C5 Excessive Steering Track Rod Arm Movement??

[hamster99]

Had the front wheels off last weekend to check brakes and noticed that there seemed to be a lot of play in the hubs. Upon investigation it seemed all of the balljoints and the wheel bearing seemed fine but the track rod arm where it connected through the gaiter on the steering rack would move about 10-15mm.

Is this normal on C5's or is this excessive movement which I need to do something about? There's no signs of a problem when driving, even at motorway speeds.

Rob

[jgra1]

not right Rob, in my opinion..

John

[electronmirror]

Sounds like it could be the inner track/tie rod which screws into the steering rack. There is a ball joint in this which does eventually wear. I had the same symptoms on my Xantia and it was a PITA to remove.

What's the tyre wear like on the edges?

[Xantidote]

track rod arm where it connected through the gaiter on the steering rack would move about 10-15mm.

Do you really mean 10-15mm? That sounds a crazy amount. Surprised you've got any tyre tread left

[addo]

Indeed - I'd be wondering if the rack or rack mounting is damaged.

[hamster99]

Do you really mean 10-15mm? That sounds a crazy amount. Surprised you've got any tyre tread left

I didn't measure it, so maybe I'm exaggerating it a bit... It's probably no more than 5mm but I'm going to have a really good look this weekend.

Tyres have just been replaced and the old ones did have more wear on the inside shoulders so probably a result of the steering. The rack itself doesn't look damaged or loose.

If it is the inner ball joints of the track rod arms can they be replaced separately or will it mean a new steering rack?

Rob

[electronmirror]

Rob,

Yes the inner track rod can be replaced, it screws into the steering rack. Take a look at this item 390062709425 on eBay. I've no idea about this particular seller but there are also a number of cheap imports advertised ( ~ £2 !) which are probably rubbish.

GSF list them at about £19

If you do a search on the forum there was a thread about replacing the inner track/tie rod end on a Xantia, should give you a few pointers to the joys of this job on your C5

[Mandrake]

Do you really mean 10-15mm? That sounds a crazy amount. Surprised you've got any tyre tread left

I didn't measure it, so maybe I'm exaggerating it a bit... It's probably no more than 5mm but I'm going to have a really good look this weekend.

Even 5mm is a crazy amount of slack. With that much the ball joint should completely fall apart... I replaced an outer track rod end that had about 1mm of slack in it, and that was enough to set up a wicked vibration from the front of the car at 75mph...

Remember that the track rod connects fairly close to the pivot of the hub so a small amount of slack is multiplied by the ratio between where the track rod connects and the edge of the tyre, so even 1mm causes a lot of "slop" in the rotational angle of the wheel...