~ when i moved my steering wheel back in forth (at a stand still)...there was a slight knock and a lot of side to side play.


today the dealer repaired the problem.

cause: loose intermediate shaft

correction: found intermediate clamp on the lower part that connects to gear box loose. re-torqued to proper specs. noise is gone.

wow...it feels like a completely different steering rack. it is now very tight and responsive!

 

so it really was a loose nut behind the wheel.

 

a loose nut indeed.

 

I notice the slack and knock only if the wheel is turned a bit and I'm at a stand still. No noise or slack if the wheels are straight ahead. Was this the case for others? Guess I should get it checked out.

 

Andrew, thanks for the info. Have the same I guess. At stand still there is side to side play of about 2-3°. But if the car moves afterwards it's gone and the steering is direct. The sound I hear is not very loud. Sounds more like metal hitting metal after the play. I thought it was because of the circulating ball steering (or what the engl name is).

Is it the same you had?

Thanks

 

I noticed it too and I thought I'm the only one having this problem at 20k! I believed this is gonna be another recall or TSB for Chrylser!

 

yep that's is... i would have it checked out.

however one difference...my steering still felt as if it had some slop/play at the initial steering input while driving down the road. it was no where near as responsive as it is now with the dealer fix. it really feels like a different rack now.

i would bet you have the same problem.

 

Andrew, thanks very much. Need to do my first service soon. So I will point that issue as well.
Great, hope they can fix it!

Cheers

 

Can we make this a sticky?

I'm gonna look in the repair manual for pictures of the loose clamp nut, I'll try and post them later.

 

A new rack is always nice!

 

Hmmm I don't notice a knock unless I'm in a turn and then it feel like a knock of like a funny feeling in the wheel. Is this what you're talking about? In other words leaving a highway ramp at a pretty good clip and in the turn if I hit a bump it feels like my steering has play and then a knock. Is this dangerous?

 

I agree and second you Maxwell, anything that is a potential problem in the steering system should be damn well scrutinized. I personally drive this car like I stole it (regards and props to the forum member who originally posted the "drive it like I stole it" line, I'm blank on remembering who you are).

 

yep but in this case its a box...which is just as good.

 

I'll take a nice tight box, over a sloppy rack any day...

 

The car we just bought had this same issue. At first I was gonna pass but they said it is covered under the general warranty. The dealer has a 90 day/3,300 mile warranty on every car they sell. This should be covered. Glad to see someone else has experienced it already. I need to call them first thing, Monday morning.

 

I can usually come up with some wise a$$ comment but this time I'm speechless... And that's a very good thing! Well put Maxwell!!

 

LMAF. I don't think anyone will top that A+++

 

Can anyone touch on this?

 

I agree! This is important for the safe operation of all Crossfire's... I feel as though I have the begging symptoms of this, as the steering doesn't feel as tight as it used to be.

ColoradoXFire, I too "drive it like I stole it!"... but only before the weekly wash.

 

On page 2,352 of the PDF repair manual it shows the pinch bolt in fig 9 and another one in fig.16. they recommend that if you hear a knocking that you re-torque this bolt. There is also an intermediate shaft nut, but it looks like a real PITA to get to.For some reason I'm having problems copying pictures out of the manual.

A better picture on page 2,375.