Steering Gone Light

[rolyatstarlet]

Hi Guys, my GF has recently started complaining about the steering on her 1.3 '97 Starlet. She finds that the steering has gone very light and she is unsure of its handling in corners and she is losing confidence with it. I have checked tread and pressures both ok. Her Mum took it into a local garage for her, both the mechanic and her mum have tried to convince her that its ok. So last night i had a go, in straight lines its fine, no obvious signs of bad tracking, but in corners its awful. I have driven this car plenty in the past without problem but now its totally different, it feels really light and loose, you don't really feel confident that it will go where you tell it to and there is absolutely no feedback from the road.

Have you guys got any ideas?

P.s. it doesn't have power steering.

Cheers, Tony.

[daktari]

How old and what make are the tyres? Also have the local council put salt down? Makes a difference. Failing that i would suspect camber angles or tracking. Has the car been kerbed heavily. Might be an idea to check the springs and shocks too.

[rolyatstarlet]

Hi Daktari, Thanks for that reply. Tyres have been on the car all the time we've owned it so unsure of age, they are Michelin Energy's all round, fronts have 5mm tread and rears between 5 + 6mm. They are the correct size and pressures according to the handbook they look in excellent condition and the car war a daily driver before and during our ownership. The local roads have not been salted nor are they icy, the fault is constant across a variety of roads and surfaces. Visually there is no obvious problems with camber or toe. The car has never been bumped or kerbed in anyway during our ownership and was in excellent condition when it was purchased from a personal friend. We have owned this vehicle for 8 months and this fault has only been present for about 4 weeks.

Any more ideas?