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Steering performance at speed is...not great

dbsoundman

New member
Joined
Mar 6, 2022
Location
Toledo, OH
Hi all, I have a new to me very cheap '89 240GL that I'm getting to know. Among other problems, it has some noticeable play in the steering wheel itself, which doesn't really present a problem when driving in town, but driving home on the interstate at 70 MPH on a windy day I noticed it was difficult to make little corrections in my trajectory. For example, driving down the interstate, little gust of wind blows me to the right, I turn the wheel to the left, but by the time it catches, it's as if I over corrected a bit, so I have to steer back to the right again, overcorrected again, the process goes back and forth a couple times before I get back on track.

I haven't had time to jack up the front end yet but the shocks look pretty new, and at least one of the tie rods is new (the other *looks* original, or at least older). Power steering reservoir was empty when I got the car, I filled it up and it looks like fluid came out the top of the reservoir on the way home (guess I overfilled it?), and the pump definitely leaks too (same spot that every 240 seems to leak for some reason, right where the hose comes into the pump from the reservoir).

Am I due for a steering rack rebuild or is there something else I should look into? I don't yet know what a "good" 240 feels like so I'm kind of trying to understand what's actually going on here.
 
Checking the condition of the tie rod ends (even the new one) would be good place to start. There may be problems with the shocks; but, that would not explicitly cause your problem. Worn suspension bushings, ball joints and wear in the rack can all contribute to your problem. Its pretty much get the front end off the ground, remove the wheels and start inspecting and yanking on stuff checking for wear.
 
1) Check air pressure in the tires. It can cause a loose handling feel like that and is an easy 'fix'
- On a Volvo I like to 'stagger' the pressure slightly with the rears a bit higher than the fronts - which helps in the initial bite/set of the tires to reduce oversteer

2) Look for loose suspension components front and rear. And the suspension joints can be held in tension or compression at rest, you might need someone to shove the car around while you look (and obv, don't get under it if it's off the ground and someone is shoving on it).
- front steering components and lower control arm bushings, if they're letting the wheel wiggle
- rear panhard rod being loose will directly let the car waggle, the 4 link suspension bushings can make it squirrely too (does it pull back and forth on and off throttle?)

3) Alignment - toe-out or even neutral toe can give the steering a loose feel as well, as weight transfers left and right it goes to the 'outer' tire, which is steering more that way than the other.
- any weird wear patterns on the front tires?
 
1) Check air pressure in the tires. It can cause a loose handling feel like that and is an easy 'fix'
- On a Volvo I like to 'stagger' the pressure slightly with the rears a bit higher than the fronts - which helps in the initial bite/set of the tires to reduce oversteer

2) Look for loose suspension components front and rear. And the suspension joints can be held in tension or compression at rest, you might need someone to shove the car around while you look (and obv, don't get under it if it's off the ground and someone is shoving on it).
- front steering components and lower control arm bushings, if they're letting the wheel wiggle
- rear panhard rod being loose will directly let the car waggle, the 4 link suspension bushings can make it squirrely too (does it pull back and forth on and off throttle?)

3) Alignment - toe-out or even neutral toe can give the steering a loose feel as well, as weight transfers left and right it goes to the 'outer' tire, which is steering more that way than the other.
- any weird wear patterns on the front tires?
Tire pressure seems to be good, I set it to around 34 all around. Not sure if it was set on the way home but the next day when I did check they were all pretty close for the most part.

Tires actually look really nice, so fortunately I?m not too concerned with ball joints, and the shocks look relatively clean which leads me to believe they?re fairly new. I am suspicious of the one older tie rod though?
 
And tires themselves. Once we put a set of Goodyear Wranglers on our old beater Bronco II (a short, tall, tippy SUVlet). And it got SQUIRMY on the highway at speed. It would sort of wiggle around, constant corrections, it would set off my 'rear end is sliding!' alarms in my head. It was not relaxing to drive. Counter steering, trying to calm it down, eventually I found if you ignored it it would sort of wiggle around but average out going straight(ish) pretty much. Aired up, aired down, staggered pressure front to rear.

Eventually pulled them off barely used and put on a set of Michelin LTX tires and *all* of the squirmy vague handling was instantly gone.
 
And tires themselves. Once we put a set of Goodyear Wranglers on our old beater Bronco II (a short, tall, tippy SUVlet). And it got SQUIRMY on the highway at speed. It would sort of wiggle around, constant corrections, it would set off my 'rear end is sliding!' alarms in my head. It was not relaxing to drive. Counter steering, trying to calm it down, eventually I found if you ignored it it would sort of wiggle around but average out going straight(ish) pretty much. Aired up, aired down, staggered pressure front to rear.

Eventually pulled them off barely used and put on a set of Michelin LTX tires and *all* of the squirmy vague handling was instantly gone.
Just checked, it has?Goodyear ultragrip winter tires. And spring is approaching. Ugh.
 
A couple of years ago, coming back from our summer road trip where we do a lot of hard off roading, interspersed with driving 75 - 80 mph on the interstate, my 4Runner got to where the rear end would start doing a slow wag, initiated by something like a road heave. At first I even thought I was perhaps subconsciously doing it (pio - pilot induced oscillation). But now, holding the steering steady with my leg showed the truck was doing it, not me. I wiggled suspension joints, I shook the truck VIGOROUSLY side to side, didn't see anything. It kept happening the rest of the way home. Even then, I got under and pried at all the suspension joints with a pry bar, everything seemed tight. Finally started taking stuff apart and found a little bit of slack (like.. 1/4 inch) in the panhard bar bushing. I guess the way the truck normally sits it's under some degree of tension and wouldn't wiggle, but taken apart, the center was chewed up some. Replaced it and.. wiggle/waggle was all gone. 1/4 inch of slack in the wrong place makes a big difference.
 
Inner and Outer tie rods would be the first thing to look at. Then the upper strut bearing, then the control arm bushings.

Seperately you should look at the steering shaft U-joints and the steering rack bushings for the play. The rack itself is probably not the source of steering play, but won't help the situation if its blown out. Even ones that are leaking and or don't work are still usually "tight" in that regard. They tend to get stuck in spots or give variable assist or things like that. It's the tie rods that give you side to side play.
 
dbsoundman said:
I don't yet know what a "good" 240 feels like

My '82 '244 Turbo has a tip-top (well maintained) front end and suspension and I freakin' LOVE the steering on my 'brick.

No, nothing like a Porsche in terms of communication of road feel but there's enough there for me: linear, tracks true, stable with no wobble.

Fact is, I sold the only new car I'd ever bought, a '96 850 Turbo TLA, because I discovered I don't much care for the steering and overall driving feel of front wheel drive: that's when I bought my 244 and basically rebuilt it from the ground up: a labor of love.

I've no regrets about driving a 40 year old car as my daily driver: looks good and it's very reliable (even though it seems I'm always doing "something" to it).
 
My '82 '244 Turbo has a tip-top (well maintained) front end and suspension and I freakin' LOVE the steering on my 'brick.

No, nothing like a Porsche in terms of communication of road feel but there's enough there for me: linear, tracks true, stable with no wobble.

Fact is, I sold the only new car I'd ever bought, a '96 850 Turbo TLA, because I discovered I don't much care for the steering and overall driving feel of front wheel drive: that's when I bought my 244 and basically rebuilt it from the ground up: a labor of love.

I've no regrets about driving a 40 year old car as my daily driver: looks good and it's very reliable (even though it seems I'm always doing "something" to it).

Yeah me too. The only thing I'm going to modify from stock is to add just a touch of caster for better straight line feel. And I need to replace my driveshaft carrier bearing to get rid of a vibration.

Other than that my car (well maintained since new) is an awesome driver.
 
Tire pressure seems to be good, I set it to around 34 all around.
34psi (2.35 bar) seems to be a bit on the low side IMO. Specially for highway speeds. I'd try 37.5psi (2.6bar), at least in the rear. The rear wheels play a big role in providing straight line stability. Even more so when the car is a slab sided wagon.

That said, by reading the OP i think there is a problem in the suspension like clapped out bushings or worn ball joints.
 
Inner and Outer tie rods would be the first thing to look at. Then the upper strut bearing, then the control arm bushings.

Seperately you should look at the steering shaft U-joints and the steering rack bushings for the play. The rack itself is probably not the source of steering play, but won't help the situation if its blown out. Even ones that are leaking and or don't work are still usually "tight" in that regard. They tend to get stuck in spots or give variable assist or things like that. It's the tie rods that give you side to side play.

And the torque rod bushings/panhard rod bushings. The front end can be completely rebuilt and the car will still wander all over the road if the rear axle isn't kept from changing toe or track.
 
Tire pressure seems to be good, I set it to around 34 all around.
34psi (2.35 bar) seems to be a bit on the low side IMO. Specially for highway speeds. I'd try 37.5psi (2.6bar), at least in the rear. The rear wheels play a big role in providing straight line stability. Even more so when the car is a slab sided wagon.

That said, by reading the OP i think there is a problem in the suspension like clapped out bushings or worn ball joints.
I would say go lower in tire pressure if it feels like it's following ruts and grooves in the road. Too much pressure to tends to make it jouncy. Worn out/ broken rear TABS will make it unstable.
 
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