Very light (dangerous) steering problem rev2 turbo

[Super_red]

dead play in the middle is a sure sign the tracking is out.

[2tmike]

Hi, just a thought but has anyone really checked for mechanical play when doing the alignment (or in MOT tests)? For sure that will take away the steering feel and also lead to tracking going out after set up. As well as the track rod ends and ball joints I'd have a really close look for play in the rack drumsticks (arms that come out of the rack). They have joints that can wear and will destroy steering feel particularly around the straight ahead position...

[bobhatton]

Ok, i have removed the pas fuse and it did make a huge difference, however, the steering still feels lighter than it should and still provides minimal feedback.
Can anyone please advise?

Ps.
Good luck Bob "South West Toyota MR2 specialist" and your son Stephen (i believe, but could wrong), regarding your hill climb trials.

Thank you. Its my turn to beat Steve this year, just started my engine build http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=157550

Ok, so the PAS is part of the problem.
What wheels and tyres, sizes etc do you have?
You need to have all your settings checked front and rear not just the tracking, and it needs to be done by a very good tyre company, will cost around £100 to £150 if its the right place

[djminor]

I'm currently running 205/40/17 on the front and 225/45/17 on the rear.

Does anyone know of a good place in the south east, preferably in the surrey area, whom could check and adjust all the required settings.

You and your son appear to be quite evenly matched so good luck in beating him Bob, im sure it will be close.

[djpkins]

The wheels aren't in contact with the ground propperly if the alignment is really off...mine was a fkn nightmare when I first got it, pulled to the left and floated like a crazy fool around 70...80...on the lanes, could almost feel the steering bias floating from one wheel over to the other (bumpy)...and as you say...no response.
All that needed correcting with my alignment was done in half an hour and added about £50 to the bill when I last changed my tyres...it was, obv, a different car, taking it back for a wheel balance/tracking tmrw...potholes have cabbaged it again.

[BenF]

As Bob's posted, I suspect your kph->MPH converter as Bob has spotted is the cause.

I had a Rev2 and did an experiment disconnecting the PAS pump speed signal input and that caused scary shopping trolley-light steering, exactly what you seem to have.

I'd check the wiring and ensure the speed signal wire ( possibly white / purple from very distant memory ) at the ECU in the boot is connected through to the PAS unit correctly.

If that's OK, then I'd look into replacing whatever is providing the PAS with the speed signal it uses - could be a delimiter, or speedo conversion unit.

What you need is one that passes through the original speedo pulses pulses before 'capping' the rate just below the 112 -120mph speed cut on the Japanese ECU. Some speedo converters can do this and still provide the speedo in the dash a true converted speed.

[bobhatton]

http://www.alignmycar.co.uk/AlignMyCarHome

or
http://www.protyre.co.uk/ouroutlets.aspx


As Ben says you do need to get the KPH to MPH converter sorted. There is a chap on here that sells the right one, forgot his name at the moment.

I also do not think that front tyre size is very good, should be 205 or 215/40, there will be no give with a 30.

[2mad]

Hi dj, I have the exact same problem because my pas runs all the time, my wheels were the other contributing factor, only found that out when I bought some new wheels and tyres.

My old wheels were non-staggered 7jj 215/40/17 front 7jj 235/40/17 rear and I had nankangs on the front.
I found this setup almost undrivable, the front was so light at any speed over 45/50mph, if I had to swop the 215/40 for 195/30 I think that would have been terrifying

Now I have staggered 8jj 215/40/17 front 9jj 245/35/17 rear, toyo t1r's all round.

Changing the wheels has minimized the feeling that the front end is lifting 'floaty' at speed, feedback is much improved and the difference in handling is like night and day the car feels much more stable, especially cornering.


Hope you manage to sort it out soon.

Kev.

[djminor]

Thanks for the advice
I understand the converter could be faulty, but even with the pas pump constantly on, the steering shouldn't be that light (this has been confirmed by James at JDModified formally 3S Service Center).
When i removed the fuse the steering did improve but was still noticeably light.

The alignment was only adjusted a week so ago and has been sat on the drive ever since so cant imagine that to be the main cause of the problem.

[djminor]

Alignment before and after (youll need to add hypertext transfer protocol to the begining of the links, as im unable to upload url's).
i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x393/djminor/IMG141.jpg
i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x393/djminor/IMG140.jpg

[dantheman]

the alignment before adjustment doesnt look bad to me. id be very surprised if that was the cause, assuming those numbers are staying still and not just a snapshot of a massively varying range.

when you say the steering feels light are you talking about on centre (straighish line), constant movement (slalom) or steady state turn (going round a constant radius bend)? What does it feel like on full lock?

[djminor]

The steering is extremely light throughout the whole steering range and I'm only able to keep the car going In a straight line for a few days after the alignment has been set before it goes wobbly again.

I thought i had removed the pas fuse, however, i did this whilst recovering from my festive escapades and just noticed the fuse i removed was the wrong one!
Does anyone know where the correct fuse is located ie frunk or footwell and what its listed as eg power, turn etc?
Thanks

[djminor]

Thanks everyone for your help. The problem has now been located and corrected, although slightly sooner than i had anticipated, due to the sh**ty new 2012 MOT regs causing it to fail the test (if you have an aftermarket steering wheel without the factory fitted airbag, beware)!

The steering column was found to be at fault, however, the actual cause of the problem is still a mystery, but at least i now know why i couldnt locate the PAS fuse... According to Toyota, and my mechanic, it doesn't exist (not sure if model specific)

[djpkins]

were rev2's fitted with an airbag?

[Peter Gidden]

The steering column was found to be at fault, however, the actual cause of the problem is still a mystery

So if they don't know what was wrong, what did they do to solve it? Tighten up the steering wheel?

ETA

IIRC, the PAS relay supply is fused by a fusible link in the front fuse box. So easier to unplug the relay than remove the fusible link.

[Super_red]

were rev2's fitted with an airbag?

Mine isnt.

[djminor]

The steering column was replaced with one from a donor car

[bobhatton]

The steering column was replaced with one from a donor car

Ok but what was wrong with the old one?

[djminor]

Ok but what was wrong with the old one?

Thats what i would like to know.
A valve on the column was suggested as a possible cause, but the exact problem is still unknown.

[djpkins]

surely must be the universal joint...