7.1 Steering Wheel, Column, Linkages, Rack & Power Assistance

Trace steering input to road-wheel movement

The steering inspection is one continuous system check. With the vehicle in the safe condition required for the method, follow movement from the steering wheel through the column, shafts, box or rack, arms, joints, and road wheels.

Steering wheel and column

Reject a steering wheel that is insecure, cracked, fractured, or otherwise unsafe, and a column or shaft with insecure attachment, damage, or excessive movement. Verify any adjustment locks. A spinner, quick-release wheel, reduced-diameter replacement, or airbag-related change must be checked against the modification table.

Do not use a universal “30 mm at the rim” or fixed number of degrees as the WoF rule for all vehicles. Steering play is rejected when it is beyond manufacturer specifications or when wear/damage creates unsafe control. Different recirculating-ball, rack-and-pinion, manual, and electronic systems can have different normal behaviour.

Linkages, rack, and box

Inspect every accessible steering arm, drag link, tie rod, ball joint, idler/pitman arm, rack, box, coupling, shaft, and attachment. Reasons include insecurity, damage, excessive wear, seizure/roughness, or play beyond manufacturer specifications. Retaining nuts, locking devices, split pins, and clamps must be present and effective.

A steering rack boot that is missing, insecure, or split is expressly rejected. Check both ends through the steering range. Fluid wetness under a boot can also indicate rack leakage requiring evaluation.

Lock stops must not be loose, damaged, or missing. At full lock, wheels and tyres must not create prohibited contact with body, brake, suspension, or steering components.

Power steering and operation

Hydraulic or electric power assistance must be secure, adequately functioning, and free of relevant damage or excessive leakage. Inspect pump/drive, reservoir, pipes and hoses, electrical units, wiring, warning indications, and mountings as applicable. A slight hydraulic film and an active leak are not the same; use the page’s leakage criterion and evidence.

During operation, steering must provide safe, efficient, convenient, and sensitive control. Reject binding, roughness, excessive stiffness, abnormal self-movement, or interference affecting directional control. A steer-by-wire vehicle capable of exceeding 50 km/h and lacking direct mechanical connection must have the additional steering means required by the page.

Mountings, LHD use, and modifications

Inspect mounting areas for insecurity and for corrosion damage, buckling, or fractures within 150 mm. This is a specific steering/suspension mounting rule.

A registered left-hand-drive vehicle is not required to carry an LHD permit merely for WoF, but the page restricts specified commercial, hire, rental, or transport-service operation unless an exception applies.

A steering modification affecting directional control requires the evidence specified by VIRM unless the modification table excludes it. A quick-release steering wheel always requires referral for LVV certification under the note.

Practical sequence

1. Check wheel/column security and adjustment locks.
2. Apply small alternating input and trace lost motion joint by joint.
3. Safely support/load the suspension as the manufacturer method requires.
4. Inspect rack/box, linkages, boots, stops, retention, and mountings.
5. Operate assistance and observe warning, leakage, noise, binding, and consistency.
6. Turn lock to lock and check clearance.
7. Compare play to manufacturer specifications and verify modification evidence.

Scenario

A rack boot is split but the joint has not yet developed measurable play. It still fails because the split boot is its own reason for rejection; the inspector does not wait for contamination to destroy the joint.

Localise direct and indirect control faults

Movement at the steering wheel can be lost in a column coupling, box adjustment, rack mount, inner joint, outer joint, or wheel bearing. Hold or observe successive components while a controlled input is applied; add movement only where the inspection method and manufacturer specification call for a system total. Do not tighten an adjustable box during the certification inspection to manufacture a pass.

A steering warning lamp or loss of electric assistance should be evaluated with operating state and manufacturer information. Heavy steering caused by a flat tyre is not automatically an EPS failure, but it remains necessary to resolve the true cause and confirm safe control. A leak on a power-steering hose can also contaminate brakes or tyres, creating separate reasons.