Hey everybody.

Recently my trusty stilo has developed a strange habit.
As i turn my steering wheel, the steering wheel itself gives off this sort of thumping sensation, almost as if the wheels were loose (it's really hard to describe ).

This usually only happens after the car has warmed up, but i suspect it may possibly be happening when it's cold too, and that i may not notice it as much.

There is absolutely no play in whatsoever, even the slightest move of the steering wheel moves the wheels, and it does not feel too hard, nor too loose.

I'm at a complete loss for what to look for here, anybody ever had this symptom?

first thought is the steering joint next to the clutch pedal, if you have a RHD... if you have LHD, it would be next to your Accelerator. The external torx bolt in mine worked loose somehow and i got a very hard to diagnose knock from the steering.. happened when gently rocking the steering side to side or when doing full rotations.

more things to check are suspension top mounts, Springs, track rod ends, steering rack (both steering arm joints and input joint, aswell as for security), wishbones, ARB droplinks and bushes... i think thats about it...

Thanks for the reply.

Allright you just listed every single thing i suspected .

Anyway i'll try the external torx screw first, i'm guessing it's supposed to be tight right?

Also i noticed that my left front strut seems in a bad way, and consider it a possible suspect, however i would guess that were it a problem with the strut, the thumps would also be felt in the pedals? I might be wrong on that one though,
and there might even be a thump in the pedals as well, but the one in the steering wheel may be more accentuated, making the other one go unnoticed?

Thanks in advance .

the external torx, i think, is either an 'E12 or E14' size i cant remember which at the moment without checking, use 'Locktite' or other thread locking compound and it will stop it coming loose in future

strut/spring issues can sometimes be felt through the floorpan, it depends whats wrong with it. certainly needs checking and sorting out. also if you find anything amiss with the steering or suspension always renew in pairs i.e. if the left one is worn/broken... replace the right one too (and visa-versa)

Right, so it turns out my struts themselves were fine. However my ball joints had quite some play in both sides, so i've had both front wishbones replaced.
And guess what? Its still there. Also i've noticed it seems much more prominent when reversing. Its like the thumps happen as you the steering wheel centers. Almost as if it reaches one or two obstacles on its travel to center. The steering itself is however nice and smooth.

By the way, the tracking is now off (steering wheel is off center while driving straight forward), possibly happened with the ball joints going bad.
Could this have anything to do with my symptoms?

did you check the steering joint next to the clutch pedal?

Just one simple thing to check; I had a sort of thump/ knock coming from the steering a while back that turned out to be the joint previously mentioned however in my case it was the trim panel that goes from the centre console underneath the dash to where the polen filter was covered - it had come loose and was touching the joint which at certain points was giving off this knocking but wasn't noticeable through the steering motion at the wheel. Check the trim is clipped in and tight before you consider changing any other suspension/ steering parts

richydraper - I have actually not checked the torx screw yet, as it occured to me,
that the tool needed weren't in my toolbox .
So at the moment i'm waiting for my friend, who does have it, to finish this sort of
huge test you get at the end of your education as a mechanic. I really don't wanna
disturb him during his finals. As soon as his done it's the first thing i'm gonna check,
so in the mean time i thought i'd try and elimate some of the other things that could possible cause, so he wouldn't have to check these things when he finally gets his hands
on my stilo .

markthompson - Interesting idea, and i'm definately gonna check, since i've have the entire centre console out (much easier to clean this way ), so a piece of trim could easily have misplaced itself. Also, i thought about it since i had the cable for my
headunits microphone run through the steering, into the fuse box, and up through the A-pillar. So first thing i did was remove the cable incase it was interferring with any shafts or joints . However my car is a LHD, so which trim piece would yours be if it were the opposite? (i know, weird question).

Also thanks for all the replies so far guys! Really helpful!

In your case it would be the left hand panel that clips onto the centre console and runs under the dash next to your right leg

you dont need him to have a look it will be BRUTALLY obvious if its loose possibly the bolt will be finger tight. and when you rock the steering wheel you will see it moving and clunking on the shaft. you can tighten it up for now using a normal hex (6pointed) socket... just find one that fits but dont for get your buddy to recheck it with his 'external torx' socket

All right, heading out for a look now, on both screw and trim, will report back when im done

All right, so both trim and screw checks out.
I tried however, putting a hand on the spring while turning the wheel,
and i can sort of feel the knocks on it. So now im thinking
its the top mounts. Is this something i can fix myself? Cause the mounts
are relatively cheap if i am to replace them

youll need spring compressors... ive seen horseshoe ones but i know these will be expensive

ive seen it done in the car but id imagine it would be incredibly hard to line up again once done.

if you decide to do it yourself buy the best compressors you can afford because IF they fail, it'll hurt... or kill you. if, on the otherhand, you're not comfortable doing it yourself and you know a friendly garage, maybe have a word with them and ask them to fit the bearings for you... just go down with your strutts off the car and the box of new parts and id imagine they would do it for a small fee.

richydraper said:

you dont need him to have a look it will be BRUTALLY obvious if its loose possibly the bolt will be finger tight. and when you rock the steering wheel you will see it moving and clunking on the shaft.

Click to expand...

Richy, you're a star! I have felt this niggly little clunk for ages, just went to check my steering joint and it's loose like you describe. That could have ended up very nasty.

dont forget to loctite the bolt threads and dont over tighten... i had the joint off to replace my interior fan... didnt use loctite when i replaced it but torqued it to spec, within a year it had worked loose again my bolt was 2 turns off dropping out its now loctite'd in and torqued so i shouldnt have any problems... hate to think what could have happened if it had come off the shaft