Old Fiesta - steering problem

[Lizzzz]

Hello!

I have a K reg Ford Fiesta. 2 owners and has done 65,000 miles.

Over the winter, I started to have problems with the steering. At first, it seemed to not be so accurate and it needed 2 new front tyres so I had those changed. (I did know about the tyres, they were mentioned in the MOT in June).

The steering continued not to feel "sharp" so I had the tracking checked and it was out by only a tiny amount. I had that corrected too.

It deteriorated further so I would be driving along and it felt like the car took a side step, always to the left. It was like when you are driving and a sudden gust of wind takes the steering and you have to correct it.

The garage then changed the suspension wishbones.

It seemed better (although not quite right) and it no longer does the sidestep thing. However, the steering was still vague and the car threw itself around after going over any sort of pothole (yes, I try to avoid them but there are thousands!) and it would skitter about if you even went over a cats eye.

Back to the garage and the shock absorber on the near side was changed.

Again, this made a difference but its still not right! The steering is now stupidly heavy and it now has a problem the garage can't diagnose. Every so often, when the car is going in a straight line, it feels like the steering sticks. The car continues going straight and it takes a mammoth effort to wrestle the steering wheel to go left or right. Once freed, it is OK again for quite a few miles.

Its difficult to explain but its like there is a notch in the steering and it gets stuck in that notch.

I drove about 120 miles on Wednesday and it wasn't too bad until I tried to come off a dual carriageway onto a slip road and the car decided again it liked going forwards and it was like a battle to force it to the left. Then again yesterday it got stuck in a straight line and when I did manage to free it, the steering was so heavy I had to stop the car - then it was fine again!

The mechanic drove it around yesterday and of course the car was fine then. He checked everything again, had it on the ramp etc and has no clue. He did say something vague about it "following the road" which is not an expression I have ever heard before.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thank you!

Liz

 

[Burnerman]

Notchy steering? Ask mechanic man to replace the universal joint at the bottom of the steering column.
The needle rollers ride up and jam on themselves - dead common on these cars.
John

 

[Lizzzz]

Thank you for your speedy reply - I'm going to write it down and ask them to check! Is it something they could see or would they just replace it then we would check that it had made a difference?

Liz

 

[Burnerman]

You can see this U/J at the bottom of the steering column, half obscured by carpet...believe me, this fault was hugely common on the older Fiesta.
You can't see if its damaged inside unless you're blessed with Xray eyes but it will be!
Replacing it isn't much of an issue either.
After all of this faffing around, with replacing suspension bits etc, your car needs the wheel alignment, or tracking, to be properly set. If its not, the steering has a mind of its own and causes the car to 'float' over the road.
John

 

[Lizzzz]

That's great, I shall get onto it when I have a moment.

I did ask about the tracking yesterday (the steering wheel is no longer straight after the suspension arm replacing) but the garage said they had done it. It isn't particularly floaty, holds quite a straight line. Just too straight for too long!!

Liz

 

[Lizzzz]

Just spoken to my mechanic again and he is reluctant to change it. He says they *do* deteriorate on Fiestas but in his experience you can tell because there is a lot of play in the steering wheel and joint and there isn't any on my car.

So no further forward.

 

[jonnyfishing]

I would do as John says and have the joint changed anyway, you may be surprised at the outcome.

 

[Burnerman]

When the universal joint is behaving itself then there is indeed no play, but as you turn the wheel a needle roller jumps out and jams the steering.
When it comes free again it has simply moved back into place.
Just our opinion though!
John

 

[Lizzzz]

Well, I have the quote so just have to book it in now.

Have driven quite a long way today and the "notchy" thing isn't so pronounced. What happened today is the steering would be light, accurate, just right THEN it would suddenly go ridiculously heavy as though all the tyres had gone flat at once.

After perhaps 10 seconds of panicking and manhandling the car around the road it would be back to normal!

It did this I would think 12-15 miles in the 80 miles I have driven today.

 

[Burnerman]

I don't think you've mentioned Liz if your car has power steering or not.
If it has, then its a possibility that it is failing for some reason.
If it hasn't, the issue is a mechanical one.
We look forward to hearing about the outcome, and thanks for the updates!
John

 

[gman76]

I thought it was good (recognised) practice to replace shock absorbers in pairs?