V70(12/2007) - heavy / Stiff steering

Woodpecker · Post by **Woodpecker** » 07 Feb 2017, 06:13

milage: 300kkm
symptom: heavy or stiff steering, doesn't go back to straight forward after having been turned left or right.
When cold and/or having stopped for a while (>5min) the steering feels normal - after 50-100m the steering becomes stiff.

1st the Pump was changed - no difference.
2nd the steering column, knuckles, balls etc. has been inspected and re-lubricated, though no fault was found.
3rd the oil-reservoir tank and fluid has been replaced - no difference.

Having the car at a lift, the wheels can be turned left/right without much effort.
The mechanics points to the steering rack as the last thing that hasn't been changed, but is not sure whether a replacement will cure the problem.
The fact that the steering is 'normal' for a brief period (after having been stopped) or when cold and gets stiff after having driven about 50-100meters puzzles me a bit, and makes me wonder whether.

Any ideas/suggestions is highly appreciated

Post by **scot850** » 07 Feb 2017, 11:23

Sounds like the rack is failing. Check for oil in the boots. Also check the bearing at the base of the steering column as they do dry up. There is a how to somewhere out there on how to re-lube the bearing.

Neil.

Post by **oragex** » 07 Feb 2017, 11:29

All pulleys on the serpentine belt are smooth to turn? Sounds like the steering gets stiffer as the engine is revved. Not sure it sound like a rack going bad, just be aware that many places like to point to the rack right away because it's a profitable repair.

Post by **chrism** » 08 Feb 2017, 08:01

Ditto on the serpentine belt. Is the belt old? Is the serp tensioner hitting the end of its travel? The belt may be stretching just a tiny bit when hot - just enough to cause slipping if the tensioner is maxed out.

Woodpecker · Post by **Woodpecker** » 14 Feb 2017, 05:56

Check for oil in the boots. -> Nothing to notice
Also check the bearing at the base of the steering column as they do dry up -> has been checked and re-lubed just in case, but to no avail

To my knowledge the belt is as old as the car itself: 12/2007. -> Will check if the belt is ok.

Not sure if the stiffness and speed is connected - I have about 500ms from my parking until I get to an official road, and usually don't drive much faster than 20km/h during that ...already after some 50m the steering appears to be somewhat stiff'er.

The mechanics mentioned that some small blop of black gunk came out at first - to my knowledge the fluid hasn't been replaced until then and never re-tipped by me either. Anyways the blop of gunk was a small amount according to the mechanics.

Recently I've noticed that the stiffness seems to be most significant around the point the steering wheele is ... going in a circle (off/onto the highway, the wheels are turned more than usual, and the same thing appears ...stiff around the point....but seems close to normal doing larger swings at the steering wheel which makes me think that the 'torsionbar' is the culprit ... any chance that the torsionbar can be repaired without replace the whole steering rack?

Woodpecker · Post by **Woodpecker** » 01 Mar 2017, 04:22

Does anyone have experience in regards to repair the torsion bar in the steering rack?
The local shop points to the whole steering rack needs replacement ... but as far as I can tell only the actual torsion bar seems to has lost its ability to twist and thus open the vents which in turn causes the steering to feel stiff or heavy or 'locked' when trying to do smaller adjustment to the steering wheel.
Any advice help is much appreciated.