rattling steering wheel.

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Vanessa

rattling steering wheel.

Post by Vanessa »

whenever i apply the brakes of my 2.8i 1985 Capri, the steering wheel rattles. a couple of mechanics have driven the car and have said that the front brake discs are warped.
so i've had those checked and they are fine. i've also just had the Track rod ends renewed as i was told that it may help. However it hasnt at all.

i dont suppose that someone could tell me if this is a common problem with this car, or if i should be worrying about it??

thanks in advance
Vanessa.
Jamie

Steering rattle

Post by Jamie »

My steering also rattles, although not just when braking. At first I thought it was a bearing in the steering column, but having dismantled the suspension to fit new bushes, I found the balljoint on one of the track control arms had gone. You can't tell this really without dismantling the suspension, because the antiroll bar tends to take the slack out if you jack the car up. I am hopefully going to put a new TCA on today-I'll let you know if it cures the rattle. They're only £15 each, so they're even cheaper than new discs.
Vanessa

steering rattle

Post by Vanessa »

Well it only happens when braking, and ive had the TRA replaced already with still no improvement.
The suspension has been mentioned, do you think that, that could be the cause?
Anonymous

Rattling

Post by Anonymous »

I replaced the track control arm today-it gets a bit confusing down there-the TCAs are the bottom suspension arms, the track rod ends are the bits that join the front hubs to the steering rack. Anyway, I thought that would cure the rattle, but it didn't, so I took the steering column to bits, and found a problem with the top steering column bearing. There is a collar that fits between the bearing and the steering column, and this had come loose. The steering rattled mainly when I went over rough ground, and did actually get worse when I braked. So far it has gone now I sorted the bearing. I suppose the easiest way to see if that is your problem is to hold the steering wheel firmly, and try to shake it up and down and side to side. If you can feel some play in the column, that is your problem. If not, I suppose knackered antiroll bar bushes or a loose steering rack could do it, but I would have thought you would have spotted that when having TREs replaced. Hope this is some help.
Noel Reeve

warped discs

Post by Noel Reeve »

I think this is definitely a case of warped discs, since the problem is only evident under braking.

Disc warping is common on Capris, especially on older, worn, thin discs.

If you look at the way the Capri front hub assembly is designed, you will see that the disc does not mount against the wheel (as in more modern designs) and hence heat is not dissipated away from the disc so easily. Even on the 2.8i with vented discs, it is still a problem.
Anonymous

Untitled

Post by Anonymous »

Anonymous

Untitled

Post by Anonymous »

Michael

Mie rattles too

Post by Michael »

Sorry about 2 anon, empty messages. I tried to post using Opera.

My Mechanic, who owned a Capri for 5 years, assures me this is a very common feature of Capris, almost incurable, and nothing to worry about. Checking the discs seemed a good precaution IMHO

Michael This is my 1st post so I hope I did it right.
OK so its my third
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