Steering Damping

[Mathew Boorman]

Is there a way to fix/adjust the damping of a power steering rack?

The charade has really fast return that needs more damping. If you let go of the wheel it returns quickly and overshoots way past center. This certainly does not seem like a factory behaviour.

The castor is stock (AFAIK), the rack has been swapped already, car has a LSD.

m@

[col]

A lot of 4wd's have steering dampers. You could fit one of them .There are aftermarket ones that have universal fitting kits.

[aarc240]

Charades normally have decent steering but they don't usually have LSD.
You haven't said what conditions prevail at the time of heavy feedback so:
does it happen under power only?
what about trailing throttle?
any particular surfaces affect it most?

If it happens pretty much any time, get the car into a shop that owns and knows how to use a four wheel aligner.
If the car has had any hard landings get a genuine factory manual (or at least the chassis part).
A flat hard surface, a plumb bob, a piece of chalk, a notebook and pencil, a tape measure, a mate or two and a bit of patience are required.
You can then mark up reference points on the floor with the chalk & plumb bob, note all the relevant floor to chassis dimensions and determine pretty accurately just how true the chassis is, both horizontally and vertically.

Not unknown for the Charade to kick the front sub frame up at the snout on a heavy impact like a jump or a ditch.
No obvious bends in the front suspension components, just a couple of small innocent looking creases in the inner guards and closer-than-usual panel gaps at the front of the doors. Enough to add a couple of degrees to the castor.

Don't patch the problem with a bandaid.

[Mathew Boorman]

Originally Posted by aarc240

Charades normally have decent steering but they don't usually have LSD.
You haven't said what conditions prevail at the time of heavy feedback so:
does it happen under power only?
what about trailing throttle?
any particular surfaces affect it most?

Its most noticable/concerning coasting around on tar. If you put your foot down on tar it seems to tighten up the corner and at times kick the tail out, but I have never had a FWD with a LSD, so I assume its normal.

Brand new struts just went in.
Just got it 4 wheel aligned at Revel Fyswick, toe was way out, rest was OK (I didn't ask for all the figures, DOH)

The wheel alignment helped, but it persists. I have always had this problem, in 2 shells, 2 different racks, and 2 stuts. Was similar when it originally had a viscous LSD(Same engine, same subframe, same column)

Originally Posted by aarc240

Not unknown for the Charade to kick the front sub frame up at the snout on a heavy impact like a jump or a ditch.

No obvious bends in the front suspension components, just a couple of small innocent looking creases in the inner guards and closer-than-usual panel gaps at the front of the doors. Enough to add a couple of degrees to the castor.

Now that sounds very familiar! I'm not sure that either shell was perfect to start with, and this one certainly experienced that at ROC, the RHS door gap certainly changed.

I'll call Moonie and find out what the figures were.

If the wheel alignment is good after a knock, should I still be looking at the chasis?