Steering judder when turning left (R34)

[V28VX37]

Steering judder when turning left (R34)

Had a bit of a search but didn't come up with much.

I've recently noticed an issue with my steering where it 'judders' slightly when turning left. It seems worse at slow speeds i.e. full power steering assistance. Turning right is ok.

Couple of things to note:

• The steering rack has been rebuilt earlier this year. I had really bad judder (both ways) when it went.
• I've checked PS fluid level and it seems ok. I'm using the original auto trans cooler as a PS cooler so the circuit is longer and has more fluid compared to the standard OEM cooling loop setup.
• I've just changed the tie rod ends and both ball joints have been lubricated appropriately.
• I always lift the front of the car up using a 30cm plank to distribute the weight across the crossmember behind the sump. The crossmember has gotten a little dented over time, and when I was doing this recently I heard a noise and noticed that it's slightly more bent than before, which is not great. See pic below. I always thought it was safe to lift at the x-member?

Anyway my working theory is the rack may have moved slightly in relation to the crossmember, causing the RH piston to bind slightly and resulting in judder. Is this plausible?
If so, how do I fix it? Could I just loosen the rack and re-tighten it? I hope I haven't busted the crossmember enough to need a replacement, as that'd be a major job...

^^^ The crossmember looks a bit better in this photo than in reality

[Hadouken]

I don't think the subframe dent is your issue.

Is at as simple as maybe loose a wheel weight?

[V28VX37]

1 hour ago, Hadouken said:

I don't think the subframe dent is your issue.

Is at as simple as maybe loose a wheel weight?

Hmm I'm pretty sure it's PS related. I feel the judder through the steering wheel even when stationary (car running), turning the wheel left.

[V28VX37]

Just tried the following:
- Loosen and re-tighten both steering rack bolts
- Loosen and re-tighten RH tie rod end nut, pushing the rod forward slightly to allow for a better angle for the ball joint
- Re-greased both tie rod ends
- Check fluid level, all good
- Check tyre pressures, all good

There's still a faint shudder/pulsation through the steering wheel when stationary and turning the wheel left but it's noticeably better.

Very curious, I wonder if it's more to do with the recently installed tie rod ends than the rack/PS system?

[KiwiRS4T]

Have you done a thorough bleed? (Get the front wheels off the ground and with engine off turn the steering wheel fairly slowly from lock to lock about 20 times while making sure the reservoir level is ok).

[V28VX37]

8 minutes ago, KiwiRS4T said:

Have you done a thorough bleed? (Get the front wheels off the ground and with engine off turn the steering wheel fairly slowly from lock to lock about 20 times while making sure the reservoir level is ok).

Good point, not as yet, I will give that a go.

Something I have noticed previously is that I sometimes hear 'bubbling' in the system when turning steering to full lock with the wheels off the ground. I'm now guessing this might indicate that there's air trapped in there somewhere?

[V28VX37]

Have you done a thorough bleed? (Get the front wheels off the ground and with engine off turn the steering wheel fairly slowly from lock to lock about 20 times while making sure the reservoir level is ok).

Just bled it, which made it worse for some reason, roughly back to how it was just before. Really quite shuddery when turning left when stationary or slow speeds.

I couldn't hear bubbles but there were some visible in the reservoir, plus the inner sides were dripping so there must have been some bigger bubbles too.

Not too sure what's next, I think I'll need to check warranty on the rack rebuild...

[V28VX37]

Has anyone else used Transteering TE-926-14 (101mm, made in Taiwan) tie rod ends? If so, any issues? I just want to rule these out before investigating the other steering components further.

These were sold as Protex and I'm pretty sure they're very similar if not same as the Roadsafe ones, too:

Also from my other thread:

On 14/11/2016 at 8:38 PM, V28VX37 said:

With the wheels off and steering rack disconnected I noticed more 'resistance' in the LH steering knuckle i.e. you can just leave it in the middle (straight) position and it'll stay, whereas the RH knuckle moves very easily and would only rest at full left or right. My guess is that the RH steering knuckle bearing (?) might be worn, does that sound possible? Can it be replaced?

^^^ Is it possible that are worn steering knuckle bearing (not sure if that's the right part name) could cause the judder I'm experiencing?

[KiwiRS4T]

Not sure what the R34 trans cooler looks like but depending on the design incorrect orientation (i.e. hoses at the bottom) could lead to trapped air. Does your PS lose fluid at all? Did you keep the reservoir topped up while bleeding it?

Certainly worth trying the people who rebuilt your rack (hope they are not too far away!).

[V28VX37]

33 minutes ago, KiwiRS4T said:

Not sure what the R34 trans cooler looks like but depending on the design incorrect orientation (i.e. hoses at the bottom) could lead to trapped air. Does your PS lose fluid at all? Did you keep the reservoir topped up while bleeding it?

Certainly worth trying the people who rebuilt your rack (hope they are not too far away!).

The PS cooler (ex auto trans cooler) is mounted in the RH guard with the hoses up to avoid air pockets:

It doesn't seem to lose fluid, and I left the reservoir open when turning the wheel from lock to lock, I didn't need to top it up at all.

I'll have a chat with the shop who got it rebuilt tomorrow. There's a sticker on the rack saying warranty until Jan '17 so I might get lucky (that'd be a first).

 

[V28VX37]

Getting it looked at next week.

Is there any chance running the PS circuit 'too cool' could cause damage? As mentioned I've replaced the original cooling loop with the much larger auto trans cooler, and I'm wondering if it needs to be covered up over winter...? 

[GTSBoy]

I run the original R34 trans cooler as my PS cooler and it works fine.

[V28VX37]

Strangely the PS seems to have righted itself, it currently doesn't judder even when turning the wheel stationery.

Bit of a worry, intermittent niggles are the toughest to diagnose..

[ausdrift]

I had a judder issue which would only happen and mid-high speeds and when braking, I believe. I was sure it was suspension based and looked at everything. Turns out it was the LH tyre which was apparently no longer round and was causing it. New front tyres and problem was fixed

[V28VX37]

I seem to have re-introduced the issue in a mild form, and I'm pretty sure it has to do with over-greasing the tie rod end. I'm now getting it turning right (haha) and can feel the rubber boot fairly full of grease, whereas the RH side is a lot emptier. I did just re-grease it too and I'm pretty sure it's related.

Now I need work out how to get the excess out, there's a little ball valve in the grease nipple but pushing that in doesn't seem to do much. Maybe I need to undo the whole grease nipple, need to go hunting for a 5mm spanner somewhere... 

[V28VX37]

On 05/01/2017 at 10:12 PM, V28VX37 said:

I seem to have re-introduced the issue in a mild form, and I'm pretty sure it has to do with over-greasing the tie rod end. I'm now getting it turning right (haha) and can feel the rubber boot fairly full of grease, whereas the RH side is a lot emptier. I did just re-grease it too and I'm pretty sure it's related.

Now I need work out how to get the excess out, there's a little ball valve in the grease nipple but pushing that in doesn't seem to do much. Maybe I need to undo the whole grease nipple, need to go hunting for a 5mm spanner somewhere... 

Removed the grease nipple and squeezed out some of the excess grease, seems better now. Don't overdo your greasing ppl!