sirtokesalot Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 (edited) my plow cars steering is acting up. started mid winter did not wanna deal with it then and the times come to figure it out. the steering is tight then easy then tight then easy from lock to lock theres no pump whine and i did try swapping the pump for another one i had on the shelf from a tear down. is it possible something could be binding or more likely the rack? Edited May 24, 2022 by sirtokesalot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laegion Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 How old is your belt? Idlers? Tensioner/tension setting? Sounds like it could be a slipping belt to me since there is no pump whine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted May 24, 2022 Author Share Posted May 24, 2022 the belt is old but does not seem to be slipping. i did try a different belt as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laegion Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 A different belt or a new belt? I assume that since this is your plow car, that it sits for quite a bit of the year? How are the pulley surfaces? rust on the pulley grooves? I had that issue and it definitely caused my belt to slip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted May 24, 2022 Author Share Posted May 24, 2022 6 hours ago, laegion said: A different belt or a new belt? I assume that since this is your plow car, that it sits for quite a bit of the year? How are the pulley surfaces? rust on the pulley grooves? I had that issue and it definitely caused my belt to slip. it does get driven twice a week up and down the driveway we use it to pull the trash cans up the hill as well. pulleys are decent looking no rust in the groove sections. it was another used belt. i have something like 10 of them around. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 I don’t see rust causing slip issues, if anything some rust in there (while it lasts) will provide extra friction and extra belt wear. It’s an interesting situation. My sister’s Gen3 RX is apparently doing the same thing, but it doesn’t seem to be as full on as what you’re describing - yet. Cheers Bennie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laegion Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, el_freddo said: I don’t see rust causing slip issues, if anything some rust in there (while it lasts) will provide extra friction and extra belt wear. It’s an interesting situation. My sister’s Gen3 RX is apparently doing the same thing, but it doesn’t seem to be as full on as what you’re describing - yet. Cheers Bennie Yeah, but roughness and friction aren't the same thing. A surface pock-marked with rust is not the surface the belt was designed to adhere to. Rubber tends to have more friction with smooth metal than a rough grainy surface that crumbles off and contaminates the belt. Of course it depends on the amount of rust... Edited May 24, 2022 by laegion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 that's the classic symptom of the 'cardan' joint (u-joint) on the steering shaft going bad. To prove it, spray some light lube or even PB Blaster on the joint to see if it (temporaily) gets better. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted May 30, 2022 Author Share Posted May 30, 2022 i soaked that joint in pb blaster and had no effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 next 2 suggestions are trickier; if a spacer at the top of a strut assembly (under the strut mount) is upside-down, it will drag. It is narrower on one side to rest only against the inner race of the bearing in the mount. Or, mount bearing itself is severely failing? You can take the rubber plug out at the top and spray some lube in the bearing....might make a difference. I suppose a rack issue is also in the mix here, maybe others will have ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted May 31, 2022 Author Share Posted May 31, 2022 7 hours ago, 1 Lucky Texan said: next 2 suggestions are trickier; if a spacer at the top of a strut assembly (under the strut mount) is upside-down, it will drag. It is narrower on one side to rest only against the inner race of the bearing in the mount. Or, mount bearing itself is severely failing? You can take the rubber plug out at the top and spray some lube in the bearing....might make a difference. I suppose a rack issue is also in the mix here, maybe others will have ideas? i pulled the plugs out from the tops of the struts and poured oil into then filling them to the top and stuck the plugs back on. steering got much easier to turn after. how long u think it will last? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted June 1, 2022 Share Posted June 1, 2022 12 hours ago, sirtokesalot said: i pulled the plugs out from the tops of the struts and poured oil into then filling them to the top and stuck the plugs back on. steering got much easier to turn after. how long u think it will last? not that long if it was already giving symptoms.. it needs new tophats, period. you might be able to nurse it along for a little longer by keeping it lubed up, but damage has already been done. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted June 1, 2022 Author Share Posted June 1, 2022 (edited) Will it come apart? The car never leaves the driveway and never gets over 15mph Edited June 1, 2022 by sirtokesalot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 On 5/31/2022 at 7:03 PM, sirtokesalot said: i pulled the plugs out from the t how long u think it will last? Brilliant! It’s fine, you’ll never have issues again. Like most bearings they dry out and loose all their grease. And it probably has some rust. Those bearings aren’t taking massive rpms and mechanical, combustion or hydraulic heat loads. They just need to have some kind of grease in them, stuff animal fat down there and they’d probably be fine. You just went from something to nothing to something. You’re back in business. I guess there’s a chance you ripped the bearings to shreds and the races and top hat are compromised really bad. But you didn’t mention any other issues or symptoms besides stiff steering. Just grab the strut and shake it like a beast. All feet tight enough? Carry on b Give it another oil soaking before winter and carry on. I’ve heard of spray in grease - a type of grease you can spray at a distance as a liquid and it dries into thick grease. This may work well here but with your low use it won’t matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 Are you able to lower and raise the blade easy enough with that winch? I’ve got a couple blades and a winch this would be fun to toss on my tractor or Subaru. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted June 2, 2022 Author Share Posted June 2, 2022 (edited) 38 minutes ago, idosubaru said: Are you able to lower and raise the blade easy enough with that winch? I’ve got a couple blades and a winch this would be fun to toss on my tractor or Subaru. it raises and lowers pretty good. the blade is just a plastic 55 gallon drum cut in half riveted together in the center and has some metal bolted through the back of it. the blade is an actual plow blade though. it weighs the car down pretty good when lifted up. the car is literally built of all the crap leftovers that were deemed to worn out for a daily driver for the sole purpose of being a yard mule. has an overheated block and very sludgy heads from another engine. 15 dollar head gaskets every bushing and ball joint is worn rear end is smashed from an accident prior to me getting it and trunk leaks water. i have the duty c solenoid on a switch so i can manually put the car into locked awd and the airbag fuse pulled out. its filled with all used fluids and has ran longer than weve expected it to. its hauled 1000's of pounds of fire wood and plowed the driveway 2 years so far and still seems to run fine. Edited June 2, 2022 by sirtokesalot 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 well done, lol yeah, with the little use it sees, you should be fine just keeping it lubed up.. but, if it starts giving symptoms even with plenty of lube, time to rethink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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