mx5cartalk.com

I bought 1990 mx5 and the steering wheel is very stiff. I have no idea what it could be, if anyone has a guess, please let me know. I don't want to take it to a mechanic so they can give me B.S. and try to take money from me.

Did you buy one without power steering?

Are the tyres pumped up?

Dave's comments/ questions are very relavant.
Greg.

davekmoore wrote:Did you buy one without power steering?

Are the tyres pumped up?

Are the tyres worn unevenly?

These things are pretty heavy at parking speed but should be good above that,If they are badly aligned or have worn tyres the effort to turn just goes up heaps.

Peter.

Johnny_OGBravo wrote:I bought 1990 mx5 and the steering wheel is very stiff. I have no idea what it could be....

Was it like that when you test drove it?

Methinks JBT is asking if you test drove it.

at a guess no power steering
my 1992 NA has aircon and no power steering
and as agent 86 would say
and loving it

When I test drove it it felt the same but I really needed and liked the car, so I assumed it was an easy fit. The wheels are fine. It has aftermarket wheels, well inflated, and I believe they are 17'. The alignment seems to be fine as well but I'm going to have to double check on that. I'm not sure if the ac, it won't blow out cold air. Not sure if is should be behind the radiator, and if so I didn't see it.

davekmoore wrote:Did you buy one without power steering?

Are the tyres pumped up?

taminga16 wrote:Dave's comments/ questions are very relavant.
Greg.

pcmx5 wrote:

davekmoore wrote:Did you buy one without power steering?

Are the tyres pumped up?

Are the tyres worn unevenly?

These things are pretty heavy at parking speed but should be good above that,If they are badly aligned or have worn tyres the effort to turn just goes up heaps.

Peter.

JBT wrote:

Johnny_OGBravo wrote:I bought 1990 mx5 and the steering wheel is very stiff. I have no idea what it could be....

Was it like that when you test drove it?

davekmoore wrote:Methinks JBT is asking if you test drove it.

rossburns wrote:at a guess no power steering
my 1992 NA has aircon and no power steering
and as agent 86 would say
and loving it

17" on a NA Lokiel will love you

Another issue could be the unsprung weight making it hard to turn.

I think the short answer here is that you've got an older car that doesn't have power steering. The solution to this problem is in your heart and at the gym. Learn to love it. Learn to turn it.

People on this forum are all about 15" wheels and think that 17" wheels are the work of the devil. They are probably right that 15" wheels give a better ride. I moved from 17" to 15" on the advice of this forum. It's a good change, but it's a 5% or 10% improvement. Changing wheels wont suddenly make your car feel like it has power steering.

If the car has aircon that doesn't blow cold it probably just needs a re-gas.

Gidday Jonny,

Welcome to the obsession.

Sounds like you have an NA6 Business as usual. Most likely not fitted with power steering. You could send a pic of the engine bay and you would probably have it confirmed one way or another. Even if it has PS fitted. The pump may not be working.

But there are a lot of things to consider.

I have pretty much the same NA6. My steering is seriously stiff. So I'd imagine yours is just normal.

But lots of things affect the stiffness of your steering. Especially if the suspension has been modified.
Lots of little things will start making substantial differences in your steering. Positive or negative.
The standard NA6 came with 14" wheels & 185 tires i think. offset of 45mm. Normal steering was already thought to be hard in its day but power steering wasn't really a standard item on an 1989 NA6. My my first MX5, a 1990 blue marine didn't have PS either. Power steering must have come standard towards the end of its life. Probably not long before the NA8 came around. Thats not saying PS hasn't been fitted & It may be that its not working.

Id agree. Most likely you 17's are quite heavy. Same with the tires. Although aggressive offset with 17's is probably unlikely, its certainly possible. Also check if spacers have been fitted to make your wheels stick out a little further.

If your alignment is wearing your tires evenly, perhaps consider changing your wheels front to rear & vice versa. Tires will most likely have worn differently at the rear. This will temporarily ease the steering while going slow. Or if you get a new alignment this will take care of itself until tires wear a little.

Offset adds a little to the weight. Not a huge deal but it does in my experience. Same with type of tires. Whenever I get new tyres My steering is always lighter for a few weeks at least. Then steering becomes progressively heavier as the tyres wear, especially if they are Street type semi slicks. As in soft compound but not quite considered full semi slicks.

But I'd be looking at the unstrung weight first before you commit to big $$$ tell us what they weigh. I cant recall the weight of the original set up. But for its day. It was sensationally light. Now-days would perhaps be considered average.
also tell us if the shocks & springs have also been modded, the height of the car.

Lots of little things compound.

Does it have power steering and air conitioning fitted?

The NA, even without power steering, is not heavy. Even my wife didn't find it heavy, only a bit at parking speeds.

17's on there would certainly not be helping. What width are they and what size tyres? The extra width over stock (that I'm sure the'd be) won't be helping. Type and quality of tyre will also make a difference to the weight of the steering, as will tread wear.

For an NA, I wouldn't go bigger than a 15" personally.

Edit ... what size steering wheel is fitted?

Fnd every time I jump back in the NA after time driving a hire car that the steering is heavy, but soon get used to it. Inflating tyres to 32PSI cold all round should help, if not already inflated to that pressure.

From your post, you haven't played with cars for long, and don't know too much about them, no problem we all started somewhere.

I would say it doesn't have power steering.

Easiest way to check, open the bonnet and count the belts on the front of the engine and have a look at what they go around.

Off the top of my head, and it has been a while since I have lifted the bonnet on mine, there should be one belt for the fan/water pump and alternator. The alternator will be hanging off the side of the motor and about midway with a long adjusting bracket on the left hand side as you look at the motor from in front of the car. A second belt for the A/C, if fitted and that will go from the crank pulley, to the a/C compressor hanging off the side of the motor towards the top, and is fairly large and on the right hand side as you look at the motor from in front of the car. There should also be an idler pulley for the A/C belt.

If you have power steering, there will be a third belt on the front of the motor, that runs to a small pump with a reservoir on the top with a cap on it to fill with Power steering fluid as necessary. There will be two steel lines that run from this down to the steering rack, which you will see under the motor when looking in the engine bay.

If you don't have power steering, and this is your first car, and you have previously dríven modern cars with power steering, then the steering will feel heavy, for an old fart like me, MX-5's without power steering are still feel light.

If you do have power steering, and the steering is heavy, then one of two things, the previous owner may have disconnected the power steering and left the bits in, unusual, or the power steering isn't working. If the power steering isn't working then it's either do the modification to de-power the rack or get it fixed if you really need the lighter steering.

Same for the a/c, if there isn't a second "radiator" behind the main one, and the big compressor hanging off the motor you haven't got a/c, if you have these, then the a/c isn't working. This could be as easy as a regas, or even pushing the button on the dash to get it working, or a full rebuild.