Steering not working properly

MATT THORNSBURY

MEMBER
2004 FORD MUSTANG
150,000 MILES

Okay. So, my steering has been messed out for over a year now. The rack and pinion has been changed twice, a sticking caliper and tire rod ends. It still does the same thing. The front wheels move left and right without even touching the steering wheel. It feels like my steering doesn’t really control the tires much at all. You can feel the tires move from side to side while driving.

Sunday, October 25th, 2020 AT 11:21 AM

3 Replies

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

We need to start with lifting both front tires off the ground and operating the steering in very small increments back and forth. While someone is doing that we need to watch under the vehicle in the steering system to see where we have play.

Then we need to shake down both front tires. You do this by grabbing the tire at 3 and 9 o'clock and see if there is any play. If should feel tight and not have any loose feeling. If you do then the tire rods or hub bearing has failed. Then do the same thing when grabbing the tire at 12 and 6 o'clock. You want to push in and out on alternator hands and this will check the ball joints.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/steering-wheel-shakes-when-accelerating-or-braking

Once we check the front end we need to check the tires. Have you rotated the tires recently? If not, rotate the front to back keeping them on the same side. Lastly did you have an alignment performed since all this work was done?

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Sunday, October 25th, 2020 AT 1:41 PM

MATT THORNSBURY

MEMBER
2 POSTS

I have had the ball joints changed as well. There isn’t play in the steering wheel when you move it back and forth. It just feels my steering isn’t connected to the front tires. (Obviously it is but that’s how it feels). Another way to explain it is when I’m on very rough road the steering is just all over the place, and my steering wheel could be turned super far and my wheels not that far (which it is a lot of play) but why isn’t there play like that when driving on a straight, smooth road? Every bump, line, nook and cranny pulls the wheels from side to side. And if you try to barely hold the steering wheel and just feel the wheels move, when they go to one side or the other they kind of stay that direction until being pulled the other way by the road or my steering wheel. I’ve had an alignment as well. I’m getting the tires rotated in a couple days.

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Sunday, October 25th, 2020 AT 7:26 PM

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Okay. Something is loose and we are just missing it. I doubt it is tires but we should rotate them just to eliminate it so let us know what happens after they are. However, if you changed the rack twice and this issue has been happening the entire time, we need to inspect the mounts for the rack where it bolts to the subframe. There are two bolts that have rubber grommets in the rack and then it bolts to the frame. I have seen when these are loose it causes exactly what you are seeing. If this is not it, then we just need to dig further into the front end because I am pretty confident that something is loose.

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