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View Full Version : Noise on passenger side - steering rack end, or lower arm?


wintertidenz
21-02-2012, 09:23 AM
Noticed that lately my steering has been getting a LOT heavier and you actually have to turn the wheel slightly to get it to recentre, especially at lower speed.

I jacked up the car tonight and put the car in neutral, then gave each side a wiggle - the passengers side has a bit of noise side to side, and a tiny bit up and down (which, thinking about it, could be CV?). The driver's side sounds fine.

Power steering fluid is OK, and the pump appears to be working - the tie rod ends were done about 20-25,000km ago, the same time as the lower arms.

I've made a video of the sounds and am uploading it now - is it possible that only one side can fail while the other side is fine?
wintertidenz
21-02-2012, 09:57 AM
Link: http://youtu.be/m_5fgPhMEaU



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_5fgPhMEaU
Gly
21-02-2012, 10:03 AM
play up/down & left/right indicates wheel bearing

but it could also be a rack end or tie rod end and a lower arm that could have play in them
wintertidenz
21-02-2012, 10:06 AM
There doesn't feel to be any significant play in the wheel - very little side to side movement, but you can hear that noise.

Ironically, all the wheel bearings have been done but that side - and I do get a bit of a noise at higher speeds... so will look into replacing the front bearings anyway.

Just looking at the video again - when I do the up/down wiggle I can see the CV moving slightly?
wintertidenz
24-02-2012, 09:25 PM
Oops, forgot to embed the video. Thanks BraindG!

Anyone else think it's the wheel bearing?

Strangely enough, driving the car over the last few days (it was sitting for a while not really being driven) has allowed the steering to come a bit lighter. The noise is still there though.
Nick Mann
24-02-2012, 10:57 PM
I'd be suspicious of the bearing and the steering linkage more than anything else.

If you have a ball joint splitter you could remove them all from the hub carrier and investigate each one individually.
wintertidenz
01-03-2012, 08:42 AM
Thought I would add to this.

Brakes felt like they were sticking a bit on the driver's side, so jacked it up tonight... over the last week the rubber protecting the joint on the lower arm has split on the driver's side, so nothing is protecting it from the elements.

Car is parked up till I can get replacement arms.