My girlfriends 106 diesel seems really heavy to steer. It is non power steering which i know doesnt help but it is only a 1.5 XND so not a massive engine. It takes me both my arms and some struggle when i park it and she sometimes doesnt manage. Is there something i can look at? Tyre pressures or something? I supppose power steering conversion would be uneconomical......?


Thanks
Dan

i'd check the tracking and the condition of the front suspension bushes initally, and see how freely it moves with the front end jacked in the air.

Apart checking alignment as above maybe reducing the caster but probably not very easy on these. I'm assuming yours is a phase I which never had power steering as an option so retro fitting would probably be difficult.

Just sailed through MoT with no advice. Could the bushes still be shot? Missed by the inspector? Will check tyre pressures and have it tracked


Thanks
Dan

my S1 106 had quite heavy steering for the size of car and that only weighed 760kg (1.0 petrol, 4spd, no options) - but I actually liked it more than the newer cars

when you jack it up it should have hardly any resistance at all, but it would probably only fail an MOT if something was really seized (or loose and knocking)
bushes are unlikley as it asn't got any that would affect the 'weight' of the steering

[Edited on 9/11/2010 by mcerd1]

[Edited on 9/11/2010 by mcerd1]

It isn't anything to do with the bushes, it is mechanical friction.

(1) Increase the tyre pressures to the maximum pressure given in the handbook for high speed and laden this will make the steering lighter.
(2) Jack the car up with both front wheels clear of the deck and check the steering turns freely from lock to lock.
(3) If the steering is stiff with the wheels clear of the deck then it could be either a bent rack or columm UJ binding.

Bent rack will tend to give stiff steering either on one lock or in the centre postion only.

A duff UJ gives a "50p" peice feeling through the steering wheel as the steering wheel is turned lock to lock with the wheels off the deck.


All this of course assumes the tyres and wheels are standard width and offset and the steering rack damper hasn't been "adjusted".

Its possibly just a case of you not being used to it. If you drive an old car and try parking it - you'll get a shock how heavy the steering is. Add to this bad practice and you'll struggle.

(bad practice - due to power steering people try to turn the wheel with the car stationary, in old cars this is damned hard. If the wheels are rolling its far easier to turn the steering and better for the car).

quote:

---

Originally posted by MikeR
(bad practice - due to power steering people try to turn the wheel with the car stationary, in old cars this is damned hard. If the wheels are rolling its far easier to turn the steering and better for the car).

---

I ran a mk1 106 diesel for a while and the steering was just heavy, not faults with the car, it was just heavy.

Other than that it was a cracking little car until the camshaft/timing belt pulley key let go and trashed the engine. Even then a 2nd lower mileage engine was found and fitted for under £500.

My A4 TDi died finally last week so I drove mkII 1.5D to Reading and back (100 miles approx.). I had the usual gibes about driving a basic car but it was kinda fun keeping up with traffic in Reading (gotta be in the right gear all the time!) and actually not bad on the motorway up to 70 mph at least.

Useless fact of the day. One cylinder in my LS1 V8 gives as much power as the whole Peugeot 1.5D engine

My 106XND is very heavy as well, as is Andys. I've just bought a pas system off ebay for a tenner. Should make it OK as years ago I had a TD Corsa that was nearly impossible to move when parking but applying PAs from another model made it ver ynice.

I suspect tit will be the same on the Pug.

The PAS has an electrical pump and just bolts onto the front of the engine block then plugs in so should be easyish to install.

As above - i would have thought that it would be an easy retro fit, as its just an electric pump. I used to have a Pug 106 independance 1.5D that had power steering. At one point the battery started to die, and this made the pump stop working. The steering was really heavy then. As soon as i fitted a new battery then the problem was fixed

I've no experience but how different are the mkII and mkIs. My biggest doubt would be the power steering rack fitted to the mkI as it was never an option?

Just a thought and may be too involved but a friend of mine has fitted the Corsa power steering column to a few cars though mostly stock rods and F2s. They can be bought from the scrappy for about £120 and include everything in one unit.

My aim is to fit one to my Mazda RX7 as I replaced the power steering rack with a manual quick rack.