STEERING REPAIR IN PASSENGER VEHICLES
The steering system is designed to work in proportion with the steering wheel, rims, and wheels to direct the vehicle and change its movement.
The system allows the driver to steer using only light effort.
When a 15-inch (380 mm) steering wheel moves four turns from full left lock to full right lock, its rim travels about 5 m of road while the road wheel rim moves slightly more than 12 meters.
If the driver turned the wheels directly, they would need to push about 16 times harder.
Steering acts on the wheels through a joint system. These joints are designed to let the wheels move up and down with the suspension without changing the steering angle.
They also allow the inner front wheel to turn more sharply when cornering around a tight curve.
Joints must be adjusted very precisely; even slight looseness inside them can make steering dangerously sloppy and inaccurate.
Two steering systems are in common use — the rack-and-pinion system and the steering box.
On large cars, both systems may be power-assisted, especially at low speed, to further reduce the effort needed to steer.
Rack-and-pinion system
Rack Gear
At the base of the steering column, inside a housing, there is a small pinion (gear wheel). Its teeth mesh with a straight row of teeth on a long transverse bar — the rack.
Turning the pinion moves the rack from side to side. The ends of the rack are connected to the road wheels by track rods.
This system is simple; only a few moving parts can wear or shift, so its action is precise.
A universal joint lets the steering column connect to the rack without giving unwanted steering angle to the sides.
Steering Box System
At the base of the steering column there are gears inside a box. It is a cylinder with worm-like, short-bolt-style teeth.
Think of turning a bolt that holds a nut; the nut moves along the bolt.
Depending on the design, the moving vehicle part (like a segment of the gear wheel) may be a pin connected to a fork, a cylinder, or a large nut.
The nut system has hardened balls that pass through the thread between the bolt and nut. As the nut moves, the balls roll in a tube that returns them to the start; this is called a recirculating ball system.
The worm-like part moves the drop arm connected by a track rod to the nearest front wheel and carries the steering column.
A central track rod reaches the other side of the vehicle, connected to the other front wheel by another track rod and steering arm.
A twisted idler arm holds the far end of the central track rod level. Arm layouts may vary.
The steering box system has many moving parts. It is therefore less precise than the rack system and has more room for wear and play.
Hydraulic steering
This is the system that lets the driver turn the steering wheel left or right to change vehicle movement easily, without heavy effort.
Steering Repair Procedure
When this entire system fails, gives errors, or becomes hard to use, your vehicle must be repaired. We perform these jobs professionally at Nitro Garaj.
Steering Repair Test Equipment
MS603N – Hydraulic Steering Cleaning Device: The hydraulic steering test device measures hydraulic steering pump pressure at different speeds and detects faults such as leaks, squealing, body wear, and valve sticking.
0850 755 02 30
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