Steering Wheel Wouldn't Turn While Driving on Highway

[valveandpiston]

Hi All,

I was cruising on the highway at 65 today, when I felt the steering wheel bind up a bit on the right side. I have never experienced this before and thought it might just be the road. I kept driving while checking the wheel. Soon enough I realized that the wheel had bound in either direction except maybe +/- 5 degrees. I turned on my hazards and was able to navigate off the highway onto a side road.

I pulled the car over and shut down. With some force I was able to turn the wheel. I limped into a gas station and the wheel seemed to free up. However, when I was testing it, it kept binding randomly. It didn't feel safe to continue so I towed 50 miles home.

Any clue what this might be? There is no play in the steering wheel so I think the upper steering shaft bearing is ok. The U joints looked ok and greased. Maybe it's the lower shaft bearing?

I'm going to diagnose tomorrow, but I'm not sure what to look for. Any help is appreciated.

[Superman]

Two things strike me as essential. Being able to brake, and to steer. Important, these are.

[gregwils]

Did it feel like the steering was unresponsive or "binding", or was the column locked in place? There are a few threads that I found with a quick search depending on your symptoms.

Either way, it would definitely un-nerve me.

[rattlsnak]

Probably your steering column bearing has disintegrated and a couple of ball bearing are loose. You are very lucky it didnt "fully" lock! There are a few options out there now that are better than the OEM version.

[MBAtarga]

I just did a site search on "steering column binding" and it returned many threads - these caught my attention and list several areas of possibly being the culprit:

Steering locked for a moment, ideas?

My steering jams - YIKES!!

[valveandpiston]

Originally Posted by gregwils

Did it feel like the steering was unresponsive or "binding", or was the column locked in place? There are a few threads that I found with a quick search depending on your symptoms.

Either way, it would definitely un-nerve me.

The steering felt responsive, but there was resistance when I tried turning the wheel. In other words, the steering would have worked if I could turn the wheel. It didn't feel like the steering lock mechanism (nor could I even get the wheel turned to that point).

[valveandpiston]

Originally Posted by rattlsnak

Probably your steering column bearing has disintegrated and a couple of ball bearing are loose. You are very lucky it didnt "fully" lock! There are a few options out there now that are better than the OEM version.

I don't think it is the upper steering shaft bearing as there isn't play in the steering wheel. From what I've heard, when the upper steering shaft bearing goes, the steering wheel has significant play in it (0.5"-1"). Please correct me if I'm wrong.

This is what leads me to believe it is the lower steering shaft bearing.

[valveandpiston]

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

I just did a site search on "steering column binding" and it returned many threads - these caught my attention and list several areas of possibly being the culprit:

Steering locked for a moment, ideas?

My steering jams - YIKES!!

Thank you!! I tried searching as well and only found 2 threads that loosely described what I was feeling. Let me read through these before I diagnose today.

[proporsche]

i am just now doing a job on one 911 with the same problem .It most likely your steering shaft bearing.Inside the rubber is needle bearing if it is old the little pieces will fell out creating the problem...one more thing..to investigate you have to remove the allen head bolts,but be careful they will strip easily..so hit it with a hammer before trying to loosen it...with the allen socket on the bolt...

Ivan

[proporsche]

here is how it looks when it is kaput....

[IROC]

I had this happen a couple of times about 25 years ago. Scary. My assumption at the time was that pieces of the failed plastic steering bushing (I had already replaced it) had fallen down into the steering column and were getting caught in the steering lock mechanism.

Right or wrong, I removed the ignition switch (along with the steering lock mechanism/bar) and cut off the end of the locking bar with a hacksaw. Crude, I know, but this completely solved the problem. It never happened again (even 25 years later).

[valveandpiston]

Originally Posted by IROC

I had this happen a couple of times about 25 years ago. Scary. My assumption at the time was that pieces of the failed plastic steering bushing (I had already replaced it) had fallen down into the steering column and were getting caught in the steering lock mechanism.

Right or wrong, I removed the ignition switch (along with the steering lock mechanism/bar) and cut off the end of the locking bar with a hacksaw. Crude, I know, but this completely solved the problem. It never happened again (even 25 years later).

I might do this just to be safe. How difficult is it to remove the ignition switch?

[valveandpiston]

I took everything apart yesterday. If you want more detail, check out my Instagram account (@valveandpiston) where I documented the process.

It looks like the culprit was the lower shaft bearing. When I took the bushing/bearing off, it felt like clay was lodged in the needle bearings - very gunked up. After cleaning the bearing with brake parts cleaner and applying some silicone lubricant, I felt that it could be salvaged. I also cleaned the U-joint, but did not apply any lubricant. The U-joint was very tight. I took it for a test drive and didn't feel any symptoms. See below for before/after:

Before


After


And a picture of the steering shaft, which I cleaned up as well.


However, I am still a little worried that this was not the entire issue and it could be the steering lock mechanism...

[IROC]

Originally Posted by valveandpiston

I might do this just to be safe. How difficult is it to remove the ignition switch?

This was a long time ago, but as I remember, it wasn't difficult.