Loose Steering Wheel

My steering wheel is loose to the left. in other words I can turn it about 1/8th turn before the car moves left.

It does not drift to one side or another. My alignment is fine.????

That's a definite safety issue that you should get fixed right away. Maybe the steering linkage is loose. I believe having no more than one inch of freeplay is within normal limits.

1997 alot of miles maybe tie rod or ball joint relate . Find a good frontend shop.

What should I look for in a frontend mechanic???

Sounds like the problem is on the rack. Check the inner tie rods on both sides. I've seen a few A3/B4 Volks develope problems in this area. It doesn't sound to extreme to me though, you might be able to get away with it for quite a while.

My area west of DC has special shops that do only frontend work. May not be the same where you live. But Monro or Firestone maybe better and cheaper then the dealer.

When I hit my brakes at high speeds, highway especially, my steering wheel shakes ALOT and the front end of the vehicle shakes. I recently replaced the factory rotors with Zimmerman cross-drilled rotors. The dealer and various brake places are telling me that my rotors are probably warped, no tests have been performed on them yet. Last time I got my vehicle aligned at Town Fair Tire (where I bought my wheels), they told me that my left tie rod was off. My steering wheel also feels slightly loose. Do you think I could have a front end problem and this is why it shakes when hitting the brakes, or does this sound like a warped rotor issue?

Now that you mention it, I get a rattle feel as I brake too. Almost as if I hit a rut in the road and it looked my wheel in it.

Hintertux, check the mounting bolts for the steering rack. I've heard a few cases where the bolts that hold the steering rack to the subframe have started working loose and caused odd front-end looseness. Any alignment shop or general mechanic can do it but get this fixed NOW before you kill yourself!!

JettaTDI99, sorry to say it, but your fancy brake rotors are warped. dunno how advisable it is to get cross-drilled rotors machined, you might be stuck buying another set. Unless you are Ricky Roadracer and really need the capability of repeated fade-free stops from 150 km/h, stay with the OEM stuff. I just came out of a bad (expensive) experience with aftermarket rear rotors that weren't machined correctly. Nothing but OEM brake rotors for this puppy from now on.

Originally posted by GoFaster:
Hintertux, check the mounting bolts for the steering rack. I've heard a few cases where the bolts that hold the steering rack to the subframe have started working loose and caused odd front-end looseness. Any alignment shop or general mechanic can do it but get this fixed NOW before you kill yourself!!

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ditto, mine was loose at only 80k or so. I was told by the dealer that my bearings were shot. My independent mechanic (whom I now trust) tightened up the rack bolts and I was back to normal. Same symptoms that you are describing.

what i want to know is where are the steering rack bolts? when i was under the car last night couldnt find them??

Did you take off the belly pan? Shouldn't be hard to find ...

can someone just tell me where they are? the only thing i found was the 2 bolts that keep down the rack where the fluid goes in and out. the bolts go up from the "frame" and attach themselves to the rack? Another problem on a 98jetta tdi, i can pull the steering wheel towards me when sitting in drivers seat. it pulls up plus feels like a knuckle it loose when turn wheel from right to left. help!

Pull the airbag off and amke sure the center nut that holds the steering wheel on is properly secured.

hey thanks for the help but one more question. always disconnect battery before messing with airbag? can you please tell me where the bolts are on the steering rack under car that someone would tighten?

The steering rack bolts to the SUBFRAME with (4) 13mm hex head bolts. You see this by laying on your back underneath the car and looking straight up, the bolt heads are on the bottom of the subframe.

HTH,

Brian

thank you alot. that is what i tightened today because thats all i could find! i think that did the trick

The rack is what it is, a buddy of mine helped me out. We finally figured out what was loose when I was in the car and he had his hands done on the rack, as I turned the wheel full either direction. The rack bolts are loose. Tightened them up and all is well..

The thing that pisses me off, when I had my car in the shop a couple of months ago for a break vaccum problem I mentioned it and they said it was an alignment problem. I took it back to pepboys were my alignment was underwarranty and they could not find a problem either, but the alignment was fine.

You want it done right, do it yourself!

Ok...
I had the Rack tighted at the VW Dealer.

Everything seemed fine except I knew I needed a brake job (rotters and pads) and that my shocks where shot. I got a break at a goodyear shop right next to my work, on the struts and brakes. I also had them replace the mounting plates which after they pulled them I saw that they were bent a bit.

This was about two months ago. Now when I am driving if I make a U-turn or turn the wheel to the extent left it does not go straight and drifts left, if I do it the other way it drifts right... Goodyear said it was the rack and wanted $1100 to repair it. I did not buy it and figured that the rack was loose again. I took it back to the VW Dealer to have them tighten the rack this morning. They say that my rack is bent and that I need a new one $1000 including labor. I found the rack online from Germanautoparts.com for $209 where the dealer wanted $700 for the same rebuilt part. Now I am in the hunt for a good frontend mechanic here in Mount Laurel, NJ area that can put in a replacment rack. I almost wish that I would have traded it in before all this happened but the Touareg is not available yet or atleast not in Diesel...

So South Jersey mechanic, anyone...

go to karl on washington street. in burlington. foreign car parts i think it is called. phone is 267 1515. i think. he is awesome, talked with him before

Bowlerman, there is a cotter like pin on the column that keeps the steering wheel from coming forward out of the dash. Mine not too long ago wore out and my steering wheel almost ended up on my lap. You have to take a fair bit of dash apart to get at it, but good news its only a .70 cent part. I would really reccomend you give this some attention seeing as if it breaks while your driving, you could end up killing yourself.Good Luck

I found a good VW Mechanic in South Jersey

European Auto
Rick Ferber
856-985-0003
Main St
Marlton, NJ

He has been working VW for decades now. Anyhow, I did have to get a new steering rack but he shopped around and got me one for just a little over $300 instead of VWs $700. Everthing is great now went on a 2300 mile trip to visit my buddy in SC, my folks in FL and a wedding in Tenn.

The only hitch though is now I am getting a crappy 40 MPG...?
Will check the forum for answers.