Heavy fiesta mk 3 steering

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Sun 9 May 2004 19:29
Heavy fiesta mk 3 steering - fiestaman
Ford Fiesta Mark 3 - Problem with steering: The car resists turning, steering seems to stick in stright a line. There are no noises and the tyres aren't worn. Seems like the power steering is broken, but I don't have power steering! It also happened suddenly.
Any thoughts? Thanks!
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Sun 9 May 2004 20:26
Heavy fiesta mk 3 steering - Waino
Mk 3 Fiestas are notorious for having heavy steering. I've found that the biggest help is to make sure that the front tyres are well inflated. But I'm afraid I can't offer any thoughts on a sudden stiffening of the steering.
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Sun 9 May 2004 20:51
Heavy fiesta mk 3 steering - Waino
My wife has just reminded me that last year we had the universal steering joint replaced (it had almost seized up) and I remember that at some point we had a ball joint replaced.
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Sun 9 May 2004 20:58
Heavy fiesta mk 3 steering - Civic8
Possible seized track rod end/s.Apart from what has been said.?
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Mon 10 May 2004 13:36
Heavy fiesta mk 3 steering - Snakey
Does the steering self-centre ok when you let go? The lower arm balljoints can seize on these and it also makes the steering heavier/more 'lumpy'

Mine had this problem, to prove it I cut a tiny hole in the rubber where the mounting was and filled it with grease - a few miles later everything was ok again - so I replaced the lower arm.
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Mon 10 May 2004 16:07
Heavy fiesta mk 3 steering - Kuang
The 'sticking in a straight line' can sometimes be the result of a badly worn steering rack. Does the car wander about and require constant correction? Have you ever found that you need to force it to turn past a certain point, or had trouble bringing it back to centre again? It might be worth getting the front end off the ground and giving the wheels a side-to-side wiggle - try to identify any play.
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