately thought I had forgotten how to drive stick.

That happened to me today except it was with the seat....I felt like someone had moved it and i was 100% uncomfortable..but i knew i was the only one who drove it lol...so i left it alone,I drove funky and like crap...was all over the place. Then i got out of the car, got my food, then got back in and drove fine. Everyone else was driving crazy still though lol

If its not you, your pump mighta taken a dump

[C70drvr]

The moment I noticed it, I was pulling away from my drive way and smelled a slight "fluidy" smell. It could have come from the truck a few car lengths in front of me though. Also, while standing outside the car with it idling, my friend and I heard a quick little grog or something come from the engine. Only lasted a second but he noticed it too. The steering still feels a tad heavy, but not as bad as when I first got in it earlier tonight. At that time, there was definitely a something not right. It was very difficult to turn the wheel with one and and felt chunky. As in, while turning it in one motion, it would change from tight to smooth rapidly as the wheel went around.

I remember feeling this on my buddy's 855 Turbo last winter. Only his case was much worse. Apparently, that problem he had just went away. My guess is it may have something to do with the colder weather.

[FCP Groton]

If it is starting to get better, then maybe there way just some air in the rack or in a line.

[AlanM]

One more thing to check. You describe the steering as both heavy and "chunky." That's how I'd describe something that happened a few years back on my 850. Don't know if it will apply to your '98, but worth a look.

There was a sleeve bushing in the upper support for the steering column that slipped out, downward IIRC. Without it, the column sort of sagged a tiny bit, so the wheel felt somehow out of place, but it was not visually noticeable. When I drove, it felt like the weighting would pulse as the wheel turned. I had to take out the knee bolster and stand on my head in the footwell to find the problem. The fix took seconds, and it never recurred.

A remote possibility, but if everything else looks OK...

Good luck with it.

Al

[854TGA+]

Does your steering return after making a turn? Or will the vehicle continue to drive in circles after making a turn. U-joint on steering column seized?

[855]

is your pump making weird noises? Rack leaking? Also could be u joints in teh steering column. Mine acted up once then went away then came back with a vengance and wouldnt go away. Steering is fine for 1/4 turn then gets stiff as hell then goes back to smooth.......i believe there are 2 u joints. One under just on the hood side of the firewall and oone on the steering column up under the dash

[C70drvr]

I'm going to have to bump this thread. The problem hasn't gone away.

Symptoms:

- There is no noise coming from the car when steering.
- Fluid levels are topped up
- When I turn and let go of the wheel, it will return, but not all the way to the centre. Just about 1/4 turn from it. This is a lot worse when it's cold
- The steering is so heavy that when the car is cold, trying to turn with one had is somewhat painful.
- It is a sticky feeling in the wheel when turning it. Heavy, but not evenly heavy. There are some patches of give in the turning motion.
- I pulled the kick panel and checked for that possible slipped sleeve bushing. I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary on the cabin side of the firewall. Nearly snapped my neck trying to get the best angle under there.

[SaffC70]

i had a similar issue with my old 850, but the problem just went away after a few months

[7 VII 7]

My steering got heavy as soon as I changed the inner and outer tie rods in my car.... how weird is that?

[cbon]

Mine MIGHT have a little bit, too, when I changed both inners and outers, but I kinda think it might have been because the new boots were a lot stiffer and not as collapsible as the original boots.

edit: Oops, I tho't I was quoting/replying to 7 VII 7, but it didn't post that way, don't know what happened there.

[ACiancio]

it sounds like you don't have power steering. does the steering get easier as the car starts to move? if you turn the wheel all the way to one side you should hear the pump strain while you hold it at max and then quiet down when you let off. if your not hearing the pump strain you don't have any pressure on the rack and if the fluid is full I would call it a bad pump

[C70drvr]

7 VII 7, on 19 November 2009 - 04:05 AM, said:

My steering got heavy as soon as I changed the inner and outer tie rods in my car.... how weird is that?

The outer tie rod was the last thing I changed on the car before the steering got all f***ed up...

[Runamok]

C70drvr, on 19 November 2009 - 08:30 AM, said:

The outer tie rod was the last thing I changed on the car before the steering got all f***ed up...

Did you resolve this? My car is doing the same damn thing.

[7 VII 7]

Runamok, on 18 December 2009 - 12:27 AM, said:

Did you resolve this? My car is doing the same damn thing.

The only thing I could think of... the boots on the outer tie rods and ball joints are stiffer because they are new.. so that is what I am chocking it up to.

[Runamok]

7 VII 7, on 18 December 2009 - 03:16 PM, said:

The only thing I could think of... the boots on the outer tie rods and ball joints are stiffer because they are new.. so that is what I am chocking it up to.

I did tie rods on my car in June-July. This problem started about 2 weeks ago. I replaced the fluid in the PS reservoir and the problem has lessened but it's still a little stiff. The fluid was like tar so I'm going to replace it again tomorrow. The main problem seems to be that the stiffness occurs when re-centering the wheel after a turn.

[--Aaron--]

Maybe this thingy all crapped up?

http://volvospeed.co.../70steering.php

Shot in the dark...........good luck!

[Dave 54]

Could be the rack itself going bad and the directional valve is sticking and or binding?