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General Help!! No steering at all

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General Help!! No steering at all

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bri2

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went to work and pulled into the car park, turned to park and nothing!! feels like the sterring knuckle has stripped its splines. error messages showed asr failure and airbag failure also some other faults. i cant believe it, any help lads. car i stranded across the car park and will have to be recovered home.:mad::mad::mad:
car is 04 abarth
 
found this:
Recall:No. 2 of 4Recall Ref:R/2005/043Exact Model:Stilo and AbarthDescription:Possible loss of steeringVIN:Stilo ZFA19200000000000 to ZFA19200000436250, Abarth ZFA19200000000000 to ZFA19200000436250Build Date:Numbers:3043Defect:Excess play between steering rack and pinion leading to noise and possible loss of steering when parking.Action:Recalled vehicles will have the steering pinion bearing preload adjusted, or the steering rack assembly will be replaced as necessary.Launch Date:11 July 2005
on my service book it says it has had the recal, have i got to pay for this to be done again????
 
I would suspect the battery as you have those other faults and the stilos power steering is electric.
 
yes the wheel can be turned and a loud banging noise heard, rack looks like it is trying to move then moves back, it really seems like the steering splines are just spinning! just glad it happened then and not while going round a corner. Argonought, you seem to be all over this forum, have you ever encountered a total rack failure before?
 
12052010009.jpg


found this on another site, if its this nut then im happy, if not the cars off to the scrapyard,
 
can anyone tell me which steering rack will fit my abarth please. or are they all the same??
 
Ive just had almost the exact same thing with my Abarth. Reversing (luckily at home) on to my drive and got a large bang :eek: from the steering and the steering seemed to slip. Managed to get the car out of the way but it feels like a part of the rack has broken or is slipping.

Again I suspect the steering rack is at fault but Im just waiting for local Fiat dealer to answer the phone! :bang: Im going to check that my car had the recall on the steering, is there anything else I can do? Im not 100% about driving it to be honest, in case it goes completely on the way there. Any advise anyone?! :confused:

bigzackski
 
Ok have now spoken to Fiat and what a joke! My local dealership have no record of the recall being issued and said that my car wasn't affected. Basically they aren't bother and aren't going to do anything about it! So much for customer service! :mad: :mad: :mad:

So now I'm contacting the main Fiat customer service department to get it resolved. I love my stilo abarth, but I fear this might be the end of it :cry:
 
Total loss of steering!

Hi all, wondering if someone else has had this recently. I know there has already been a lot covered on Stilo steering racks. I've just had my Abarth checked out by the local garage and they've said the rack has gone (lost all steering the other day whilst reversing onto my drive). The car was recalled in 2005 and the work was completed, but surely this shouldn't need doing again should it?! Ive contacted Fiat but they're dragging their heels about things. Is there anything I can do or should I just pay out for a new rack and forget it?

Many thanks
 
Re: Total loss of steering!

bigzackski said:
Ok have now spoken to Fiat and what a joke! My local dealership have no record of the recall being issued and said that my car wasn't affected. Basically they aren't bother and aren't going to do anything about it! So much for customer service! :mad: :mad: :mad:

So now I'm contacting the main Fiat customer service department to get it resolved. I love my stilo abarth, but I fear this might be the end of it :cry:
Click to expand...

bigzackski said:
Hi all, wondering if someone else has had this recently. I know there has already been a lot covered on Stilo steering racks. I've just had my Abarth checked out by the local garage and they've said the rack has gone (lost all steering the other day whilst reversing onto my drive). The car was recalled in 2005 and the work was completed, but surely this shouldn't need doing again should it?! Ive contacted Fiat but they're dragging their heels about things. Is there anything I can do or should I just pay out for a new rack and forget it?

Many thanks
Click to expand...

You really need to establish if the car was actually recalled or not. If it was recalled & had the work done, and that worked has failed, then Fiat UK should offer financial assistance (unless they wanna be awkward). Similarly if it was recalled but never actually taken in for the work, then it should now have the recall carried out Free of Charge.

However, if your car was not included in the list of affected vehicles and the rack has gone then it could be considered one of those things and you may therefore be expected to just pay for the work.

I'd ask Fiat UK (00800 3428 0000) if your car was included in the recall & whether it's been done, and go from there.
 
I too sometimes hear large bangs from the front suspension. If I'm driving like 3mph and hit the brakes there is a very strong banging noise comming from the front, it's like my engine has falled out. In some cases if I hit a huge hole the same noise is heard and my steering wheel goes slightly off in both scenarios... can someone provide a picture from ePER (can't open it from here) what exactly goes wrong with the rack? I have no problems with the steering whatsoever.. rotates freely both sides no weird sounds.
 
Neonlow
Your problem sounds very different and suspension or engine/gbox mount related

A few Stilos have had steering rack failure
With a rack and pinion steering rack,
when the pinion gear loses a tooth the steering starts to move and then jumps back as it jumps over the missing tooth with a loud clunk, in the same point on the steering wheel rotation

If the gear is worn excessively or all the teeth are stripped then there is no connection to the wheels and the steering wheel just spins with no resistance. It would feel much the same if the steering column became detached from the rack at the column connection shown in top photo

Recall details here
http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/default.asp

The recall advises rack preload adjustment OR rack replacement so it depends what they did at the time. If the rack wasn't replaced and it's now failed then there may be a case to answer
 
Last edited:
Deckchair5 said:
Neonlow
Your problem sounds very different and suspension or engine/gbox mount related

A few Stilos have had steering rack failure
With a rack and pinion steering rack,
when the pinion gear loses a tooth the steering starts to move and then jumps back as it jumps over the missing tooth with a loud clunk, in the same point on the steering wheel rotation

If the gear is worn excessively or all the teeth are stripped then there is no connection to the wheels and the steering wheel just spins with no resistance. It would feel much the same if the steering column became detached from the rack at the column connection shown in top photo

Recall details here
http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/default.asp

The recall advises rack preload adjustment OR rack replacement so it depends what they did at the time. If the rack wasn't replaced and it's now failed then there may be a case to answer
Click to expand...

[FONT=&quot]You're right if there is excessive wear on the rack it would definitely make noises while making full lock left/right...what bothers me though is that my steering wheel goes slightly off when going straight. I can’t imagine what would be causing that except something with the rack… I take good care of my front suspension because of the roads we have down here and I have so far changed the wishbones and drop links, disks, pads, did a test on the shock absorbers and everything seems fine. There aren’t many things left there… the bushings of the stabilizer bar seem ok… what’s left is the McPherson bearings and the steering joints to the wheels, don’t know how they are called… [/FONT]
 
Almost any wear in your front suspension can make your steering go off line, a typical one would be track rod end or front wishbone wear.
Front wishbone seems to be more noticeable in corners where the sudden shift makes the steering alter course and a bit of a clunk as it moves.

track rod end.JPG
Track rod end makes steering alter whilst changing gear

tie rods.JPG
There can also be wear at the tie rod where it attches to the rack. This feels the same as above and gives a slackness to steering

But these wouldn't make a loud bang on bumps like you say is happening to you. That sounds more like suspension or engine/gbox mounts
 
Last edited:
Deckchair5 said:
Almost any wear in your front suspension can make your steering go off line, a typical one would be track rod end or front wishbone wear.
Front wishbone seems to be more noticeable in corners where the sudden shift makes the steering alter course and a bit of a clunk as it moves.

View attachment 84634
Track rod end makes steering alter whilst changing gear

View attachment 84633
There can also be wear at the tie rod where it attches to the rack. This feels the same as above and gives a slackness to steering

But these wouldn't make a loud bang on bumps like you say is happening to you. That sounds more like suspension or engine/gbox mounts
Click to expand...
I'll change the track rod ends and we'll see. But the problem is that this awful cracking sound comes very rare... how can I check if my engine/gearbox mounts are torn or hardened like plastic, I know this is a problem with JTDs...
 
Dont just change the track rods ends, have a look at them when someone moves the steering from side to side and check for slack movement.

For engine and gearbox mounts
Visually check the rubber and see if you can get a long lever bar in there to detect any large movement
 
Last edited:
Deckchair5 said:
Dont just change the track rods ends, have a look at them when someone moves the steering from side to side and check for slack movement.

For engine and gearbox mounts
Visually check the rubber and see if you can get a long lever bar in there to detect any large movement
Click to expand...
I can visualy check just one of the engine mountings I can't reach the gerabox and the ones below ... I'll try checking the track rod ends later, that's a good idea, thanks ;)
 
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