Alright, so this is the Audi 80 B3 from my in-laws, they've had it since new and it's seen it fair share of kms but its still a very solid and reliable car. Since I pretend to know stuff about cars (don't we all?) when something is wrong they ask my opinion, which is perfectly fine, but it has me stumped this time.
The problem is that at highway speeds the steering wheel shakes quite badly, when coasting it's worse than when accelerating but it's always there. Most of the obvious suspects have been checked by a local garage:
- wheels been swapped front to back
- wheels been balanced
- steering joints and ball joints are all checked and deemed okay.
- wheel bearings are also fine
So when I got asked if I had any other ideas I put it on a jack and started pulling on the front wheels. I immediately noticed a large amount of play at the upper spring perch so I thought I had found it and sent them back to the garage with orders to replace the upper rubber (?) spring perches.
It came back however, not with new spring perches, but with a note saying the steering rack was worn and needed replacing and the play in the bushes was normal.
So, I'm a bit stumped, I really thought that no play whatsoever was allowed in the spring perches (it was jacked up, so no load on the wheel) and that all play was front to back, not left right due to worn rack.
On with the questions then;
- How much, if any, play is allowed in the top mounts/spring perches? (its not rotten metal but perished rubber)
- Can a worn rack cause a vibrating steering wheel? Always thought it would feel more like a worn steering joint and cause a wandering car?
The problem is that at highway speeds the steering wheel shakes quite badly, when coasting it's worse than when accelerating but it's always there. Most of the obvious suspects have been checked by a local garage:
- wheels been swapped front to back
- wheels been balanced
- steering joints and ball joints are all checked and deemed okay.
- wheel bearings are also fine
So when I got asked if I had any other ideas I put it on a jack and started pulling on the front wheels. I immediately noticed a large amount of play at the upper spring perch so I thought I had found it and sent them back to the garage with orders to replace the upper rubber (?) spring perches.
It came back however, not with new spring perches, but with a note saying the steering rack was worn and needed replacing and the play in the bushes was normal.
So, I'm a bit stumped, I really thought that no play whatsoever was allowed in the spring perches (it was jacked up, so no load on the wheel) and that all play was front to back, not left right due to worn rack.
On with the questions then;
- How much, if any, play is allowed in the top mounts/spring perches? (its not rotten metal but perished rubber)
- Can a worn rack cause a vibrating steering wheel? Always thought it would feel more like a worn steering joint and cause a wandering car?
