Hammerhead: Stiff steering after collision

[Obi-Wan-YJ]

We've got a 2009-ish Hammerhead Twister 150cc. Recently, my son ran into a building with the front left wheel. After the impact, the strut and wheel looked OK, but the front left wheel was toed OUT at least 10 degrees, and the steering turned very stiffly--even with the front end jacked up & the wheels off the ground.

The left ball joint boot was torn, as if it had been overextended, but I can't guarantee that it wasn't torn before the accident (this kart has seen better days). The inner shaft to which the ball joint connects seemed to be extended out an inch or two farther on the left side when the steering wheel was centered and the right wheel was pointed straight forward.

I've never seen the inside of a steering gear. Is that inner shaft just one piece that runs the entire width from ball joint to ball joint, or are there two inner shafts? Does the steering shaft meet that with a worm gear or something? Could that gear have gotten stripped upon impact? Something inside that gear is moving very stiffly now. Is it possible to fix that, or must I buy a whole new steering gear for $85?

I don't see an obvious way to open up the steering gear box. Am I missing something? Any pointers would be greatly appreciated!

This seems to be my steering gear, FWIW:
https://www.buggypartsnw.com/index.p...0-and-250.html

[plee911]

The shaft is one piece.

It sounds like you for sure damaged the ball joints.

I would unhook both ball joints and check the ball joints on both by hand.

You have to remember that the tires are connected through the steering box what happens to one happens to the other one as well.

The impact would have damaged the ball joint on the side of the impact but could have damaged both.

You may not be able to see the damage but will be able to feel it once its unhooked.
It could also have damaged the spindle once you disconnect the ball joint you will be able to turn the tire right and left by hand and feel for resistance and damage.

Once you have checked this you can turn the steering wheel by hand to determine if there is damage/resistance in your steering box.

Its possible that you sheered some teeth but logic would dictate that you would have a dead spot in your steering if that is what happened. If you bent the teeth but didn't shear them then you would feel a binding.

If you bent the teeth in the steering box depending on how bad then its possible to take a file and remove the bowing in the teeth.

Keep in mind that if you have to file the teeth then it is for moving the buggy around only and it is no longer safe to ride.

Check your ball joints first they are the weak link.
Then with the ball joints disconnected check that your tires move left and right freely with out catching, binding or popping. Lift them up and down as well to make sure you don't have play.

Then with ball joints unhooked check your steering it should move free and smooth all the way in both directions.

If it doesn't then you really should replace the steering box.
I only mention the file option to allow you to move the buggy around if needed I would not put my kids safety at risk by letting them ride it as normal if I had to file the steering teeth. Once compromised those teeth can shear at any time and you don't want that to happen at any speed.

When you do all of this check your A Arms and other steering/suspension parts. Remember just cause you cant see the damage doesn't mean it isn't there. But you should feel it when you move it by hand.

Im no expert by any means just giving you my thoughts on the issue.

[Obi-Wan-YJ]

Originally Posted by plee911

It sounds like you for sure damaged the ball joints.

No, the ball joints are fine. The problem is definitely inside the steering gear.

Its possible that you sheered some teeth but logic would dictate that you would have a dead spot in your steering if that is what happened. If you bent the teeth but didn't shear them then you would feel a binding.

If you bent the teeth in the steering box depending on how bad then its possible to take a file and remove the bowing in the teeth.

The steering doesn't bind in spots; it's consistently stiff across several turns of the steering wheel. How can I open up the steering gear to inspect it?

[x-bird]

before doing that, make sure the steering column/shaft is straight. could be bent just enough to bind up in the bushings at certain spots in the rotation. if you have to get into the rack, it's usually remove a snap ring on the pinion shaft to free it from the rack.

[plee911]

Yep remove dust covers and you should find the snap rings. The shaft for the steering wheel has to come out before the long horizontal shaft can come out.

+1 on checking the steering column shaft that could cause the issue as well

[Obi-Wan-YJ]

There's no steering column on a Hammerhead--just an exposed shaft with a u-joint at each end. The u-joints move freely, as does the steering wheel when it's not connected to the steering gear.

I pulled the rubber dust covers off the steering gear, but I couldn't find any snap rings. I decided that my time was worth more than I was likely to save by poking at it any further, so I ended up just ordering a new steering gear from Buggy Parts NW. It should arrive Tuesday or Wednesday, thanks to the long holiday.

On a side note, while messing with it, I also noticed that when I replaced one of the front wheel struts a couple years ago, I got one that had the tie rod mounting tab mounted about 1" higher up on the strut than the original. I never noticed it before, but that certainly affects my toe-in and how the steering wheel is centered. If I shorten my tie rods as far as possible, I can almost get the tires pointed straight ahead, but still not toed inward. It doesn't affect my stiff steering, though.

[Obi-Wan-YJ]

Got the new steering gear installed today. It turns *much* more easily than the old gear, so that was definitely the problem.

I was also able to shrink the linkage down to get the toe-in adjusted properly, so that's a bonus.