Checking the steering on a car

At each maintenance of the car, the condition of the protective covers is checked 4 (see fig. 113), caps 12 ball rods and the density of their fit. They must be replaced in the presence of cracks, breaks and other defects that violate their tightness.

Make sure that when the wheels of the car are in a straight line, the steering wheel spoke is horizontal. Otherwise, determine the cause of the malfunction and eliminate it.

Turning the steering wheel from lock to lock, check visually and aurally:

• reliability of fastening of the steering mechanism and steering wheel;
• whether there is a gap in the hinges of the tie rod ends and in the spline joints of the cardan joints of the intermediate shaft; whether there are swellings and pinches on protective covers;
• reliability of tightening the lock nuts of the outer tips of the rods and the nuts of the pins of the ball joints; whether there are any jamming and interference preventing the steering wheel from turning.

If knocks, jamming are detected, disconnect the transverse links from the steering knuckle levers and repeat the test. After making sure that knocks and jams come from the steering, remove it from the car and check the gap between the rack stop and the nut (see «Checking the gap between the rail stop and the nut»). The maximum allowable gap between the rail stop and the nut is 0.2 mm. If necessary, replace worn parts and adjust the gap between the stop and the nut.