| Author |
 Topic  |
|
| |
Current Topic Rating:  | Join the Forum to Rate this Topic at: www.VNCommodore.com Support Forums
|
|
|
G.O.M.
P Plater
13 Posts
 |
 Posted - 16 Nov 2010 : 11:39:57 PM
|
VN Executive sedan 6cyl auto.
My missus brought the car home today saying that the horn was sounding when the steering wheel was turned & that the steering felt funny. Took it for a drive & sure enough the horn sounds when you turn left or right. It's an air horn that I installed myself several months ago & there hasn't been a problem with it. It is not shorting out behind the button. I took the fuse out of the positive from the battery to the relay & tried it. The horn didn't sound but there was a clicking sound from the drivers side that I think is one of the relays near the fuse box. I fitted the sports steering wheel & air horn myself but there has never been a problem with either in the 9 months or so that they have been on the car.
The really big problem is with the steering itself though. The power steering rack is on the way out, it leaks fluid from where the lines connect to the rack but only fairly slowly, I top the resivour up every week or two but it never gets so low that there isn't some trace of fluid on the dipstick. When I took it for the test run it turns right just fine but when I turn left it starts out ok & then the steering gets heavier. The feeling is kind of hard to describe but there's sort of like a bump in the steering when I turn the wheel 1/4 turn left, then it frees up again & then immediately starts to get much heavier than it should be. Not super heavy like total failure of power steering but heavy enough that you certainly notice it.
I don't know if I've got 3 seperate issues here or if they are all related but my gut says they are all tied into each other. Yesterday when I drove the car everything was fine but now all these things have gone wrong at once.
If anyone can give me a clue what is going on & how I might go about fixing it myself (dollars are very tight) I would be most gratefull.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
|
|
Report to Moderator |
|
|
voodoo92
Fully Licenced
150 Posts
|
Posted - 16 Nov 2010 : 11:50:47 PM
|
| if it turns out u need a new rack, i just bought my own reconditioned one today over ebay. if u look hard enough u can get one like me for 210 which is still really good for the part. u could get 380+ or over 500 for a mechanic to do it and everything |
Bassist by day, VN nut by night |
Report to Moderator  |
|
|
G.O.M.
P Plater
13 Posts
|
Posted - 17 Nov 2010 : 12:04:34 AM
|
Yeah I know I've got to replace the rack in the near future but I don't think it's actually the cause of my current problems. I've never known a steering rack to cause what seems to be a short in the horn wiring or for a rack to only get heavy on one side. I've always known the steering to get heavy turning left & right evenly & not kind of bumpy like mine has gone. I rang around last week to get a quote on supply & fit a rack & nearly fell over. The cheapest was Peddars at $630 & they claim they have thier own racks made new, very insistent that they are not reco. Everyone else want $750 & upwards to fit a reco. Even just to get a reco rack with a trade in most wanted over $500 just for the part. I know I havn't fitted a rack in 12yrs but we used to charge $220 to supply & fit a VN rack.
All I need for now though is to get the thing back on the road for the next month so that I can get to work. If I can't get to work I can't afford to buy the replacement rack in a few weeks. Then of course there's the mortgage on top of the car costs. |
| Report to Moderator |
|
|
andrewpapa
Fully Licenced
122 Posts
|
Posted - 17 Nov 2010 : 03:10:55 AM
|
| (no1q)- maybe you have hit something on the steering-rack have a good look for any damage too it ,have a GOOD look if the steering-rack is bent anywhere. .(no2q)- for your leaking problem all connections to steering pump and steering-rake are tit so you have no oil seeks ok and (no3q)- your horn rewire it with new wire and earth it good ok . i hope i have helped you G.O.M good Luke whith it bye andrew papa |
i am not a licenced mechanic but i do have years off experience fixing and restoring cars and doing them up ,i can even do-motors-up,panel betting,spray painting,electrical work. i know What i am doing when fixing my cars, i am not saying i know everything on how to fix cars but i can fix them with information and help off the internet and this site.vncommador.com |
| Report to Moderator |
|
|
Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
|
Posted - 17 Nov 2010 : 5:52:23 PM
|
You may be able to fix the leak on your power steering rack yourself, although on a VN, you will likely have to undo the rack from the crossmember to get at the fitting nuts. Beneath those two fittings on the rack are a pair of O-rings. They're $2 each from a Holden dealer, and they are known to leak in time. I would agree with andrewpapa in thinking that your steering rack might be bent; how you describe the steering definitely sounds like it. The other thing it moght be, if the steering feels a bit vage, is the bushes where the rack bolts onto the crossmember.
As for the horn going off, I have one theory; at the back of the steering wheel, there's a brass ring that forms the contact for the horn switch. Are you absolutely sure that ring is square? If it isn't, it might explain why the horn goes off when you turn the wheel |
| Report to Moderator |
|
|
G.O.M.
P Plater
13 Posts
|
Posted - 17 Nov 2010 : 8:33:42 PM
|
Well I ripped the steering wheel & boss kit off today & found that the plastic ring that the brass ring sits on had managed to come out of position. The hole that the pin goes through was worn right away & allowed the plastic ring to move out of position taking the brass ring with it. I butchered a wreck & got another plastic ring & fitted that & now the whole lot is perfect, including the funny feel in the steering. I did go through & check the rack very thoroughly to see if it was bent but there was no sign of any damage anywhere at all. Tightened up the two lines I could get to, which were a bit loose & leaking but everything else seems tight. It's still leaking from a couple of other places & definitely needs to be replaced but at least I can get to work now so I can afford to get the new rack.
Thanks for the help everyone. |
| Report to Moderator |
|
|
Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
|
Posted - 17 Nov 2010 : 9:57:39 PM
|
| No probs, although I would seriously consider changing those O-rings in the short term, just so you don't have to keep topping it up and not making a mess in your driveway |
| Report to Moderator |
|
| |
Topic |
|
Topic Locked
