lammy Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Just after a little input from ant Manta owners, I have done a good amount off miles in my manta and i have found the steering damn heavy and it dosnt get lighter when i am on the move. I have jacked the front of the car up and it is realy light as expected but is it ment to be so heavy on the move. Cheers Raymond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiney_norman Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Could be seized ball joints somewhere. I can parallel park my Cavalier steering with one hand, but I had an Exclusive hatch a couple of years ago that had very heavy steering. Never looked into it because the car was completely rotten, but all the Cavs I've owned had nice light steering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pat Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 think it can also depend what your used to , heavy compared to? normally responsive at speed and needs more effort for slow manouvering & parking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cam.in.head Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 i suppose it depends on what you have been used to & may not actually be faulty at all??? however a few things to check has the suspension been altered / messed with etc from standard has it ever been built up wrong (top arm spacers in wrong place / top ball joint wrong way round)) is the toe in correct & other geometry are the tyre pressures correct does it have a quick rack does it have wider tyres than standard my mk1 cavs are very good but steering is lighter with 165x13 tyres than it is with 185/70`s.manta gte`s with 195 tyres will obviously be heavier especially at parking speeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Parkinson Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 consider yourself lucky whatever problem you have =p my dad owns a R reg series 2 landrover with rediculosly heavy steering especially when parking / moving in the mud... also the orange victor when your trying to park/ turn around in a small turning circle "phew" your arms do get a work out! hopefully its down to something simple and easy to fix like tyre pressures "fingers crossed" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The General Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 Thats quite interesting, i changed my my manta gte steering wheel to a three piece irmsher wheel that is a little smaller and it was a little heaver to turn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 There might well be nothing wrong with it. Mine is very heavy when parking etc - as my MOT tester says "it's not for girls this car, is it?" Saying that my Mk2 Golf GTI has a lot heavier steering! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monzta Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Could be a worn lower uniball bearing. You should check the rubber seal, and maybe replace both sides just to make sure. They tend to slow down steering and eventually squiik a bit when worn. If not attended they will pop ! And you do NOT want this to happen while driving. My brother did this on a A series once. Was only travelling with like 20km/h when it happened and the car still drove directly off the road ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantadoc Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 What Pat said. If the steering is light when the car is in the air ITIS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE RACK AND PINION The only thing that changes significantly between on the ground and up in the air is the load on the lower ball joints and the friction of the tyres on the ground. Most peole find then heavy at parking speeds but fine at normal speeds. However, if you go from driving a Manta to a power assisted car for a few months back to a Manta you need about a week or so of daily use to build up your arms and chest muscles, If you have never driven an unassisted car in your life you probably will think it is hard work for longer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.