Steering groan
 

When I turn the wheel there is a noticeable groan that happens twice in each direction. There is a vibration associated with it that can be felt through the pedals which leads me to think lubrication issue where the shaft goes through the firewall. When the vibration happens while driving, rather than just at parking lot speeds, there is a distinct resistance that's somewhat disconcerting. I never had it until this recent cold spell but with the warmer temps yesterday and today it didn't go away. Any idea what this might be and should I be worried enough to find a different car to drive until it goes into the dealer on Wednesday?

Have you "slammed" the front end into anything (like a curb) lately ..??

hmmmm........assuming it's not the power steering unit itself, you might check:

* to make sure you don't have a bad (separated) tire in the front (a rotation would check that)

* I'd jack up the front and see if there is any excess wheel bearing/spindle play, comparing one side to the other

* an alignment check may be in order

OR, do it the humfrz way ....... take it up to my local auto shop, mention to Bubba that something is wrong with the steering on my car, have them run me home, where I will take a nap, and ask them to call me when it's fixed.


humfrz

Could be the assist motor having issues.

Is it stock? I had a groaning noise that was my camber plate rubbing on itself, no resistance though.

Assist motor issues typically throw an ECU. Maybe the ball joints need lubrication/replacement? How many miles?

I am with Strat in the lube camp. (damn that sounds bad!) When it gets cold lube doesn't work the best anyway so if it was already needing attention it would get even worse. You would feel it through the pedals.

I had a bit of a panic the other day when I went to turn and had a terrible shuddering and groaning noise. Pulled over and it was just a large build up of wheel well ice that rubbed when I turned.

I say trust your instincts, Grav. Something's up.

I'm sure the steering servo is failsafe. Worst that can happen is loss of assist. No biggie.

Take it in ASAP. Let us know.

I'm also thinking it's a lube issue. There are apparently a bunch of us in the northeast experiencing the same thing as there's a thread running in the 86 owners of New England group on FB. I guess there's a bearing where the steering shaft goes through the firewall and some people have had it go bad and when it does there's a vibration through the floor that you feel in the pedals. I'm hoping it's something that simple although I bet that it's a bunch of labor time to replace it. This is why I got the car CPO so it has a 7/100 warranty ;)

Looks like I'm going to have to put this off because the car is frozen shut and I can't get in through either door or the trunk. We had 2" of rain the other day and it dropped to single digits that night. She's locked up tight :( I called two tow companies to put it on a flatbed and bring to their garage to thaw it out and they won't touch it because it's in gear with the brake pulled and they won't risk damaging it. If I pour near boiling water in the door gap will the paint peel? It's the latch that's frozen not the lock cylinder. I've already tried lock deicer with a hose but it didn't get in there sufficiently I guess.

Brought the car in today and I sure am glad i got it CPO with a 100k warranty. They are going to replace the 'Steering Column Shaft Assembly' because the lower bearings, which are pressed on at the factory, have gone bad. It's apparently safe to drive because it can't fail outright it just feels shitty at a couple of points while the wheel is being turned. The part is ~$850 and the labor is supposed to be 9 or 9.5 hours (@$125/hr) so this would be a devastating blow if not covered. Gold plan deductible is $50 :)

I'm at 93k now and wondering if I shouldn't look into an extension to the extended warranty I already have. Last summer the timing chain cover reseal would have been about $800 and the few other post 36/60 things that have been covered would have added up to pretty well over $3k so if a plan costs $1k I'll probably come out ahead. Will I keep the car for another 100k? Hmmm...

Any speculation on what would have caused that ...... ??


humfrz

Well, I didn't notice it before that really serious cold snap we just had. Because it only happens at a few points as the wheel is being turned rather than consistently through the rotation I wonder if it has something to do with a bent or slightly out of whack column angle and the bearing where it goes through the firewall is getting torqued on at those points. The cold could have made it worse I guess, maybe I bumped something in the snow with the wheel turned and tweaked something or I don't know...

Would you believe they want $630 to change the tranny fluid, rear diff fluid and flush/bleed the clutch!!

hmmm.......that's the first I've heard of cold weather whacking out that bearing ..... :iono:

As far as hitting something, I reckon there are several things that would give way before a bearing on the steering column.

$630 for that work ...... yes, I would believe it ....... I just live with sticker shock these days ..... :sigh:

Well, I'm glad you're getting it fixed under your extended warranty.....:thumbsup:


humfrz

Yeah like I said, I dunno either. I'll try to ask the tech if he has any ideas when it goes in for the work next week.

Yeah you're probably right.

I'm surprised but I guess I shouldn't be :(

Heh, yeah me too.

One for the books. Thanks for sharing!

Well they replaced it yesterday and the paperwork says it was due to the U-joint going bad not the bearing like I was originally told. It sure did feel better driving home last night, much tighter than it has been for a while. Also the knock that was happening when I hit sharp edged bumps that I thought was suspension or control arms is gone so that's good. Unfortunately there's still a creak but it's nothing like it was and I can't feel it through the wheel or floor/pedals like before. Snow day today so the car is sitting in the driveway, I'll get it out for a little road trip tomorrow so hopefully it will settle in and the noise goes away.

The tech said the TOB wasn't making any noise but he did get some grease on the shifting fork and squirted some lube in the port on top of the tranny with a hose, he said it should have gotten down to about where the TOB is and hopefully it quiets things down for me. I'm not holding my breath but it's documented now that it has a problem and apparently my extended warranty goes to 100k from the point I got the car not 100k overall so I have another ~19k until it ends. The service adviser said he thinks I could probably get it covered so we'll see...

Squirting some lube down onto the bearing won't do a thing. The lube that fails is sealed inside the bearing.

My brz has had a groan/creek when turning since nearly new. Never any weird feedback just noisy. You only hear the noise at very low speeds. If you turn sharply at a reasonable speed no groan or creek.

That's what I tried to say but the tech decided to do it anyway because "he knows better" than me. He also said that it's most likely just because some moisture got in there and freezes which is why it only squeals when it's cold. :sigh:

Mine was happening at all speeds, mostly low but I took a tight corner (with a bit of a drift) at about 70 a couple of weeks ago and felt it through the pedals and it got almost sticky in my hands. Scared me silly so I brought it in the next day.

The 'fix' didn't solve the problem and the noise came back just as loudly as before so I brought the car in again yesterday. This time the tech thinks it's because the steering wheel is bent slightly and rubbing causing friction. They are ordering a new wheel and it's going back in for that to be replaced next week. I'm not confident that's the solution but we'll see.

It's also developed a crackling noise in the front end at low speeds when the wheel is turned slightly on rough pavement. They're not sure what's going on so I have to go for a ride with a tech when I bring the car back so he can listen while I drive.

Good thing I have the 7/100 Gold Plan that came with the CPO purchase and the car is still (slightly) under that 100k mark. This stuff would be terribly expensive to deal with otherwise.

Well, I reckon if they throw enough parts at it ....... it will eventually get fixed ..... :iono:


humfrz

I had a groan in my steering whenever doing low speed parking maneuvers that lasted for a week or two. when i took it in to a subaru shop nearby it of course disappeared and i havent heard it for a couple months.

I had a creek and vibration as well. They lubed the seal where the steering shaft goes through the firewall and all is good now.

New steering wheel is in and the noise is gone now :bow: I guess they threw enough parts at it :D The tech came out to talk t me after it was done and said that I should be more careful getting into the car and not hold onto the wheel as I sit down because it bends it from the base. I tried to explain that because I'm old, fat and short I have to plop my butt down first then just rotate in without ever touching the wheel but at 6'4" he just couldn't understand. The wheel was slightly torqued when I got the car though and it always rubbed a bit but didn't make the groaning noise until recently. Maybe the original owner was a road rager that beat on the wheel and was a big dude that tweaked it getting in and out :iono:

I didn't get the car new (14k CPO) so I didn't know what the wheel felt like when it was new and didn't notice the degradation over the last 81k miles since I got it. The texture is nice and the stitching color is vibrant :w00t:

Are you sure it was the steering wheel ...."groaning" ........ :iono:

:popcorn:


:D


humfrz

Not as old as you :cheers: Not fat like, well, just sorta carrying a small spare tire around the middle :thumbsup: and short of stature but large of character :)