steering problem and accumilator sphere

Mandrake · Post by **Mandrake** » 14 May 2005, 15:12

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by pete@co.uk</i>

hi guys
...
guy did tell me though was as ive got 15 inch alloys on the car with 205 55 15 size tyre,s the car would be better with the origanal 14 inch wheels on
what you guys think becouse ive got my other xantia with 14 inch wheels all i have to do is switch the wheels
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Well if you have a second Xantia with tires you want to try on it, and you don't mind all the work of changing them over, by all means [:D] I guess it would definately eliminate tire differences as a possibility. (Be sure to keep the tires on the same corners of the car)
But I would be checking the pressures first, since its much easier to check. My Dad's Xantia came with 195 60 R 15 on 15" alloys, and there is no problem with steering heavyness, except when a tire garage over-inflated them to 44psi. (See previous message)
According to the owners manual 195 60 R 15 is one of the standard sizes that they came with, and I doubt 205 55 R 15 would be a problem. I'm reasonably sure that a 1997 VSX I drove a month ago had 205 55 R 15 alloys and it's steering felt exactly the same. (Fine)
Regards,
Simon

pete@co.uk · Post by **pete@co.uk** » 14 May 2005, 15:25

hi simon and guys
well reading what you just said about rear tyres the rears are directional and ive notest that some one has put the tyres on the wrong way round so the rear tyres are actully running in reverse by the way this is the same car you helped me with last week with the height corrector last week that,s all working fine now thanks.
pete.................

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 14 May 2005, 16:28

I don't know what standard Xantias should run on but a 195 x 60 x 14 tyre would have a theoretical diameter of 23.2 inches and the ones you have (205 x 55 x 15) are 23.86 inches. This will tend to move some of the critical points of the steering a bit which may make the steering heavy but I wouldn't have thought by itself it was critical. What could affect it more might be the hub face offset - so if the track was significantly wider this might be a problem but my guess is that as Citroen and Peugeot seem to use the same offset if it has the right bolt hole positions then the offset is ok.
Are we talking about the wheel being heavy to turn when stationary - in which case it would seem to be a mechanical/hydraulic problem or being heavy on the move in which case its a steering/wheels/tyres problem.
Incidentally someone hasn't changed front for back tyres have they? back generally wear flat and fronts wear the shoulders a bit - swap them and it can feel very starnge untin the square shoulders wear off!
jeremy

harryb.48 · Post by **harryb.48** » 14 May 2005, 17:35

Quote: i must admit the pump belts could do with replacing it looks like its slowy cracking up also somtimes squeel,s when i start up
Pete,getting back to the squealing belt,this is a sure sign that it is too slack and /or worn which could of course affect the pump pressure and therefore steering with intermittent slip.Time for a change I would think...

pete@co.uk · Post by **pete@co.uk** » 16 May 2005, 03:48

hi peter
yes the pump belt is definatly on my shopping list i will replace that asap and jeremy the front tyres are a part worn set i got the other day but it handled the same before i put them on so ill think i,ll run the car for a while to see how it goes
pete.............

pete@co.uk · Post by **pete@co.uk** » 22 May 2005, 14:44

update
hi guys
Well ive changed the pump belt yesterday reversed the rear tyres around so there running the right way round becouse as i said before they,re directional greased the caliper sliders with copper grease although the right hand side one has part of the protective rubber cover missing don,t know if this make,s any differance the steering has improved a bit but i still have that pull to the right the mot picked up a worn left hand side drop link (now replaced) thats all it failed on no other wear on the linkage at all. on replacing the belt yesterday i noticed there was a very slight dampness around the pump top pipe although nothing much to speak of another thing is ive noticed there,s a slight rumbling that seems to be coming from the right side front wheel although there,s no play in the bearing it could just be a noisy wheel bearing if it is, are they much of a job to replace and could this contribute to making the car pull
any idea,s guys
pete.....................

Marlon65 · Post by **Marlon65** » 22 May 2005, 16:58

Everyday I have to pass by a 200-meter rough road before reaching the smooth asphalt road going in/out my residence. My 10-year old ZX 1.4 manual transmission car has also manual steering. For the last 3 or 4 years I've been hearing this sound which I think is coming from the tie rod to the rack and pinion steering. One mechanic said that it's the suspension arm rubbers or the torsion rods rubbers. I checked those myself but I don't find anything loose, if there is, there's the rubbers still around it, although there already a space between them, I don't it would create the noise I'm hearing. I believe it's the steering because there's a bit of sound when I move the tie rods in and out. If it's indeed the steering, what could be the culprit, what do I need to replace? I plan to do it myself, is there any PDF files on this regards. Thanks.
Marlon ZX '95 1.4 Manual

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 23 May 2005, 02:18

Do you mean you think the track rods are rattling at the rack end? I don't think this is a commonly serviceable part - usually a difficult joint to get apart and locked by staking or something. It might be that if you peeled the boot back taking care not to get dirt in it you could grease the joint.
Otherwise I think you are looking at a recon rack if it is that joint.
The other bearing that is overlooked is the bearing at the top of the strut. These are not easy to diagnose but are easily available and not very expensive. It is in fact a ball bearing and when it drys out/wears/goes rusty will rattle on broken ground.
jeremy