MrNoisy

iTrader: (28)

Hi,

Anybody else had this problem? I have a new age bugeye WRX Impreza.

I was driving along yesterday, and I noticed that something was rattling inside the plastic trim around the steering column when the car went over potholes in the road; sounds like something's come loose.

Has anybody else experienced this, or can hazard a guess as to what it might be?

I checked the wheel height adjustment lever wasn't loose, checked for any knocking bits of trim which might have come loose, but no obvious candidates. I'm guessing I might have to take the trim off around the wheel but I'm not sure where the hell I will have to look to find the source of the rattle; at the same time, I don't want to have to take this into Subaru to have it rectified!

Anyone had the same problem?

MrNoisy

iTrader: (28)

Hmmm, still haven't located the fault.
Last night I took the steering column housing off to see if anything was loose but nothing immediately obvious was visible.
Couple of plugs under the dash were loose, but they wouldn't make this kind of rattle.
Anyone??

Butty

iTrader: (2)

May well be the big airbag spinner connector knocking on the inside of the column shroud.
If its doing it on all pot holes off then undo the shorud and reposition it to see if it helps.
Worst case it could be the rack bushes wearing and allowing the whole column and rack to move too much.
Nick

MrNoisy

iTrader: (28)

Cheers for the response Nick.
It doesn't seem to happen on all pot holes, but on the bigger ones I do get a rattle like something's hitting the top of the column casing, but I just can't find where! I'll try taking the top piece off and repositioning it as you suggest.

In regards to the rack bushes, do you think it's likely - my car hasn't done 60,000 miles yet - would it be rare for bushes to fail at that stage?

Thanks for the advice,

Giles

turbogav

Had a rattling from what I thought was the steering column too. Turned out to be the heat shield needed adjusting.

Butty

iTrader: (2)

If its the occasional big hole then I get this on my 06 car with 15k miles on it - a feature of the car I guess.
Its the rack and column moving enough to make the airbag loom spinner clout the column shroud.
nick

MrNoisy

iTrader: (28)

Oh dear - I now have a metallic whirring accompanying previously mentioned problem - drivers side.

It's not really loud but you can hear it from low speeds and it gets progressively louder as you pick up speed (although it's not screaming, or particularly loud, I now have the soundtrack from my Milltek 3" exhaust plus a "wurr wurr wurr wurr" from whatever the hell is making this noise!

Does anyone know if this is likely to be a wheel bearing needing replacement?
The car's done 58,000 miles, although I guess depending on how it's been driven by the previous owner that means little!

MrNoisy

iTrader: (28)

Turns out it was the driver's side front wheel bearing on the way out.
Have booked it in for Friday at Bulldog in Twyford. Costed up as £300. doh!

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Owch sorry mate. Read this thread with interest as i've had a rattle in the steering column for a while. Only happens on rough roads though, sort of like a vibration travelling through the car so hoping it is a lot cheaper to fix than yours!

5t.

MrNoisy

iTrader: (28)

Hey fivetide.

Believe it or not, the rattle is STILL THERE!

It only seems to happen, like you, on rough bits of road or poorly surfaced road. It's almost as if something judders up the column from the rack or thereabouts but I'm damned if I've been able to locate the source. As I said, I've had the bottom cowling off around the wheel but nothing thus far.
Might try and top next weekend - busy this one.

The wheel bearing was a more metallic sound than this and (I'm hoping) more urgent in the short term!

Let me know if you get anywhere with diagnosing though and post here or PM me if you learn anything new.

Thanks,

G

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

Will do chap. Had the local Subaru garage take the wheel off and everything (didn't want to set the airbag off) and they couldn't find it. The reckoned it was coming from the door but everyone else hear's the noise right in front of them.

It's as though there is something broken, like a little bit of plastic, somewhere inside the steering wheel. I'm learning to live with it but it is still blinking annoying!

5t.