Steering 'binding' during turns (sometimes)

[Frankie]

The steering on my 1974 E9 3.0CS 'binds' a little sometimes when turning to the left (mine is RHD) - by that I mean it kind of grabs momentarily during a turn and I have to quickly pull it to turn a little sharper to avoid going straight and crashing... is this a power steering issue or a the steering mechanism. Also, it leaks fluid.

I will take to a shop to have inspected but thought I'd give this a try first.. as someone might give me a hint on a DIY solution.

 

[Stevehose]

Where is the leak?

 

[Frankie]

Where is the leak?

I haven't located it yet... just noticed fluid on the floor underneath when I took it out of the garage and had to top up the reservoir... sorry - probably not much help! The 'binding' still happened even after I topped it off.

 

[Aussiecsi]

Hi Frankie, the steering box can be adjusted via the nut on top and there is discussion on this topic; if it's leaking, I would be inc;ined to get it rebuilt as this is not something you want going awry at speed ( same as brakes )

 

[sfdon]

Doubtful it’s your steering box.
Check your strut bearings?

 

[dang]

Sounds like low fluid to me. I had a coupe that would lose the power assist and get hard to turn like you described when the fluid got a little low. Never made noise, just did the "binding" thing.

 

[Frankie]

Sounds like low fluid to me. I had a coupe that would lose the power assist and get hard to turn like you described when the fluid got a little low. Never made noise, just did the "binding" thing.

Thanks - I'll try to locate the leak and fix that then bleed the system and see if that nails it.

 

[Jellobmw]

Had that same problem on my V70R commuter car. Replacing the strut bearings fixed the issue.