Re: update on my tight steering problem

["ksgrimsr" <knut.s.grimsrud@xxxx>]

--- In dmcnews@xxxx, Soma576@xxxx wrote:

> hey all,
> 
> yesterday i posted about how my steering seems to be tight, then 
loose, then 
> tight, etc through the entire turning radius of the front end. 

The last time I had a similar symptom I had a siezed U joint in the 
steering column. To precisely diagnose the problem you may need to 
disconnect the U joint from the steering column spline in the area of 
the wheel well near the firewall. Once the steering column is 
disconnected you can tell if your U joints are OK (and if they are 
not you have half of the work done in replacing).

The tight-loose tendency on my car stemmed from the U joint being 
siezed and the steering column being nearly a straight shot. Since 
the column was pretty much a straight shot it was difficult to tell 
that the U joint was siezed since it's displacement during rotation 
was slight. With it being siezed and having a slight bend, the 
geometry was such that when I turned the wheel it put stresses on the 
linkage (as well as puts pressure on the grommet through the 
firewall) resulting in the tight-loose feel when turning.

Knut