Need help please. My s-type with power steering seems to have difficulty turning right when standing still. Left turns are perfect and so is turning right when driving. But standing still, it is extremely difficult to turn the steering. The box has been rebuilt and so has the pump about 4 years ago. No leaks! Any advice would be appreciated. The problem has always been there, but i would love to fix this.
Have you jacked the front end and moved the steering thru its range without power assistance to eliminate any mechanical binding?
Other than that, perhaps the pump pressure is too low at idle…what happens if you rev the engine more?
Wheels move fluidly from side to side when lifted from the ground. Will test revving it up a bit. Can it be caused by wheel alignment not correctly set?
I have just checked it, increasing rpm makes no difference.
If you had the same effort bias stopped and rolling then I would say:
a) That the box is out of trim. (there is a cam grub screw on the torsion valve to adjust this.
b) That the worm isn’t centered.
Could you try measuring the steering effort required while the car is rolling. Something like a fish scale hooked onto the steering wheel rim, but it would probably need to be a scale for weighing small fish.
What condition are your balljoints and fulcrum bushes in?
If it was just alignment then I would suspect that you would notice a difference in effort while rolling as well.
Thank you so much, I have rebuilt the box myself, and must admit not having centered the worm properly sounds like a possibility…
Not having the worm centered should result in your needing more effort in one direction than the other. But it should do this while standing and rolling.
The first thing to establish is if you need more effort in one direction while rolling.
If your Fulcrum bushings are worn it is possible that the geometry changes between standing and moving, but if someone set the geometry to be right while stationary (hard to move shims about when the car is moving) then I would expect things to be ok while stationary, but the anomaly to change once rolling. Your symptoms are apparently the other way around.
I have raised the car again, wheels turn equally in number of turns between left and right. Ball joints and bushings have all been replaced about 4 years ago when i rebuilt the car. Thanks for all the help!
Btw, steering effort is perfect when rolling, in either direction. It really is only when standing still.
you could swap wheels/tyres side/side
also disconnect the draglink from Pitman arm, (easier said than done), and have someone move the steering wheel while the Pitman arm is loaded by hand to feel if its “catching” or binding
it does sound a bit like the box isnt centred properly, but its a Burman?..I am not very familiar with them, study the FSM chapter for clues
This is the stock box, not a conversion to R&P?
Would this still occur if the p/s belt was disconnected? This would make the steering hard all the time but might eliminate any proportioning valve problems within the pump and or box?
Get ready for an arm workout without thep/s but this might provide info to the forum.
Gerard
A worthwhile test, it would at least indicate if the problem is hydraulic or mechanical.
Taking the box out, only to discover that the problem was a binding joint or a loose bushing would be frustrating.
Will do and report back, thanks! It is the original box, I have recon a few of them in the past, but am no expert.!
Just to update everyone on this matter. I took off all the steering linkages and made sure they are properly lubricated and move freely. Also ensured that the idling arm is adjusted correctly. No problems. My guess is now that the box has some malfunction. Does anyone have a diagram showing its actual operation internally? I have no intention of taking it apart again but would like to understand the movement of oil in the box,
Did you run it WITHOUT power assistance? Just remove the belt on the pump.
Want to make sure that the pump is not failing you and that the box might be OK.
Gerard