DUETTO 1997 DRY STEERING

Hi everyone 

I recently bought a 1997 Duetto (47,000 miles) which has been really well taken care of.

New to the Autosleeper world and especially to older vehicles such as this one i have been slightly concerned about dry steering.

When stationary maneuvring (aka dry steering) and turning the wheel more than a quarter, there is an intermitent opposing force, a bit like the steering wheel jerking back.

This only occurs when in stationary so my first thought has been the old-school power steering, as the van steers perfectly with just a tiny bit of speed.

Does anyone know if it is something i should be concerned about ? or is it common in such vehicles with older power steering?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Welcome to the forum. From my experience of Mk5 Transit ownership (I owned one for 10 years) this is not normal. I would have it investigated immediately, because although it may only manifest itself when stationary at the moment, it may get worse and affect the steering while driving as well.

If you haven't already done so, I would also check the UK Transit Owner's Forum, as there is a huge amount of experience there - if it is a "known problem" then someone there will certainly know about it!

I guess it's fair to assume that you have checked that the fluid level is correct? Of course, you have, but I ask because you don't say that you have.

Thank you very much for your warm welcome and kind help.

Yes indeed i have checked the power steering fluid and it seems to be completly fine at the right level. 

The previous owner's said the van had always had a bit of difficulty steering when stationary (since they bought it) but that the mechanic had never diagnosed it as a problem and they had just lived with it.


Will definately have to investigate this further, hoping the mechanic shines a light on the issue.

Thanks Roopert!

Took it to the mechanic and it was just a very small and easy fix! 

The serpentine belt that powers the power steering pump was simply lacking tension, nothing that a good wrench couldn’t fix.

Excited to take the van for my first overnight outing this weekend!

I know this doesn't help your problem, but in the early days of owning vehicles with power steering it was always advised not to try to turn the wheels when stationary as it put undue strain on the system.  I've always followed this advice even if moving is only at creep speed.  How often will you need to turn the wheels when stationary?  My early ZF (manufacturer) system even cautioned against holding the steering on full lock when not required.  I just wonder if you are expecting too much from the system.

Tony Comber

Hi Tony,

Yes I use that as a rule of thumb too, as it can put a lot of strain on the power steering system as the power needed to assist the steering is inversely proportional to the speed. 

Not very often, in fact it was simply while testing the vehicle operated properly while trying to manoeuvre out of a tight parallalel parking space where dry steering is almost inevitable, especially for a vehicle of such long wheelbase.

Thanks for the advice though !

Daniel

...also the guy that laid our tarred drive said that low speed power steering ruins tarred surfaces