Steering woes

[hiho]

Hi everyone,

Now that ive got my GLD back on the road, it seems to have worn out while it wasnt being used. There is a very slight wobble in the steering wheel at some speeds that becomes pronounced when cornering to the right at speet (diesel speed that is). Ive checked the front tyres and they appear to be sound.. Also it had a wheel alignment 10k kms ago. It is steering slightly to the right also.
Any ideas for further investigation are much appreciated.

[blackgti1.8]

Hmm - check all your steering ball joints for starters - there's a ball joint on
each end of both steering arms. Then check steering rack pinion adjustment, and the bush in the (near-side) end of the steering rack.
Also check the ball joints on the wishbones as well...

Basically, look for anything loose

[hiho]

Thanks blackgti

[Golf Loon]

Tie rod end I suspect

[ontarv]

check your tyre pressures aswell
if you can't find anything mechanical wrong
rotate your tyres see if it changes
the reason cars pull left or right 80 % of the
time is tyres
i'd suspect the tyre wall has gone soft if you
haven't used the car in a while, a definate if you
have wobble at low speeds eg : 0 to 40 kph

[hiho]

Thanks dudes,

I had the car up yesterday and checked for anything loose or with play and couldnt find anything. Ill next rotate the tyres. Could it be the strut top bearings and how do i check them??

Cheers
Matt

[Volvo Driver]

Also how you do the wheel nuts up is important, it has to be opposites to make it even.

[86gti]

also worth a look is how much play is in your steering rack.
my MK1 didnt wobble, but it had about a quater of a turn before it had any input, lol.
the rack wears a bit and the pinion becomes loose fit on the rack.
easy to ajust tho