Solution to loose steering

[Xrbeast]

Hi all Alfisti,
Just to share. If you guys have a loose steering feel, ie. the wheel seems to wander on uneven road and you hear knocks when roads are uneven, you may have a worn tie rod.

To confirm this, raise your car, with both hands at 3 and 9 oclock position, rock the front wheel (left or right). if you there is freeplay, chances are your tie rods are worn. To double confirm, remove the rubber boot of the inner tie rod to see the inside when you move the wheel laterally. (inner tie rods fails more often than outer one)

The problem with alfa is that they claim that they do not sell the tie rods separately and you have to get a whole steering rack to replace it. so you can either buy from ebay (which i bought and replaced before, but they do not last, it was worn in less than a year (it could be due to some potholes on the road that i encountered that cause the premature failure). Or, get a used rack from scrapyard (like propel) to salvage the tie rods, which i also did on the recently tie rod change.

Please do not spent thousands of dollars on a new steering rack when you can fix this problem at a much lower cost.


Rdgs

[Gorjiam]

Sorry, you bought the entire tie rod or just the tie rod ends?

I think I am facing the same issue as you.

[Mks14]

Same here. Are there other ways to find out if the tie rods are the cause? Will a worn CV boot cause the same problem?

[Torquey]

when i go over a hump at moderate speed i can feel the wheels shuddering upon descending.

would this be caused by worn out tie rods, ball joints or something else?

[GTblue]

  On 9/13/2011 at 2:45 AM, Torquey said:

when i go over a hump at moderate speed i can feel the wheels shuddering upon descending.

would this be caused by worn out tie rods, ball joints or something else?

I got the same problem and there is a "clock clock" sound when going over humps n uneven road and it feel like the suspension is very crashy so I changed my upper wishbones n shocks n rubber mount but the problem still exist ... I should try to find out more about the tie rods

[Vertiga]

Try taking out the anti roll bar rubber bush and check if it is already harden. If harden, change it.

 

Another is to check the anti roll bar link bar. Take it out and check if the joint is worn.

[Happily1986]

  On 9/13/2011 at 2:45 AM, Torquey said:

when i go over a hump at moderate speed i can feel the wheels shuddering upon descending.

would this be caused by worn out tie rods, ball joints or something else?

 

your shocks are about to give up.

[Count_duku]

I visited Alfa parts websites like alfaworkshop, and they do sell the inner tie rods independently from the steering rack. I just ordered and hopefully they fit the steering rack as with the integrated ones. From experience, changing the tie rod ends (with the right angle ball joint) alone do not help much. Dunno why the workshops like to change this part and waste time and money. ok maybe it's the cheaper option and worth a try.

[Yeobh]

Maybe yr friendly garage don't have a proper ball joint extractor. Maybe they are more handy in using chisel and hammer

Edited May 11, 2013 by Yeobh

[Count_duku]

  On 5/11/2013 at 3:42 AM, Yeobh said:

Maybe yr friendly garage don't have a proper ball joint extractor. Maybe they are more handy in using chisel and hammer

 

Dunno whether they have the tools, hopefully they don't ruin the tie rod ends while removing the inner one ..

 

Yeah, I saw some youtube tie rod changing guides and some workshops just use a hammer to loosen the tie rod end. And there is a horseshoe wrench to remove the inner tie rod from the steering rack, hope they have that too ..

[Yeobh]

This is commonly used in our many HDEEBEE garages

[Count_duku]

  On 5/12/2013 at 2:10 AM, Yeobh said:

This is commonly used in our many HDEEBEE garages

 

Just completed my inner tie-rod change, the result is superb.

 

1. Solved my issue of alignment going off.

2. Eliminated tram-lining and steering jerking left and right while going bumpy roads.

3. Steering feels nice and tight.

4. Also reduced the steering noise.

 

Only costs $200 from alfaworkshop.uk, and delivered in 3 days

Edited May 16, 2013 by Count_duku

[Count_duku]

Update - looks like I had to change my tie rod ends as well, another $100. The ones replaced last year crapped out only after 20,000km damn.

[Best20]

  On 5/16/2013 at 4:56 AM, Count_duku said:

Just completed my inner tie-rod change, the result is superb.

 

1. Solved my issue of alignment going off.

2. Eliminated tram-lining and steering jerking left and right while going bumpy roads.

3. Steering feels nice and tight.

4. Also reduced the steering noise.

 

Only costs $200 from alfaworkshop.uk, and delivered in 3 days

 

hi guys...

 

I also having the same problem. But i changed my tie rods, lower control arm and damper.

 

I still have problem turning right, is there anywhere i can get the workshop to check on the under carriage?

[Thsjeffrey]

Hi, if my steering wheel is looser than before, but not say very serious, I mean I just feel that it is "lighter" than before when i make a turn, should I worry about it ? To what extent does it warrant a check at workshop ?

 

Thanks much for any advice.

 

[Count_duku]

  On 7/31/2013 at 1:57 PM, Best20 said:

hi guys...

 

I also having the sprobl m. But i changed my tie rods, lower control arm and damper.

 

I still have problem turning right, is there anywhere i can get the workshop to check on the under carriage?

 

Actually there are many parts that affects the steering, not only the tie rods which comes in 2 parts- inner and outer. I have also changed upper and lower control arms, the upper arms changed twice as parts were faulty. Ok after that, the car needs to get a good alignment, for my Alfa it was zero/zero front toe and rears +11/+11. I did the alignment many times, still pull left and alignment shop noticed not enough +ve castor / -ve camber on the front left, about half degree off. The were some bolts under the subframe, where the lower arm is attached loosened that and push out a bit. This knocked the toe out but fixed tbe castor/camber mismatch, aligned the front toe to zero again and presto!

 

Steering is much, much better but .. still feel a little torque steer, steering pull only when accelerator is applied and steering wheel is at certain angles. When free gear no pull. I suspect this is due to the drive shafts and CV joints, will work on these next year..

[Count_duku]

After "recon" my cv joint twice the past year, finally decided to swap the entire drive shaft (drivers side). I think that's the last fix to the steering issues.

[Count_duku]

Update on alignment pulls - some shops have a side slip tester that tests the alignment when car is moving forward. The problem is normal alignment rig checks the toe angles when the car is stationary. When the car is accelerating, the front wheels pull and worn suspension can cause the front toe to change. A good mechanic can do minor adjustments to the front toe and check measurement on the side slip tester to negate the pull. Alternatively the solution is to replace all the worn parts.