Noticed the other day that the steering on my octy is feeling very light and wondered what peoples thoughts were on it.

Havent really noticed it detoriate but the steering feels vague with a noticeable amount of play in the steering wheel.

Combined with this I've also noticed an occasional knocking on bumpy/cobbled roads (not sure whether this is connected).

The car itself has average mileage for its age, roughly about 118K so realistically could be a couple of different things.

I was thinking first things to check are:

• Check tyre pressures
  
• Check tyres for wear - possible tracking problems?
  
• Jack car up and check for play in ball joint - just been MOT'd 2 days ago so would have thought I'd have been pulled on this already
  

Anything else more obvious I've missed?

Edited 2 December, 200916 yr by MikeHowarth

Just thinking about the knocking I'm wondering if this is the anti roll bar knocking - possibly the bushes?

If the knocking is coming from general driving, regardless of steering position etc then this is very possible. Bit fidly but very do'able yourself. If you jack up and take the wheel off, it may well be very evident as you can see the roll bar bushes and should be able to see any play.

Fitted new ones to mine the other week. Not only did it stop the knocking but actually made it feel tighter. Worth doing, especially as you are concerned with the feel of the car.

JCB fancy dong mine for me? I can pay you in beer!

I don't feel the steering on mine to be that light, but it could depend on what you're used to. Other than a works V@*xh@11 Coarser (sic) Demerit I've not driven anything without PAS since the early 1990s.

Also tyre wear affects steering weight, so if you've just had new tyres that could make a difference; so could over-inflation (should be about 30PSI; check inside fuel filler cover for chart), running over-width rubber on narrow rims...