Will cut to the chase here, may be paranoia as I had a mate killed by a defective vehicle.
4 year old 17 ton MAN rigid. Defected the vehicles steering. Right lock goes TOO FAR, left lock not far enough and loss of power steering on tight left turns.
Vehicle has just come back from a service with the same problem.
My instincts tell me this cant be right but Im no fitter. I cant afford to get bolshy without a bit of tech info as Im currently in morgage hell.
Any help (especially from a fitter) would be gratefully recieved.
Thanks
Phil
yes DONT DRIVE IT
Defect again pronto with vigour, insist its not safe. No joy, contact VOSA. 
Thanks, will do, but I wish I could give them an answer they cant get out of. Ive only been there a month and had problems, before it went in for the service i told them i wouldnt drive it because of another problem (now fixed).
Its like this, house is under suspended repossesion order which means if i miss a payment (£1,013 a month) we are homeless. I have to keep working, wife is under a shrink (all this from trying to start a business), not whinging here but you can see I desperatly need a decent job ASAP
Phil
Sounds like you need the lock stops adjusting at the very least, Was it in for an MOT as well?
The reason i ask is that this is the time that the lock stops may be adjusted slightly at inspection time in preperation for test
I understand your concerns over your home but don’t drive a vehicle if you feel its unsafe, it would not take long to pop it to the garage so someone can check it out
Even if there is nothing wrong its better to get these things checked out, a company that goes mad at you for that is not worth working for anyway,
Look after number 1
Discopete, thanks very much for the tech stuff mate and for seeing my difficulties. I must add that i was taught by my dad, a trucker from 1942 to 1975, he never had an accident and I have all his RoSPA medals, I quit HGV driving in 1995 because so many companies ran bent, I just came back to it after the aformentioned business disaster, I want it to work out this time, not just for the financial stuff but because I love the job. Apart from the 10 year business break I have driven HGVs since 1969, clean license, no convictions.
I dont want anyone to think Im taking this lightly (lost a mate through a defective truck, and Im deaf in one ear because of a failed night heater and the flu).
Im treading a fine line at this company, if i lose the house the wife will go over the edge permanantly Im sure and we dont have financial leeway of any kind.
Im on loads of driver web sites and agencies and I have posted CV etc to local firms but nothing yet.
I will go in armed with the lock stop info you mention tomorrow. The truck steers ok apart from the lock thing, its very steady under all weights, mentally Im monitoring it all the time. Its not due for an MOT for a couple of months, I take it this is a fail point.
It doesnt feel dangerous, but, IS IT dangerous if the lock stops arent adjusted correctly.
Sorry Ive gone on a bit but I wanted to make sure that Im not seen as a cowboy (my dad would come back and clobber me)
Thanks again
Phil
Not worked on trucks but plenty of Mini’s
Sounds to me like the tracking has been out and then not adjusted correctly.
Lazy fitters just adjust the side that’s out rather than adjust both sides to even it out.
When you’re driving along in a straight like does the steering wheel sit central?
It wouldnt be dangerous as such, but is less than ideal.
Alternatively, it could be:
Twisted chassis
trashed suspension
Broken powersteering
Or any combination of the above…
If the boss will not fix it, take it to VOSA and insist they look at it. Take proof of your defecting it at least 3 times.
allikat:
If the boss will not fix it, take it to VOSA and insist they look at it. Take proof of your defecting it at least 3 times.
…and that’ll definately get him the sack!
Sounds like the steering box hasn’t been centred before the arm has been fitted. Hence why it has an excess of right lock but comes to the end of the worm before full left lock is achieved. Used to get the same thing on Land Rovers.
The tracking being out definately would not cause the symptons you describe. (unless it was out by a hell of a lot) Incorrectly set tracking can tend to make the vehicle wander off to the left or right under normal driving & will eventually wear an outer or inner edge off one or both tyres.
You can easily check this by putting the wheel on full lock, then lean over the wheel from above it & look down the front of the tyre. The tyre should be a unform slightly rounded shape, if it has a flat chamfered section towards one edge (usually 1 to 2 inches wide) then it is wearing unevenly caused by the tracking being out.
Fact: many driver who drive the same truck every day do not notice if it pulls to the left or right under normal driving. Last year when I was at P & O we had brand new Merc units on that pulled & were wearing their new tyres unevenly. I mentioned it to the units own drivers & they swore blind they didn’t! Yet let go on the m/way & they’d be on the hard shoulder in little time .
Lock stops fault…possible, but most unlikely.
£1k+ that’s a hell of a mortgage. Thought about down sizing?
Thanks for all the replies, must be brief as I gotta get into work now.
10 years ago (after my mate got killled) I went to the Ministry (pre VoSA?) about a company and the IR, they did diddly squat, so VoSA dont appeal much (dont want to get blacklisted, need to work)
had the truck 4 weeks now, its been the same all the time, no wandering or pulling. Tyres have uniform wear, it does handle nice and drives smooth.
Mortgage thing is plus arrears, long story, no choice but to stick with it for 5 years. If I could get out of it I certainly would.
Away for a couple of days (Manchester) will check the forum when Im back.
Thanks again
Phil
Yes in extreme cases locks stops being set wrong could be dangerous becasue it could allow the wheel to contact a part of the vehicle, usually the draglink on a tight left turn
It could be the steering box set wrong as driveroneuk has said but you probably would not be able to see anything physically wrong unless you can see a master spline on the output shaft or some makes have an arrow to line up on, but like I say this usually is facing the chassis and can only be seen if the steering box is taken off
Does the power steering stop working when the wheel is at full lock? if so this could be due to the lock stop physically stopping the steering from moving any more or posibbly the fluid level being low could do this
I would sugguest that as it feels ok to drive according to you just keep an eye on it, See if it feels any worse, if it does start to feel different get it to the garage to get people to look at it, like i say steering is a serious thing and you don’t want this bit to go wrong, You say it was like this before and after the service did you mention the problem to the garage when it went in?
Does the company you work for have any more of the same vehicle that you could try and see if they are any different?
Failing that just ask you boss if you can run the truck to the garage so someone could take a quick look to put your mind at rest,
If the truck is on a full R&M package then your boss will want it right as hes paying for it to be in top condition
Hope this helps
Discopete, thanks again mate, sorry I am late replying, 2 days round Manchester, only just got back.
When they first bought this truck another driver had it, he didnt like it because of the small cab and bunk and I was asked if I wanted it. I said ok as it was better than the old Daf I had. The first day I had it I mentioned the steering and was told to take it to the garage, I did this and after a quick check the fitter basically told me MANs and cheap and some are like that (I didnt think this was likely but then 'Im only a driver 'arent I). Anyway I kept defecting it for a couple of weeks then it went in for the service and came back just the same.
I have the manual for the truck now so I will check the power steering level tomorrow. Most of the other vehicles he has are DAFs and Renaults, this is the only MAN. He did have MANs when I worked there 19 years ago and I liked the one I had then a lot, big cab too, lots of space for night out stuff.
By the way ‘a funny thing happened to me on the way to Preston this morning’, a police camera checked the number plate and I got a tug a mile further on, turns out the vehicle isnt registered to anyone, police ok as he has only just bought it but he told me to get the company to sort it. I got a 7 day wonder to produce insurance and MOT.
Not a lot of time tonight as I just got back and got 2 days in Wales tomorrow, cant thank you enough for the information. I am keeping an eye on it and although right lock goes too far I dont take it to the extreme.
Cheers
Phil
Its sounding more & more like the steering box not being centred. Discopete mentioned the fact that the output shaft may have a master spline on it. Yes it may well have, but that aint gonna prove/help anything if was one or more full turns out when the arm was fitted.
Also Pete, you amused me (in a nice way) when you said “keep an eye on it”. Isn’t that just what fitters are infamous for saying? i.e. “let it develop”?
Driveroneuk:
Also Pete, you amused me (in a nice way) when you said “keep an eye on it”. Isn’t that just what fitters are infamous for saying? i.e. “let it develop”?
Dont know about Pete, but we never say that at are place 
No, keep an eye on it means see if the fault changes at all, does it get worse during the day or does the vehicle being cold or hot etc make any difference
Let it develop has never ever come out of my lips thats what people say when they can’t be bothered to look at the fault properly
I prefer " its the new ness"
Don’t drive with defect Steerling or defect Brake
fred Kanka:
Don’t drive with defect Steerling or defect Brake
I agree Fred, but I have to say that I have had this vehicle in the garage twice now and its come back as ‘no fault’. Im not a mechanic so really I should bow to their knowledge, I am pushing it a bit (especially if you consider my family circumstances).
This truck has been a right pain since they bought it, I dont know if i mentioned the driver who first had it, only for one week then as he was locking the rear shutter the handle came off and he fell flat on his back in the road and was off work for a day (what was that old film ‘Christine’?, a haunted car that killed all its owners, this trucks the HGV version). He didnt want the truck as he is taller than me and didnt fit in the bunk and offered it to me. I agreed as it seemed better than the DAF I had.
He was right about the bunk though, this is no night out motor for sure. Its got the medium L cab and its far too small to ‘live in’ if you cook etc in the cab, its just too small. Also you have to almost assemble the bunk, pull out a stupid L bar move both seats forward and then insert two cushions into place. The cushions are too thin to be comfortable and where they join does your back in. Its by far the worst sleeper cab I have ever had. The M cab looks a lot better, in fact as it should be, more like the earlier MANs which had loads of room. I really would suggest that if any driver is offered one of these medium L cabs for distance work to refuse it.
Regarding the steering, a mechanic who used to work for the company is coming in during the next week to sort it out, they think it is the lock stops.
Fred, if you consider that if I lose a days work my house goes and we are homeless and that my wifes illness would send her right over the edge, and that I have still insisted that the vehicle be looked at despite two previous visits to the garage, I hope you can see that I have not neglected the problem. I had already been assured it was safe so I have been treading a fine line while trying to keep my job.
Thanks to you all for the comments and technical information, this gave me the confidence to insist it be looked at again.
Phil
Just to ‘put this one away’
i ended up with a week off work with a bruised nerve in my bicep, due to the tail lift problem, it was agony, Doc said I couldnt drive. Got paid though!
And, steering fixed, wind deflectot that fell off when I slammed the passenger door once refitted, kerb mirror that had been removed by London Transport bus driver been replaced, curtain ratchet fixed, poles easier to fit now, tail lift electrics removed by fork lift driver now replaced.
The job is looking much better now.
All I gotta do now is work out how to get a ‘proper cab’ fitted.
Phil
Freebird:
Just to ‘put this one away’
i ended up with a week off work with a bruised nerve in my bicep, due to the tail lift problem, it was agony, Doc said I couldnt drive. Got paid though!
And, steering fixed, wind deflectot that fell off when I slammed the passenger door once refitted, kerb mirror that had been removed by London Transport bus driver been replaced, curtain ratchet fixed, poles easier to fit now, tail lift electrics removed by fork lift driver now replaced.
The job is looking much better now.
All I gotta do now is work out how to get a ‘proper cab’ fitted.
Phil
Result! well done and good luck, hope the arm is better. 
Thanks CM, arm is ok now, but I learned something here (as your signature sugests), I wont continue working with faulty equipment again in the belief it will be rectified. Only way to go is refuse to use it.
I hope this thread wasnt too tedious, I always like to know other drivers experiences if I have a similar problem. Maybe this will be useful to another driver some time.
Phil