Weird Steering Problem

[ChrisFurlong]

Hi,

I recently bought a 2005 A4 3.2 Quattro, and have been having a steering issue since day one. I was driving home, and the car kept seriously pulling both left and right. It felt like I was on ice, even though there wasn't any. It only seemed to happen at 50mph and lower. It made me wonder if it was the 640 relay playing up (servotronic cutting in and out and oversteering the car). So last night I pulled the 640, but today it still was there, and was harder to correct with the heavier steering.

I've done some searching, and can't seem to find if anyone else has had the same issue as me. I have read problems with the power steering pump, and power steering rack. I haven't checked my power steering fluid yet.

I have also noticed that the front wheels seem to rub when the car is close or on full lock, if that makes a difference.

Can anyone give me any suggestions on what the problem might be?

The car isn't stock, but as we've had a lot of snow here in the UK this week, its not very clean, so once I get the chance to give her a good clean, I'll post pictures up.

Any help is very much appreciated!

[Tanner]

Sounds like a steering alignment to me. Maybe the alignment is out on one or both tires.

[ChrisFurlong]

I was wondering if it was to do with the wheel alignment or tracking. I'm going to get it digitally checked next week.

But the pulling seems very harsh, would the tracking/alignment do this? Even with the worlds worst tracking/alignment would it be possible?

[Tanner]

If it's not toed in properly, the handling will get twitchy, minor bumps in the road will get the car twitchy. Who knows if the previous owner curbed a wheel or something.

[ChrisFurlong]

Thanks Tanner. I'll get the car setup properly next week and hopefully that will solve it.

But if anyone else has any ideas as what the problem might be, please chime in :)

[mr shickadance]

how much snow fell, sometimes when you are driving and the snow builds up in your wheel and/or the wheel well it can cause some funky driving problems, shimmies, pulls, and rubbing can all occur if you have alot of snow build up in your wheel well and your wheels, especially if it is thick slushy type of snow,

[ChrisFurlong]

We've had quite a bit of snow the last couple of days, and there was snow built up in the wheel arch. But the first day there wasn't any snow and it was doing it. The snow seems to be melting now, so hopefully get some 'dry' running and will tell if it is that or not

[mr shickadance]

oh to heklp answer ur rubbing question, if you have a quattro, at full lock almost every car with AWD will have some sort of what feels like rubbing, in reality it is the drive train that is struggling to get power to the wheels because the wheels are turned so much, every car deals with this, audi seems to have the least ''rubbing'' in my opinion, my wrx had this, my 4x4 xterror had this (except it felt like bucking and grinding) and my parents toyota tundra 4x4 has this issue (MASSIVE bucking and grinding....hate that truck)

[ChrisFurlong]

oh to heklp answer ur rubbing question, if you have a quattro, at full lock almost every car with AWD will have some sort of what feels like rubbing, in reality it is the drive train that is struggling to get power to the wheels because the wheels are turned so much, every car deals with this, audi seems to have the least ''rubbing'' in my opinion, my wrx had this, my 4x4 xterror had this (except it felt like bucking and grinding) and my parents toyota tundra 4x4 has this issue (MASSIVE bucking and grinding....hate that truck)

Hmmm..... that will be annoying if it is just a 'feature' of quattro. I will double check and make sure nothing is rubbing first, and get the car tracked and aligned, and hopefully it won't be as bad as it is at the moment.

[Stewy]

Is the car lowered? Are you running larger wheels/tires over stock? Any lowered car is going to "track" very differently than a stock vehicle. If the vehicle is pulling that badly, it could be an alignment issue. That being said, there are some roads that require me to put two hands on the wheel, or at least hold it real tight to keep the car straight.

[ChrisFurlong]

Is the car lowered? Are you running larger wheels/tires over stock? Any lowered car is going to "track" very differently than a stock vehicle. If the vehicle is pulling that badly, it could be an alignment issue. That being said, there are some roads that require me to put two hands on the wheel, or at least hold it real tight to keep the car straight.

The car isn't lowered over factory spec S-Line, but it has had a few modifications. It has been fully converted to a RS4 body, and the previous owner said he replaced the suspension with RS4 parts as to not need spacers for the wheels. I'm hopefully going to get the car aligned on wednesday morning, and will report back if it was way out.

[Tanner]

I'm guessing that one or more tires aren't toed properly given that the suspension has been changed.

[ChrisFurlong]

Well I went to the shop this morning, and they checked the alignment. He said the alignment was fine, but the tracking was way out, so he sorted that out. It definately feels better, but still seems to have a slight 'mind of its own'. The guy also said that it could be due to the size of the wheels & tyres. Anyone know any truth in this?

Also, whilst he was underneath the car, he spotted a few loose sensors hanging down near the right front fog light, and a couple near the left front fog light. I have no idea what these may be, but when the weathers a bit warmer and I can get underneath the car again, I'll snap some photos and hopefully someone on here might be able to tell me what they are and where they go.

I think it might be a good idea to give the car to Audi and let them make sure everything is fine and sort out the problems.

[Tanner]

Wider tires will do this, it'll tram more compared to narrower tires. I always notice this when I switch back to my summer performance tires after driving around on winter tires.

[ChrisFurlong]

One thing I have noticed is that the wheels don't seem to rub on full lock anymore. Don't know if this is because the snow here has now melted, or if its because of the tracking being sorted.

I just checked my reciept I got from the garage and it says Front Wheel Alignment. I suppose I really need all 4 wheels aligned being quattro don't I? I don't know if the guy really did do a four wheel alignment and just didn't put it on the receipt or not.

I'm fairly happy with the way the car is handling now, not as good as my old A6 did, but alright. Think I will go to Audi in the new year and give it to them and let them see if theres any problems with any of the suspension/steering, and also let them figure out where the sensors go.

And if I can shift this horrible cold by this afternoon, I'll give her a wash and post some pictures up :)

[Tanner]

When you say the wheels don't seem to rub, the tire rubbing against the fender? I'd check with the guy if he checked the alignment on all four and forgot to mention that the rears checked out okay.

Got pics of your A4? Curious to see how it looks with that full RS4 conversion.

[ChrisFurlong]

I've just been out for a quick drive in her again, and she actually feels fine. I even got my mum to drive it just to see if it was me being mad. It drove smoothly, and only with some crappy roads and adverse cambers did it feel like it was pulling a little. So overall, I'm pleased.

Oh and I've started a new thread with pictures of her...
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/401652-Fully-Converted-3.2-RS4-in-Ibis-White?p=5965699#post5965699