306 Rallye: Notchy steering...

[Matt-Rallye]

Hi all,

Have noticed over last few days my steering has gone very notchy and feels quite odd, sometimes it randomly goes really heavy when halfway through turn but only when moving. doesnt seem to do it when stationery?

Any ideas what it could be? Pump sounds healthy enough and theres enough fluid in there.

Matt

[RetroPug]

Hi all,

Have noticed over last few days my steering has gone very notchy and feels quite odd, sometimes it randomly goes really heavy when halfway through turn but only when moving. doesnt seem to do it when stationery?

Any ideas what it could be? Pump sounds healthy enough and theres enough fluid in there.

Matt

Do you also notice the dials dimming or does the car try to stall as you downshift/dip the clutch before the corner?

[Matt-Rallye]

Nope engine runs fine, lights dont dim and it happens when engine is constant running i.e cruising in 2nd gear at 2000rpm.

[RetroPug]

Okay. Thought it could have been the ICV, sometimes it causes the car to almost stall and you lose PAS briefly entering corners etc.

Perhaps the PAS sensor is playing up..do you have a multimeter?

[Matt-Rallye]

Yes i have a multimeter, where is the PAS sensor located?

Also my ISCV does play up but not usually while driving, only sticks if i stop the car when the engine bay is really warm like stuck in traffic, if i restart the engine it wont idle and keeps cutting out untill i start it from cold again or take it for a drive.

[RetroPug]

It's somewhere near the steering rack if I remember correctly, sure someone will tell you exactly where.
Just had a look and I don't have the guide for testing the correct voltage on the sensor from Autodata, sorry.

However, check whether or not your ICV is reading correctly, if it isn't replace it. Also, if it is dirty, give it a clean.
They can cause all sorts of annoying problems.

[powerandtorque]

PAS sensor shouldn't make any difference on the move - it's only really there to tell the ECU to raise the idle speed a smidgen to compensate for the additional load. Can't see how the ICV would affect the steering either providing that the engine is turning quick enough for the pump to generate sufficient pressure.

Indeed, providing that the engine (and thus PAS pump) is spinning at a decent speed, you could have the ignition off and be rolling along with the car in gear and the clutch up and the PAS would still work just fine since it's a fully hydraulic system on a 306.

I've had similar symptoms before where the assistance would sort of cyclicly come and go when cornering under load but be fine when stationary or at low speeds, and swapping the rack fixed that - I assume that the PAS valving inside the rack was sticking or something like that.

Knackered steering lower columns can cause heavy/notchy/binding steering too, but that should happen when stationary too.

[miles]

As above, it could be the pump and if you have one to hand dead easy to change first before the rack

[martyn92]

Steering column? Sounds similar to what happened to mine before it seized up

[Matt-Rallye]

Steering column? Sounds similar to what happened to mine before it seized up

Is this a common problem?

Drove the car again yesterday after it had been sat for a couple of days and didnt notice anything wrong! bloody french

Matt

[martyn92]

Ive seen it a few times from searches on google. The car felt fine 95% of the time and used to squeak sometimes turning the wheel. But there was always one roundabout that when I went round too quickly the steering used to jam solid but then release its self almost immediately.
I could never work it out what was wrong and then I wouldnt notice it again for ages. Until I went to the nurburgring and then that really upset it and it seized in the car park and I couldnt turn :/ Took us ages to free it and then you could hear and feel the bearings in the column crunching/grinding horribly.
It may be something different completely but hopefully may help

[Matt-Rallye]

Ah I will investigate that abit then as the car does get driven quite hard sometimes (although may i quickly point out that it gets extremely well maintained and afterall it is a 'performance' car!)

Matt