Turn Right Now!!!!!

[British Bob]

Hi,

Every morning I start my car , the steering wheel will turn to the left as it should perfectly with power. It will not however turn to the right with any kind of assistance until after giving myself a hernia for about 20 seconds when suddenly the problem goes away and the car runns fine all day.

Whats going on!!!!

Any body know what I need to do under the hood????

Thanks in advance

British Bob. :confused :bang :eyerole

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

Sounds like the return valve on one side of the rack is sticking.

I have never had a Vette rack apart but their are only so many ways you can build one.

Power steering is one of those things that really does require special tools. I would pull the rack out and take it to a steering shop for a rebuild. I think that you could mark the tie-rod ends before you back them off and save yourself a front alignment when you put it back together.

I’ll have a look under mine tonight and see how big a job it is going to be.

Check with Patrick at www.arton.nl he might sell you a used one for less than the price of a rebuild.

 

[maxrevs85]

You can buy complete rebuilt one at most auto parts stores for about $250 .Its much easier way to go. I got mine at a local parts store.

 

[maxrevs85]

Ok :gap I just noticed where your from. You can order the a new one form www.madirect.com or www.ecklers.com
About the same price.

 

[British Bob]

Steering

Thanks for all of that , Do you think that a quick system flush would work????


Cheers

British Bob

 

[evolution]

I had an incidence like this. It was this plastic cover/cap thing that encases the steering shaft joint right out of the firewall. It had come loose, or I didnt put it on correctly when I last played with it, I side with the latter. Anyhow, When it slipped loose, and made it a bear to turn, nearly impossible. Might be the cause or at least something to check.

 

[British Bob]

Plastic thingy

Thanks mate, I will check it out.

British Bob

 

[maxrevs85]

Flushing wont hurt. Clean is always good. Its not unusual to have to change the rack and pinion . I dont how many miles you have . I had 113000 miles when I changed it . But then I went thru the whole suspension and decided to do it then. In my humble opinion, it would bother me. Steering woes are common when they get on in years and miles.

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

I put the Vette up on the rack and had a look at the steering.
It`s a piece of cake. No more than 2 hours work with time leftover to pop down to your local. If you do not have access to a lift some jack stands should get it high enough.
Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Vrotate]

Cold steering syndrome

I had an 85 that would stick going either way then finally move with a lot of force. Only happened when I first started the car. Especially in cold weather.

I flushed the system and replaced the power steering pump. Neither helped. Finally I had to replace the rack. Didn't have a problem after that.

It is a fairly common problem on high mileage vettes I understand.

Everyday Vette

 

[c4cruiser]

A malady that owners of older C4's call "Morning Sickness". The fix is replacing the steering rack.

 

[DkBG]

My 84 did that with 30,000 mi. on it and only 3 years old . Cliff

 

[BigRed]

I got the "dirty" on whats happening to our racks. I guess what happens is after enough time the heat from the engine/Steering mechanism warps the aluminum sheath surrounding the steel making up the Rack. After the aluminum warps the steel shafts inside bind on the aluminum and are hard to move Therefore you got stiff and loose steering.

Without a doubt replace the rack and while your doing it half your fluid is going to fall out...let it with a pail and drain out the pump as well. Take a good tough rag and try to clean out the reserve on the pump. Install the new rack with new fluid. Turn the wheel like 20 times to each side (Left and right) and keep filling the power steering. (Your letting the air out and fluid in)

After this you won't have a problem actually you'll be impressed with the new lost performace!

YOU WILL NEED AN ALIGNMENT! Get it done no questions asked.

 

[vms4evr]

It's not just a Vette thing. It's a GM thing from the mid-80s... My 85 Olds Delta 88 only ever needed 1 major part replacing. Guess which part. Same problem you describe. You can't repair the rack yourself from what I understand. Just swap it out. My went from just morning stiffness to doing it sometimes while you were driving. It's not worth the risk.
Graham

 

[BigRed]

Unless you can press seal and ball joints into place while pulling the sheath off your CNC machine you can't repair! :L

:J