Andrew95accord

Hi- I'm new to this board, so I'm sorry if this has been addressed in the past, but we have a strange wiggle in our steering wheel at low speeds that goes away as the car goes faster (maybe from 1-30mph). The car ('95 accord EX) has about 104K miles on it, and runs great otherwise. If you hold the wheel hard enough I think you can make it stop, but its annoying nonetheless. Is this something in the power steering? The only thing I will note is I topped off the power steering fluid with store bought power steering fluid a month or two ago- this was before there was any wheel shake. Could that have anything to do with it, or just a fluke?

Could it be something in the suspension? Car pulls very slightly to the left (not that bad), but as its winter here in NJ and my wife drives the car to work in NY City, the car does see its fair share of potholes. There is no high speed shimmy or pulsesation- I imagine the wheels are in perfect balance. Thanks in advance for your help!
Andrew


[Modified by Andrew95accord, 3:50 PM 2/4/2003]

RotaryBzzz

I'm assuming that you have no vibrations at idle - at a dead stop? Is vibration a better word for it or is "wiggle" the best description?

Andrew95accord

It does not vibrate or wiggle at idle or at a dead stop. I use the word wiggle because it seems like a slower motion than a "vibration". It is like a slower vibration, but does not cause the car to veer off course. Is there any way the powersteering fluid I added could do anything- I didn't overfill it, and only topped it off. I didn't use "honda power steering fluid" if there is such a thing, just the regular Gunk brand (or similar brand) power steering fluid.

Is it possibly a suspension piece? Strange that it goes away. Is the power steering assist variable based on speed of car or engine speed? Maybe its something in the power steering pump?

Thanks again-
Andrew

twkdCD595

Alignment needs to be checked and also take a second to check you tires over for bubbles (very very common).

I just put 2 new tires on my car cause of bubbles in them... yoko's too... and now the other 2 got em... geeeshh... no wonder they say change all 4 anyways.

RotaryBzzz

Uh oh...sorry to be the bearer of bad news but that non-honda stuff will destroy the seals in your PS pump in short order. I'd get that stuff out ASAP if i were you and refill with Honda-spec or OEM Honda PS fluid. I mean this weekend.

Did your problem start AFTER you put that stuff in?


[Modified by RotaryBzzz, 4:23 PM 2/4/2003]

Andrew95accord

I put the fluid in before the "wiggle" started, but I only topped it off, so I don't think it would make much difference. I don' t think its leaking anything, but I can check. Also, I'll have to check the tires for bubbles, but I don't think that's it- I just filled up the tires to proper air pressure, and didn't notice anything with the tires, but I'll check again. The wiggle goes away once your moving fast enough, and the car seemed quite smooth at highway speeds. With all the potholes my wife probably hit with the recent winter weather I was wondering if that could have done something...

Do you really think that power steering fluid makes a difference if I only put an ounce or two in? Has anyone else had this problem- I seem to remember my dad's old 1985 accord doing something like this, but that was years ago so my memory may be a little dull... Its not really bad, but it just started doing it and it annoys me when I drive it, so figured I would tap you guys for advise.

Thanks! Andrew