The front wheels are shaking when turning the steering wheel

[rumen1]

Hi guys, there is a very strange problem with my 3200GT. When the car is stationary, the front wheels are shaking heavily when I turn the steering wheel from lock to lock.

My mechanic has inspected everything - the hydraulic hoses, the pump, the steering rack and everything seems perfect. Unfortunately after all inspections everything has been reassembled and the problem still exists.

Has anyone else experienced such a problem? What could it be? We think we have inspected everything, but obviously we haven't....

 

[midlifecrisis]

If he's checked all the steering parts could it be the suspension?

 

[conaero]

Rack or pump i expect. Has the recall on the steering rack been done, you want to check that first.

 

[rumen1]

Thank you for your answers. Unfortunately I don't know if the car has gone trough any recalls and I don't know how to check that, but my mechanic said, that when he removed the steering rack, it virtually looked like new with no signs of weaar what so ever.

About the suspention - we thought that it may be the bushes on top of the shocks, but it seems, that this model's suspention isn't build that way.

 

[spkennyuk]

If you have access to an inspection pit. You could drop the front wheels onto those wheel alignment dishes they use and have somebody turn the steering lock to lock to replicate the problem.

If your mechanic only has use of a ramp then depending on the type of ramp the same could be done. If its the four pad type of ramp then you would need to drop the cars front wheels onto something to put the front suspension under load. Tool chests maybe as an example.

You can at least examine the problem in situ from under the car to try and get a fix on the cause. If its making any sort of noise when it happening a mechanics stethoscope may help narrow down the area causing the issue.

 

[davy83]

sounds like a steering rack problem. The recall on the rack relates to the mounting of the rack to the car, so best to have a really good look around the mounts and especially the welding to the chassis. have you checked the steering fluid? its pulsates like that when the fluid gets low? I had a leak in the unions that connect the fluid hoses to the rack and when the fluid got low it would pulsate and get stiff, it was quite unnerving

 

[StuartW]

Thank you for your answers. Unfortunately I don't know if the car has gone trough any recalls and I don't know how to check that, but my mechanic said, that when he removed the steering rack, it virtually looked like new with no signs of weaar what so ever.

About the suspention - we thought that it may be the bushes on top of the shocks, but it seems, that this model's suspention isn't build that way.

Whoever supplied the car originally should be able to tell you if all of the recall and campaigns are up to date if you give them the VIN. What country was the car first supplied from?

 

[rumen1]

Well, today he refused to inspect the car any longer and said he is unable to do anything more. He said that he triple checked the hoses, the pump and the rack and they are all in mint condition...

About the recall - unfortunately the people in the bulgarian Maserati dealer are very unproffesional and for sure they will not be able to give me the info I need and the car has been supplied new in Italy. Unfortunately I don't have any contacts of the previous owner or the dealership, that has supplied the car

Can anyone tell me what is this matter with the steering rack recall and what exactly was the problem in it? What were the symptoms?

 

[spkennyuk]

Rumen i have copied and pasted the content of the recall letter below for you from another thread.

There was a total recall back in June 2005 for the all UK 3200s as follows:

Concern :
STEERING RACK SUB-FRAME MAY CRACK

Description :
The steering rack sub-frame may develop a crack in the area of the two fixing points nearest the steering column. This could result in the steering rack becoming loose and a reduction of vehicle control. Potential early symptoms noticed by the driver could be vibrations, noises and unusual feeling through the steering wheel.

Remedial Action :
Recall the vehicles that are likely to be affected and weld brackets of improved design to the sub-frame.

Vehicle Id :
ZAMAA380000000127 to ZAMAA38D000004901

 

[rumen1]

Thank you very much for the info. My car's VIN ends with 0466, so it goes in this category, but I have asked my mechanic and he said that they have carefully inspected the rack, when they removed it and there were no cracks at all.

 

[jluis]

Regarding the recall, you can email Maserati in Italy and ask them if your car had the recals done.
I just emailed my local dealer in Luxembourg and he gave me the full recall history for my car that was initialy sold in Belgium.

 

[Contigo]

Just ring Maserati UK or Europe and ask them with the ZAMA chassis number.

 

[spkennyuk]

Email a Maserati dealer in the country of origin and ask them if your vin number has had the recall work done. If it hasn't then that is the first thing that need addressing. If the recall has been done then there really isn't that many things that could be causing this so its really a process of elimination. Your out of options with the mechanic you have been using. Is there an independent specialist in Bulgaria ?

The only other thing I can suggest as a quick check that you can do yourself is as follows i will explain the reason afterwards :- Lower the tyre pressure on both front wheels to roughly half of the correct pressure. once you have done that then turn the steering wheel from lock to lock to check if the wheel wobble and any noise you were hearing has now gone or reduced. Please ensure you inflate the tyres up to the correct pressure before driving the car.

The reason I'm suggesting this is because one of my previous Alfa's developed a problem similar to what you have described. while manoeuvering at low speeds a crunching noise could be heard and the front of the car would jolt to one side. The car was taken into Alfa and checked but nothing could be found other than some wear on the inner edge of the front tyres. The tyres were still legal but I had them changed. Once the tyres had been changed the crunching noise and jolting at low speed had gone.

The cause of the issue having inspected the old tyres was a step had formed on the inside edge of the tyres and the tyre shape when off the wheel was more of an oval than circular. If they were cheap tyres then I could accept that this might happen. These were Pirelli P-Zeros. The garage that changed them hadn't seen anything like it before. Seeing an egg shaped expensive tyre roll across the floor isn't something I was impressed at.

It's a long shot but its a free quick check you can make but by lowering the tyre pressures on the front wheels to test them the tyre will flatten out and increase the surface area in contact with the road and eliminate any ridge that has developed. If the wheel wobble and any noise is still there then its much more likely that its a mechanical issue rather than a tyre related issue.

Recall check would have to be the first port of call seeing as it falls into the correct vin range.

 

[rumen1]

Hi again, my apologies, that I haven't logged in the forum for so long, but I had some personal problems...

Anyway, we managed to find another 3200 (without this problem) and we have changed the rack, the pump, the hose and even the radiator of the hydraulics from the other car to mine and still NOTHING! Tried the thing with the front tires too, but again nothing changes.

This problem seems absolutely impossible - the wheels are shaking like they will rip off the car any moment and all the parts of the whole hydraulic system are in perfect condition

 

[Contigo]

Mine shakes when the car is stationary that is normal as the rubber resists and sends a vibration up the steering wheel. Can you get a video of it?

 

[Contigo]

I would check all bushes, steering rack, CV boots , ARB's, tie rods etc......

Is the car running on stock wheels and suspension parts?

 

[2b1ask1]

Simple question, are the tyres a matched pair? Equal wear, size, tread pattern, age etc.

 

[highlander]

Think OP has checked all that and power steering.......in fact, I can't think of anything which would cause this that has not been reportedly checked.......which leaves him either with a mystery or more likely one or more checked were not carried out properly. If it was me, I'd be tempted to go for a 2nd mechanic opinion, maybe even a full breakdown and rebuild of the parts suspected to try and locate the issue.

 

[Contigo]

Tyres not balanced correctly too could give the same symptoms.

 

[highlander]

Tyres not balanced correctly too could give the same symptoms.

When stationary?