Steering issue

[mathew lisett]

Ok so when i bought the car (mind you i had it collected from the seller), i had to have the steering wheel corrected as it was in the left hand direction and pointing at 7pm.

anyways, ive noticed an issue but the local garage says the steering is fine but i suspect i dont have an issue.

so the steering wheel doesnt correspond with the wheels turning, ie you have a ton more turn on the steering wheel on the left side than what you do on the right, the turning circle for the car isnt great , but when you go around the simplest of bends like a corner of a roundabout and you only have a slight turn, the left side of the steering wheel will go from say straight across (9-3)and less than 20 ft later will be pointing at i think (gone from 9 ends up at 2).

you could move the steering wheel when the car is in motion or at stand still (say 9 to 11 distance) and the wheels will barely move.

now with my old toyota carina, when you steered with that thing you would know for sure when it was turning and it would give you confidence that when you have turned to a position that the wheels would turn to that position.

so question being, whats wrong with it...

 

[Charlie Farley]

it sounds a bit odd frankly, maybe prudent to get it checked again by reputable steering specialist.
if the steering wheel had been removed , the wheels re-aligned straight ahead then the steering wheel refitted and there were no other issues with your rack or other steering parts, you should'nt have any probs, i think you need to get all it rechecked properly and go from there.

 

[mathew lisett]

the garage i normally go to said they drove the car and found no issues, but to me the steering just isnt corresponding to the wheels. as i gave an example to them ill say it here.

with my old car if there was a situation that i needed to confidently position the car and KNOW the car will react accordingly, i know it will do what i tell it to via the turn of the steering wheel.

now with this a4, if i test the steering and drive in a straight line and move the steering wheel in a back and fourth motion ( imagine the left side being sent to the 10 and then 8 position, and the right doing the same for 2 and 4) i could do this and i would literally get no reaction.

it seems its more the left turning side than the right and the turning circle of the car i don't think is as it should be.

so since im in Salisbury, anybody know where i could take the car, i should i simply ask Audi to look at the steering etc?

 

[Mike_B]

It does sound like you need a second opinion.

 

[Mike_B]

Just for interest, I can tell you that (in both directions) I get marginally under one and a half turns of the steering wheel to get full lock. For clarity, this is based on the bottom of the wheel ending up at approx the 11 o'clock position for full right lock, approx 1 o'clock for full left lock. When driving at approx 40 mph it is possible to move the wheel as you've described with some movement of the front of the car. Obviously if you hold the wheel at (say) 8 o'clock then the car will veer to the left. These cars may just have heavier steering than you are used to?

The only other possibility is that (perhaps?) the car has had steering components replaced and possibly not properly aligned relative to the steering rack / steering wheel being in the central position.

Do please come back and tell us the outcome. I hope this helps.

 

[mathew lisett]

i highly doubt it, ive come from driving a Toyota Carina lol. so going from that to this is like shoving around a 32kg weight and then using a bag of a sugar.

its the steering components that im thinking. but im still waiting to hear from audi to when i can book it in for all the car to be investigated

 

[Charlie Farley]

It may possibly be an internal issue with your steering rack, they are known to have issues, maybe there is one with yours.

 

[mathew lisett]

ok so heres tonight's shot, i randomly spotted how the wheels were like in accordance with the steering wheel and im pretty sure those wheels are supposed to be far more turned than they are in these shots.

 

[stu-evans]

Is that full lock? If so, you've deffo got a problem! Sorry can't help more than that..... Looks like the rack has the wrong ratio.

 

[SDHA4SLine]

Could it be something as simple (and scarily dangerous!!!) as the steering wheel slipping on the column or I shaft slipping at either end?

Maybe try turning steering wheel with engine off (no assistance) to see if it slips with some force.

 

[mathew lisett]

Is that full lock? If so, you've deffo got a problem! Sorry can't help more than that..... Looks like the rack has the wrong ratio.

thats with turning the steering wheel until its upside down (cant explain it another way)

 

[SDHA4SLine]

As mentioned above... another good reference for you would be align wheels straight then do full lock right & full lock left. How many turns? Is it the same for both centre to full lock right and centre to full lock left?

 

[mathew lisett]

Ok so here they are, right left (full lock both) straight as i was parked at the shops.

and then some more shots at the garage with the wheels straight.

 

[Charlie Farley]

I really think you need to get it looked at properly to be honest and see what the result's are, if you are sure there is a problem then the steering need's to be looked at and if needbe all reset to ensure it is all aligned and steering wheel centralised properly.
may cost a couple of pounds but i think it best in the long run.

 

[Mike_B]

ok so heres tonight's shot, i randomly spotted how the wheels were like in accordance with the steering wheel and im pretty sure those wheels are supposed to be far more turned than they are in these shots.

Mine is exactly the same. I'm assuming that what you have done is rotate the s/wheel 180 degrees. (Half a turn / you say the bottom is now at the top).

From your other pictures, they look fine. But assuming that when you are driving in a straight line, the s/wheel is canted as per the pic where you say the wheels are pointing straight ahead, then it is most certainly misaligned.

Is it properly aligned when you are actually driving?

For your own peace of mind if nothing else, you need an expert opinion.

 

[SDHA4SLine]

1 1/2 turns centre to full lock either way ?

 

[mathew lisett]

didnt count the turns to be honest since the ****** thign was very heavy and a struggle for my back and arms to turn.. but yes full lock both ways.

oh and an update as i did a screen shot of the text's between myself and the previous owner.

he stated he replaced the suspension arms with aluminum ones that cost him £300 (at his own expensive mind ...yeah it seems i should have been impressed by this) and he stated he just didnt get the tracking sorted.

but im wondering there must be something either wrong with the suspension arms , simply because i had tracking done to get the steering wheel more to the straight centre than before and that hasnt been the answer.

 

[Charlie Farley]

i think you may have answered your own question mate in as much as the previous owner had changed parts of the steering and or other related parts and did not get it all adjusted afterwards, this suggest's to me something is out of alighment or similar issue, normally when replacing these types of parts that are part of the suspension or steering and that may effect steering setup everything should be checked and adjusted accordingly.
I still think you need to get it looked at properly by a decent garage to sortb out whats at fault, otherwise you can go on till the cows come home and still not get a satisfactory solution to things.

 

[Charlie Farley]

is your power steering not working mate, you should be able to rotate the steering wheel eitherway with one hand with ease, why try and move it manuallly as its not going to move any more or lesss without the power steering pump running, if your having issues with turning the steering with the engine running or its heavy you have a rack or pump problem or both.

 

[mathew lisett]

is your power steering not working mate, you should be able to rotate the steering wheel eitherway with one hand with ease, why try and move it manuallly as its not going to move any more or lesss without the power steering pump running, if your having issues with turning the steering with the engine running or its heavy you have a rack or pump problem or both.

Where the best place to look for suspension arms,specificaly for tuned ones. If i need to replace i want to go for better than normal

 

[Mike_B]

didnt count the turns to be honest since the ****** thign was very heavy and a struggle for my back and arms to turn.. but yes full lock

he stated he replaced the suspension arms with aluminum ones that cost him £300 (at his own expensive mind ...yeah it seems i should have been impressed by this) and he stated he just didnt get the tracking sorted.

but im wondering there must be something either wrong with the suspension arms , simply because i had tracking done to get the steering wheel more to the straight centre than before and that hasnt been the answer.

Heavy? Engine running or not? If the engine is running you should be able to turn the wheel with one finger. If it wasn't, of course it'll be heavy.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but the suspension components are aluminium as standard.

I think you need to get this car checked by someone/place who knows what they're doing.

 

[mathew lisett]

Heavy? Engine running or not? If the engine is running you should be able to turn the wheel with one finger. If it wasn't, of course it'll be heavy.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but the suspension components are aluminium as standard.

I think you need to get this car checked by someone/place who knows what they're doing.

i turned the steering as advised here, maybe i didnt understand correctly

Maybe try turning steering wheel with engine off (no assistance) to see if it slips with some force.

 

[Mike_B]

He was suggesting you do this to see if there was any chance the steering wheel was slipping on the splines. Extremely unlikely I'd say.

 

[mathew lisett]

He was suggesting you do this to see if there was any chance the steering wheel was slipping on the splines. Extremely unlikely I'd say.

ah. the steering moves easily when the engine is on. although could bed said that it rotates too much in accordance with what the wheels actually do,

 

[Mike_B]

Based on the pictures you posted, it seems fine. As I noted earlier. Your wheel position relative to the s/wheel position would be similar to mine.

 

[mathew lisett]

Ok so as im focusing more on the feel and behaviour of the steering. Im noticing turning to the left the steering wheel is heavier than turning to the right specifically when driving slower.

 

[Charlie Farley]

To be honest mate, you can go on till the cows come home second guessing what the problem is and what's causing it, at the end of the day the only deffinative answer is that, if your are sure there is a problem and you don't know what it is or how to resolve it, then get it all checked over by a reputable steering repair company or garage that know about audi's, otherwise i think you're just going round in circles with it getting now where fast.

 

[mathew lisett]

Yeah i know,just though somebody might say its the pump etc .

Ok so anybody you know in salisbury that does this

 

[Charlie Farley]

it could be one thing at fault or several,or, maybe nothing at all , or you maybe starting to convince yourself there is a problem when there isnt.
good luck with it.

 

[Bigmac81]

Whats your tyres like as well are they a matched set on the front and have the right pressures? Can make a big difference to how the car feels as well

 

[Mike_B]

At the risk of going round in circles - -

Has the tracking been checked? You said "i had to have the steering wheel corrected" - what was done? Was the wheel removed and repositioned, or was the tracking checked and aligned, resulting in the wheel then being correctly orientated?

It seems that there has been work done on the suspension - was this some amateur mechanic using cheap eBay parts, or a suitably experienced tech who knew what they were doing, and used quality or genuine Audi parts?

You've said your garage says it's fine. But clearly you think something is wrong and several folk here are saying take it to Audi or an independent who knows these cars. I realise you've asked for suggestions / recommendations but no one is seemingly able to help with that. I don't know the area but a quick search found me two independents in the Salisbury area who profess to be specialists in Audi and /or German cars, as well as the local Audi dealer. Me, I'd bite the bullet and go to Audi.

Hope you get this sorted.