Odd Noise When turning steering wheel.

[Lordpaxin]

First I had suspected it was suspension related, it just started up one day.

when you turn the wheel from side to side, a little or a lot, a groaning creaking sound. the sound can be replicated when comming to a stop and bouncing the brakes so it nose dives a little, but at standstill, shoving down its hard to get anything out of it.

this make me think its not suspension, more like steering components.

steering and handling has Not been affected atall.

 

[brute]

Does it do it when cold and then not anymore once it warms up? Does it seem to be louder since you first noticed it? Because in my 89 Camry "Ol' Faithful" I had a crazy noise that progressively got louder over the course of like a month and I couldv'e sworn it was the brakes because it was related to speed. The noise would speed up as the car would speed up. So I pulled it all apart and realized the wheel bearing was seized up.

 

[Bizarre]

Possible causes : Bad balljoint, worn suspension bushings, wheel bearing (as mentioned), low power steering fluid.

 

[Red 4G63]

On my 2G I had a similar problem and couldn't figure it out. I ended up taking it to Firestone because I knew them and they said that it was my inner tie rod. I had just replaced it and seemed kinda weird that a MOOG Chassis part would go bad that quick.... thank god for the life time warranty. Check that out and let me know what you think. They had to take it all apart though and I'm sure that you wouldn't want to do that in your driveway. You'll need an aligment if you do it so I would suggest just taking it to a shop that you trust to get it checked out. It only costed me about $120 for the part and the allignment. Your call, just some quick advice. Hope that helps.
Jerrod

 

[cfisher]

Check for a PS leak. I bet you have a leak somewhere or your rack is going out. I used Lucas PS Stop leak and I've been leak free for over 2 years now.

 

[brute]

Never NEVER use stop leak on the radiator though. On the 300zx, the previous owner did that and there was caked on shit everywhere. Water pump, turbos, radiator hoses, well everywhere that coolant gets in to. It was so SO terrible. Power steering stop leak works good though

 

[Lordpaxin]

i checked the level, and it was a little low. i filled it up, and cranked the wheel back and forth, and the sound seemed to be less. but the same though...

it does it running or shutoff.

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

I would check to make sure your inner tie rod ends aren't starting to go out. I had about the same problem on one of my cars. With the car on the ground move the wheel itself and see if you can move it side to side or from top to bottom.

 

[cfisher]

i checked the level, and it was a little low. i filled it up, and cranked the wheel back and forth, and the sound seemed to be less. but the same though...

it does it running or shutoff.

Drain all the PS fluid out. Then fill it back up with Lucas PS Stop leak. I had the same issue and my rack made a horrible sound turning the wheel. I drained the PS fluid out, filled the resevoir back up with the lucas stuff and the sound went away after a couple days. It's only about $5 a bottle.

 

[wret]

The creaking sound you describe is typical of dry ball joints, especially lower joints which have a lot of weight on them. The noise volume may change with temperature and usage. Until the joint is worn enough for clearance to develop (and turn into clunking noise and steering issues) it can be hard to detect without removing the joint.

 

[bane3d]

The creaking sound you describe is typical of dry ball joints, especially lower joints which a lot of weight on them. The noise volume may change with temperature and usage. Until the joint is worn enough for clearance to develop (and turn into clunking noise and steering issues) it can be hard to detect without removing the joint.

I don't mean to thread jack but I'm having the same problem on warm dry days. I assumed it was the lower ball joint and I've been trying to find the time out of my schedule to take it to Satan and get it looked at. Do you have any recommendations for me to use so I don't get the run around and they charge me for something that is under lifetime warranty and may actually be bad? I'm worried that I'm going to go in, and some mechanic give me the blow off and say it's not my lower ball joint, and then it goes bad within the next 6 months.

d

ps, btw LordPaxtin, the recall in question is this for your records: http://www.automotive.com/1998/49/eagle/talon/recalls/40925.html

 

[Carter97GSX]

This same thing happened to me last week. I knew it was not a steering component cause it happened with the wheel steady when I hit bumps, but I could not replicate it with just my weight on the car. I tested to see if it was a ball joint by having a friend crank the wheel while the car was off. When the noise came I touched each ball joint and I could feel that it was coming from the load bearing main one. Try that out cause it sounds like that is exactly what has happened with yours.

P.S. The main one is on the front side of the spindle, strait, and it is the cheap one that you can get for like $30 at the parts store. The other one is "L" shaped and more expensive.

 

[wret]

I don't mean to thread jack but I'm having the same problem on warm dry days. I assumed it was the lower ball joint and I've been trying to find the time out of my schedule to take it to Satan and get it looked at. Do you have any recommendations for me to use so I don't get the run around and they charge me for something that is under lifetime warranty and may actually be bad? I'm worried that I'm going to go in, and some mechanic give me the blow off and say it's not my lower ball joint, and then it goes bad within the next 6 months.

d

ps, btw LordPaxtin, the recall in question is this for your records: http://www.automotive.com/1998/49/eagle/talon/recalls/40925.html

Some Talon owners have said they have not had difficulty with repeat recall replacement. Eclipse owners have had more difficulty but be assertive and you might get it done. I'm pretty much on my own. I don't want to lose my Energy Suspension bushings but I can replace an arm in about 20 minutes. 30 after I realign it.

 

[Lordpaxin]

well, i was fiddlin with it today and if you grab hold of the passenger wheel and give it a twist, HELLO squeek!

guess ill have to get around to getting that stuff fixed eventually.