Steering noises

[jonesy889]

Couple of questions about 'normal' behaviour for my Megane's steering ('03 dCi 120, 17" alloys). Had a read of some of the other posts but nothing seems to exactly describe my issues...

Firstly, I notice a sort of low pitched 'boom' just at the point of the wheels pointing straight ahead when turning from left-->right or right-->left. In other words, centre the steering and turn say 10 degrees right, then 20 left, 20 right etc. to hear the noise repeatedly. Its not massively loud, but easy to hear when stationary. Does anyone else hear this? Is it normal? Its been like this for as long as I can remember but I've been told to get it checked out. The actual feel from the steering is fine.

Secondly, (sometimes) when turning a corner and going over the crest of a rise, when the front wheels are unweighted, a sort of rattling/juddering sound can be heard. Its not a bad sound, but again does anyone else hear this/know if its normal? Its not very frequent, but happens most if you're going quickly (but way before the front wheels start to understeer). Fairly bad quality tarmac seems to help the noise be produced too!

In both of my 'noises', the noises sound as though they're coming from both front wheels.

Any info would be much appreciated

Cheers

Andrew

[Bumpy macaroon]

have a look at suspension strut mounts, ball joints, cv joints, try jacking up front grab wheels and see how much play you have..

[Jonault]

You do get the occasional groan from the steering, usually when reversing into a parking place at low speed going from lock to lock.
As for the suspension noise, the top strut bearing seems to be prone to failure.

[jonesy889]

The low pitched 'boom' is apparently some nylon bearings, and something fairly usual - nothing to worry about.

The juddering sound was indeed the strut top mounting... however i've had the noise since i've had the Megane, and handling is not noticeably affected at all, so i'm going to live with it. in case anyone's wondering, approximate parts to get the strut top mounting sorted come to about £60 per side - £53.51 for a 'suspension kit' 7701207678 and £5.14 for a 'rubber stop' 8200040073, both of which are needed. Labour at a garage would be approx 1hr per side. Those prices are inc vat, if I remember rightly.

[silencer51]

Observations on 'clunky steering':

Some noise from the steering column is normal.

I've tried this on at least 5-6 meganes, if the car is stationary, and you have the windows closed and the radio off, quickly turning the wheel left and right produces a slight 'clonk' sort of sound from the steering at each direction change point (this happens on most other cars I've tried this on, its normal noise from the bearing system at the base of the column).

Apart from that, clonking noises while the steering wheel is being turned are NOT normal. If the noise is heard from inside the cabin, there's a known problem with the nut and bolt securing the column to the steering rack, your dealer should know everything about this (common problem)

If the noise is heard from the front one should check that the steering rack bolts are properly secured and tightened and also check the condition of the front struts.

About the 'boom' noise, can you describe it in more detail?

[wanda]

Are you sure its not the power steering pump (if it has one, lucky guess as my moms Audi once did the same and it was found to be the power searing pump.)

[Jonault]

They don't have a pump, the steering is electric motor assisted.

[jonesy889]

The 'boom' sound is probably the same as the 'clonk' you describe, not from within the cabin but sounds as though its a bearing somewhere near the wheels - anyway like I said, the dealer checked it and said it was nylon bushings/bearings just with a bit of wear, and was perfectly fine/normal. Can't really describe the sound any better than in my initial post, sorry!

[wanda]

They don't have a pump, the steering is electric motor assisted.

uuups, I guess I was wrong