Check from below the vehicle installed on the inspection ditch (the front wheels must be loaded with the weight of the car):
- the condition of the protective caps and the cover of the steering mechanism, the protective covers of the tie rod ends (external examination);
- axial movement of the tie rod ends relative to the fingers;
- free play (backlash) in ball joints.
Check the location of the steering wheel spokes, which, when the front wheels are in a straight-line driving position, should be located symmetrically about the vertical axis. Otherwise, determine the cause of the malfunction and eliminate it.
Turning the steering wheel from lock to lock, check visually and aurally:
- reliability of fastening of the steering mechanism and steering wheel;
- lack of clearance in rubber-metal joints, in steering rod joints, in rivet and spline joints of the elastic coupling of the steering shaft;
- reliability of tightening the bolts for fastening the rods to the steering mechanism;
- reliability of tightening the nuts of the pins of the hinges of the outer tips of the steering rods;
- lack of jamming and interference preventing the steering wheel from turning.
Possible failures and malfunctions of the steering, their causes and remedies are described in Sec. 8 «Steering».