Play in steering only on highway???
05-15-2014, 08:19 PM
#1
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Play in steering only on highway??? The car is a 2000 camaro ss with 44,xxx miles. On the highway every once and a while there is play in the steering. If I am just going down the highway and I go to turn the wheel a little to stay straight in my lane sometimes it feels like it slips then grabs. So it moves really fast like a half an inch then it is back to normal. The kid I bought it from said he put a new power steering pump on last fall. Could it be possible to have air in the system? In new to rear wheel drive cars, I have had 4x4 trucks and front wheel drive cars and I know the steering systems are different. I just to make it safe so I can go fast!
05-15-2014, 08:52 PM
#2
the car has a power assisted steering rack, any play would not be caused by air or anything to do with the power steering pump. all that would occur from a faulty power steering pump or that hydraulic system is the wheel would be hard to turn.
i would check the intermediate steering shaft, that's the collapsible shaft that connects the protruding shaft from the firewall (your steering column) in the engine bay to the steering rack. if that was ever disconnected then it's possible the shaft wasn't seated well on either end and the retaining bolt tightened that's what is slipping.
other than that, maybe slightly worn steering rack especially since the power steering pump was replaced, or worn tie rod ends and/or ball joints.
if it was put back together properly then there's little chance of that letting go and you losing steering, however i would check it and make sure something ridiculous didn't happen like someone forgot to put the retaining bolt through. it'll looking something like this:
i would check the intermediate steering shaft, that's the collapsible shaft that connects the protruding shaft from the firewall (your steering column) in the engine bay to the steering rack. if that was ever disconnected then it's possible the shaft wasn't seated well on either end and the retaining bolt tightened that's what is slipping.
other than that, maybe slightly worn steering rack especially since the power steering pump was replaced, or worn tie rod ends and/or ball joints.
if it was put back together properly then there's little chance of that letting go and you losing steering, however i would check it and make sure something ridiculous didn't happen like someone forgot to put the retaining bolt through. it'll looking something like this:
05-16-2014, 10:29 AM
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Maybe worn just from age since the car only has 44,xxx miles on it. I don't have the collapsible shaft! So that means they did more then what they said???
Last edited by Cambo3; 05-16-2014 at 03:27 PM.
05-16-2014, 10:21 PM
#5
i mentioned 'collapsible' shaft because i replaced that on my gmc sierra pickup, those are collapsible because in a collision when that mechanism is forced rearward the steering column doesn't crush the driver. it's a notorious component on gm pickups causing clunking.
i'm not sure if the 4th gen f-body has a collapsible or a solid one-piece intermediate steering shaft, but collapsible or not should not have an impact regarding your problem. How the shaft connects at each end does, my point is it's a D shape so if that connection is not tight then the shaft can have a little bit of rotational slip.
what you can do with car off and on the ground have someone rock the wheel +/- 10° each direction with little force, then with a light watch the input shaft coming from your steering column to the steering box as shown in your pic. look for points where the input side rotates back and forth but the output side doesn't. if the input to the steering gear is rotating back and forth but you have no output to your tie rod ends going to the wheels then you have a worn steering rack.
i'm not sure if the 4th gen f-body has a collapsible or a solid one-piece intermediate steering shaft, but collapsible or not should not have an impact regarding your problem. How the shaft connects at each end does, my point is it's a D shape so if that connection is not tight then the shaft can have a little bit of rotational slip.
what you can do with car off and on the ground have someone rock the wheel +/- 10° each direction with little force, then with a light watch the input shaft coming from your steering column to the steering box as shown in your pic. look for points where the input side rotates back and forth but the output side doesn't. if the input to the steering gear is rotating back and forth but you have no output to your tie rod ends going to the wheels then you have a worn steering rack.
Last edited by 1 FMF; 05-16-2014 at 10:28 PM.
05-19-2014, 07:38 PM
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So I did what you said. It was hard to see if the wheels where moving but I had my girlfriend move the steering wheel back and forth around 10 degrees or so and I could see the wheels moving. But when she was moving the wheel back and forth you could hear a clunking sound when she changed direction. It sounded like it was coming from the bottom of the shaft where it does into the steering rack.
