Saxo VTR Steering problems

James240

Right i own a 1999 Saxo VTR that i have owned for 6 years with very little problems.

My driving style is that i do drive my car very hard, (please read into that boyracer but im 28 )

The problem with my car is is that when u drive it normally the steering is fine but there is a little bit of play in the steering wheel, when im pushing the car quite hard going through bends the steering becomes very vague and there seems to be alot of play in the steering wheel. Ive notcied this more and more over the last 2 weeks and especially on sunday where the steering got so vague with all the play in it i almost crashed.....

Basically what im asking is does anyone have any ideas as to what could be wrong with it? the car is in tip top condition and is regularly serviced....

any ideas any one?

Exemplar

We had one that had been driven with 'spirit'. It needed a new pas pump, not an overly expensive job. Just make sure the guy in the garage does not have a Gitane on the go and a glass of Ricard in his hand!!

Alex

tomstickland

Suspension components wear if you drive a car hard, especially on a Saxo and other cars of similar ilk.

Check front lower arm ball joints, track rod ends, wheel alignment (tracking), top mounts.

Racks can wear, but it's not as commong. PAS pump failure would not produce the effects you describe.

iwanttosave_2

jamesy baby, spoke to chauff about it, he goes

You may have a worn steering coloumn joint
or
worn steering trackrod end balljoints
or
worn rack and pinion steering gear
or
worn steering or suspension joints, bushes or components.

He says its unlikly to be the suspension unless it has been well and truly ragged.

If ya need me you know where to find me

tomstickland

I used to drive my previous car really hard on corners etc and track rod ends lasted about 6 months before they started to feel loose again, bottom ball joints about 12 months, plus shoddy Vauxhalls had a rubber joint from steering column to the rack which had play in it and went soft with age.

Check the shell for any cracks too - I managed to slowly peel one of the spot welded lower arm mounts off the car, along with the bulkhead.

For a worrying test, open the bonnet and get someone to turn the steering wheel and look to see how much the area where the rack connects to the car moves.

I dont' want to be too rude about Saxos, but they wouldn't win any prizes in a "solid car" competition. A lot of fun all the same.

James240

tomstickland wrote:

I dont' want to be too rude about Saxos, but they wouldn't win any prizes in a "solid car" competition. A lot of fun all the same.

totally understand that cmment must admit there not the most solidly built car, ive blown two gearboxes on my VTR and after reading some of the Saxo sports club forums on the web i found out that its the same gearbox that is used on the basic model with the ratio's adjusted so the vtr can be quick.....that nicely cheap for citreon but that then dont uprate the gearbox tohandle the extra power :mad:

tomstickland

They very carefully made sure that the car can reach just over 60mph in 2nd gear, hence knocking the 0.3-0.4s gear change time off the 0-60 time.

They're mechanically simple, so you might as well drive it hard and just replace things when they break. The gearbox on my Astra GTE lasted about 24 months of hard use and that's quite a solid box. Just the way it is.

Gearbox life is a functio of loads and revs and other factors. They will last for years if you potter around, but as soon as you start making full use of them then the life shortens.

James240

iwanttosave wrote:

jamesy baby, spoke to chauff about it, he goes

You may have a worn steering coloumn joint
or
worn steering trackrod end balljoints
or
worn rack and pinion steering gear
or
worn steering or suspension joints, bushes or components.

He says its unlikly to be the suspension unless it has been well and truly ragged.

If ya need me you know where to find me

well its not ragged but i do drive the car hard and admittedly i have had it six years, nothing has ever gone wrong with the engine, just blown the gearbox twice where it cant cope with the extra power.......does he know rough estimates of costs at all on what he thinks it is hun?

tomstickland

You should get a garage to tell you what it is first. Std MOT test methods will find any suspension play.

James240

tomstickland wrote:

They very carefully made sure that the car can reach just over 60mph in 2nd gear, hence knocking the 0.3-0.4s gear change time off the 0-60 time.

They're mechanically simple, so you might as well drive it hard and just replace things when they break. The gearbox on my Astra GTE lasted about 24 months of hard use and that's quite a solid box. Just the way it is.

Gearbox life is a functio of loads and revs and other factors. They will last for years if you potter around, but as soon as you start making full use of them then the life shortens.

yeah i know i have had to get the gearbox recondition twice!

do u know roughly the costs invovled if its anything to do with the suspension? but the hting is though it feels as though im disconnected from the road through the steering wheel, it really feels as though its to do with the steering ....

iwanttosave_2

see the thing is he works for a private heavy goods garage so doesn't know the pricings for a commercial garage, just how much if he did it himself, his rough guess for the most expensive including labour should be about no more than £200. Like I said though this is a rough guess, his labour charges is a few pints :rolleyes: