well after loads of help from members on here, my Skoda learning curve continues. Have now got the new cv joint fitted together with a new wheel bearing and hub. now I can hear a knocking going over bumps-garage says problem is anti-roll bush but we can live with that for now. More annoying is the steering wheel is not central anymore. Can it be taken-off and moved/ garage says the fault is because it had had the front left corner bumped in the past-bumper/bonnet/wing /headlamp all replaced by previous owner but they think car is twisted slightly ie its a crab? Any truth do you think? nothing mentioned on MOT test history.

needs to be put on a 4 wheel alignment to make sure its all straight and tracking is done correctly. Putting the steering wheel on straight is not the answer in this case as the problem needs rectifying not covering up.

 

Thanks for your reply-it sure makes sense. The only other clue is that on full left lock when coming out of the drive it does a grinding/rubbing sort of noise which goes immediately as you straighten-up. The steering wheel is turned to the right when you drive in a straight line.

Was it off centre before you had the work done? Sounds like the rack is not central hence why steering wheel is off centre and maybe linked to the rubbing noise with one side being turned a bit too much, but i'm not entirely sure thats correct.

Does the car pull to one side at all?

No it was very slightly so but now is more pronounced. Does not feel as its yanking my arm-just that wheel is turned a good bit to the right. There seems plenty of threads on rubbing/grinding on full lock with VW group cars coming up.

Bit of an eye-opener this as always had Ford or Vauxhall before. Maybe I should check if it needs power steering fluid?

i know they do whine a bit on full lock, well mine sorta does but it wouldn't hurt to check the levels

yes you need proper wheel alignment from someone who knows what they are doing, not your local garage idiots who don't understand how to do it

Does it use universal power steering fluid as can't find spec in the handbook-or use auto transmission fluid (supposed to be the same in some eyes}I have from a previous Mondeo?

should be vw spec stuff but ive just used the halfords power steering fluid which does the job. Prepare for people to start telling you 'you must use vw stuff otherwise you will definitely break your car'. If you are only topping it up then generic power steering fluid will do. I probably wouldnt use atf as its slightly different.

should it be the green stuff not the red?

it should be green i think but i used red to top it up

Measure the amount of thread between each track rod end and the steering arms. If it's not pretty much equal on both sides the rack is not centralised and the steering angles will not be correct.

 

 

 

 

Edited 15 August, 20178 yr by TMB

Hang on. Having trouble posting image....

Ok thanks. How on earth do you top the power steering fluid up? Looks like a contortionists job? Do you have to remove the battery-never seen anything so inaccessible for a simple job?

Should be roughly equal on both sides....

 

Edited 15 August, 20178 yr by TMB

5 minutes ago, PCshedman said:

Ok thanks. How on earth do you top the power steering fluid up? Looks like a contortionists job? Do you have to remove the battery-never seen anything so inaccessible for a simple job?

 

On most Fabias the battery and battery box has to be removed to access the PAS reservoir. Same on a lot of VW Polos.

Edited 15 August, 20178 yr by TMB

No wonder the cap looks filthy. Probably never been checked in years!  Am trying  to find the source of the rubbing/grinding noise on full left lock.

I hope they've fitted the bearing properly. It's a Gen 2 bearing and needs proper fitting tools or it would be damaged during fitting. The scraping/grinding could be related to that.

I bought a complete hub from a breakers............but my garage said it had a bit of play but was ok. I got it complete with driveshaft (with cv joints) and that seems fine.  There seems to be a lot of discussion about Golfs with same noise on the net.

Ah OK.

Maybe they loosened the steering bar/link while replacing the CV joint. Before aligning the car, you must be certain that the silentblocks, balljoints and bearings of the wishbones are not worn or torn. Same goes for the swaybar and it's blocks and the plastic 'covers'' between the swaybar and it's rubber blocks.

 

If one of these are gone, this may be the cause of misaligned steering and the car need to be aligned again after one of these are repaired.

 

The PAS must indeed be topped of with green steering fluid that meets the manuf. specs. since it must withstand higher temperatures.

Thanks for that info-very helpful. The topping -up of the fluid level looks a joy! There is a knock over bumps from the front left and local garage says anti-roll bar faulty. Maybe this is contributing and when done can then all be re-aligned?

Other puzzler is the noise (like grating/rubbing) on full left lock only-none on right. Seems a common trait on VW type cars but all sorts of answers on VW threads.

Have just started the car and noticed that when I put the steering wheel dead centre that the left hand wheel is pointing left slightly. To get it central the steering wheel has to be to the right When the car is running I can turn the steering fully left with no noise-it only makes one when being driven on full lock.

YW, yes, you'll need to remove the battery (one bolt), air-filter (2 bolts + clamp, then pull straight out), air inlet pipe (one screw) then remove the three bolts of the battery box. And then you'll need a pipe wrench to unscrew the cap (very tight).

 

Mine ARB was making an annoying cracking sound when going over speed bumps. The cause where the (cracked and rusted under) plastic casings around the ARB and the ARB bushes. If you're on a tight budget. You can try to remove the plastics and put proper grease in it. But this would not last very long.

 

If you decide to replace the ARB; the engine must me dropped a bit (8 bolts of subframe, engine shock absorber (called pendelsteun in Dutch) and two camber align nuts) and if you exhaust pipe runs underneath the subframe, then the exhaust front end must be removed too. Make sure they place the correct size ARB since there a three types.

 

I forgot to tell that a worn ARB should not affect the steering-position when not broken completely.

 

The rubbing sound maybe caused by poor alignment or loose wheel arches. But my Fabia was aligned a few months ago, and I still have it too (new ARB, new complete wishbones & silentblocks + new tires).

Well I bought this car to replace my wife's old 1998 Astra which still drove fine but needed front pipe (which includes cat) and had six corroded brake pipe advices   on last MOT (due in four weeks). Starting to think I should have spent the money an the Astra instead of buying the Fabia as it seems more complicated and remedial work is expensive.  Maybe I should have bought another Astra as am getting downhearted now I fear! Before the Astra she had a Vauxhall Meriva -now that IS a car to avoid-power steering went totally (replaced free by Vauxhall), clutch literally disintegrated as did gear selector linkage, and it had an oil thirst.

Maybe I am unlucky but great thanks to all helpers on the site-you are wonderful!

 

Knocking over bumps is more likely to be the ARB drop links.