out of wack steering
 

im new to this forum and new to this kind of ride, perhaps someone can explain to me what could have caused my steering to sudenly be out of wack... iwas testing my fd today doing some thight left and rigth turn...skippad testing kinda and heard a big bang from the car now i'm left with a steering that isn't straigth. any info would help... before i take it to a shop.

It could be anything. Are you leaking power steering fluid? How is the rack & pinion?

Based on the "loud bang" description, I'd be looking at tie-rod ends. Or...I'm not exactly positive that it would affect steering, but front sway-bar mounts come to mind.

I'd guess a sway bar problem, too, since the result was not more catastrophic (wheel pointed wrong direction, etc.). I heard of someone having a lower control arm bolt come loose once, too. And an upper ball joint failure, too. Definitely check the suspension out thoroughly before driving it again. A suspension failure could easily kill you. :(

-Max

nope everything seems fine,it's just that the vehicle pulls left. thanx for the info,i'll just have to take it in... hopefully it's not major.

Put a jack under the corner you heard the noise from, try to move the wheel/tire, and look around.

And again, it could be very dangerous to drive the car. Be careful!

-Max

I hope it is not the power rack and pinion.. That would be costly. Check and see if your sway bar mounts to see if they broke. If not try and pulling up on the tire. If it is easy to move then the shocks could've blown. Hope you get your problem fixed!

If it was the rack and pin., there would be some play (and maybe even a noise) if you tried 'shaking' your tire back and forth. If there is no play then it's still good. :)

i would not know until the fd gets check but looking at it seems that rigth tire/wheel is toe-in a bit more than the left but just wondering,is this comon? or simply my misfortune? also it is a 93 model is there any problem or part related that i should change?

Then that definitely sounds like a bad tie rod end or ball joint. You should be able to diagnose it. Jack up the car, grasp the wheel with both hands and turn it back and forth. Any noise or loose movement unconnected to movement of the steering wheel will help you see what's wrong.

DON'T BE STUPID. As others have said, if this is what's wrong, you should NOT drive the car. Have it towed to an alignment / suspension shop.

A tire rod end shouldn't be too difficult to replace once the part is in hand. Make sure the car is realigned once the part is replaced.

Ball joints do wear out over time, but in my experience it's relatively rare for them to break like yours' may have done. If I get time, I'll scan in a pic of the front suspension.

I agree that it would be surprising to hear that the ball joint completely came apart, but someone did report a failure of that nature last year on this board. I am not sure if the ball joint came apart or if the pinch bolt worked loose allowing the upper ball joint to separate from the upright, but that joint on the suspension came apart completely.

Fortunately, that incident did NOT send him into oncoming traffic and kill him, a bunch of other people, and an FD or even any children or puppies playing on the sidewalk (<--- HINT: DON'T DRIVE YOUR CAR UNTIL YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT'S WRONG!!!).

-Max

From your description it sounds like your problem is located in the lower righthand portion of this pic.

well i'm not an expert but i did take the wheel off and kinda looked around. rack/pinion seems ok, no play , the tie rod end look ok at this point but i did notice that the right lower arm back camber bolt/plate showed a sign of movement but i still cant see why it would have trown the toe out of adjustment.Tomorrow when it's in the shop perhaps they can tell me the numbers and maybe link all the clues for an acurate answer hopefully. i will change the s/w bar brakets to heavier duty ones later since some say that it could also a weak link...

If one of the lower control arm bolts is loose, of course it will mess up the toe. I have heard of that happening to someone before, too. Tighten the bolt before you drive it again.

-Max

okay max i'll do that for sure and will have it realigned for good measure. thanx.

hey i just got my fd running and when im like reversing really slow it makes this noise when i turn. can you guys tell me what it is

You'll have to be a little more specific about the noise, where it comes from, if it occurs right before steering lock or just off center, and under smooth acceleration or when the car jerks from a power surge or slows after a power surge. I will hazard a guess that you have ball pillow balls and toe link bushings in the rear suspension, though, and that it clunks a little in back.

-Max

Rack mount bolts can come loose and let the rack move, causing the steering to shift - there have been posts on that before...

Oops, I meant BAD pillow balls. They are bushings. Search before asking about them.

-Max