I have a 97 ford explorer sport with new tierods ball jonts control arms sway bar end links and bushings n I am having an issue with the steering its been in for alignment too n it pulls side to side....
View 6 RepliesI'm noticing my 2013 F-Sport seems to veer to the side on bumpy roads. It's totally straight on flat roads, but I notice it when I'm about to change into the left lane.
It's got 31k miles and has Bridgestone tires.
I just recently bought a 2000 Explorer, 4.0 OHV, 4x4 with about 150,000 miles.
I've had the vehicle for about a month, and ever since I bought it, it's had a grinding sound (sounded like wheel bearing) coming from the front right side. I replaced both right and left bearing/hub assemblies, and took it out for a drive. The initial sound that I thought was bearing noise is still there, and at about 65mph I started to get a little bit of steering wheel shake. I took my foot off the gas and it stopped. I accelerated up to about 70mph and it seemed ok.
I hit a VERY small bump in the road and the steering wheel started shaking like hell. So bad that I almost lost control. I slammed the brakes and the shake stopped instantly. I took it home and put it up in the air, half expecting to see something loose or broken, and everything looks perfect. I re-torqued everything that I had taken apart for the initial hub/bearing replacement, and took it out again. Same issues.
I never had ANY of these problems before I replaced the hub/bearing assemblies, so I'm completely confused. I was thinking CV joints, but I have no clicking at all when turning, in forward or reverse, everything is smooth. Outer tie rods were done about 6 weeks ago..
So I had a flat a couple weeks ago, finally got around to patching it (professionally) and decided to get a wheel alignment and tire rotation at the same time. No prior problems whatsoever (drove straight as an arrow) but roads in Hawaii suck so I decided to have it done while my car was in. Got my Camry back and it pulled to the right, with the steering wheel a little crooked to the right too. Talk about leaving something well enough alone, which is what I should have done!
Tried to take it back the next day, but they were super busy so I went to another location (same chain) and they said they suspect it could be my tires, but if not, they'll realign. They ended up doing the alignment again. My car pulls less but the steering wheel is crooked to the LEFT instead of right now when driving straight.
Question: Do you think it could be the patched tire? The nail was 1-.1.5" from the sidewall. This tire is on the right rear. Looks fine, and was fine up until I got a nail in it. Right front tire looks fine too.
I asked my mechanic, along with my cousin who worked with cars and did alignments himself in a past life, and they both told me they don't think it's my tire(s). They both told me to take it back and have the alignment redone.
Is it possible to just have two bad alignments at two different locations with two different techs?? The chain I'm going to is locally owned and has been around forever, and my last alignment was from them so I don't know what's going on this time.
* I have Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S tires all around, with about 20K miles on them.
I've done a lot of front end replacement on my 99 this year and have it better than its been in a long time. The truck still seems to wander a bit, but that's going to be hard to nail down and it's not that bad really. But something that concerns me is it always feels more unstable over bumps- and I've noticed that going over a small hill at speed when the truck feels light, that the wheel pulls a little to the right, and then when the weight shifts back down the steering wheel turns to the left. If I hold the wheel lightly with my fingertips, the wheel will rock from side to side and back to normal. However in traffic when you have a firm grip and don't let the wheel move on its own then the truck shifts more on the road. Quick bumps don't have as much affect as small hills do.
View 4 Repliesso i got a set of saw blades of my buddy for nothing. before installing the car drove true and after lowering and putting adopters and saw blades on the passenger side wheel wobbles and pulls to the right its pretty much all over the road and cant for the life of me figure it out. only thing i can think of is axle or wheel bearing but there's no movement in the wheel when i move it side to side. only the right side seems to have this issue.
View 2 RepliesI have a 2003 F150 manual 4WD with 4.6L engine and 165000 miles. When i am driving i feel a vibration in the steering wheel and on floor board that intensifies when i press the accelerator. I do hear an irregular humming that sounds like it is coming from the driver side front. I checked the wheel for any play but it was very tight. i check tie rod ends, ball joints no play. i recently changed both u-joints on the rear shaft and the bearing hub on the passenger side front. Also, the steering feels a little 'wobbly' when i make sharp turns. it almost feels like it is giving. What else should i check?
View 1 RepliesI just noticed this, this weekend, sitting in GTI and Golf. I checked carefully, and indeed it feels like I'm not sitting directly in line with the steering column/wheel. It's not a huge issue, but just a little strange, that they wouldn't match them up straight?
View 24 RepliesI have a 2002 Durango 2WD about 115000 miles. I have steering noise and some play. I can hear the noise when the truck is park and move the wheel from side to side about an inch. I had the upper ball joints replace, outer tie-rods and wheel bearings some time ago. Could this be the gear box. I now this trucks are notorious for ball joint problems if it says Durango in the back yeah your ball joins are bad. At the moment I am parking the truck and have it check over the weekend.
View 2 RepliesWorking on power steering upgrade and removing old components. 51 f1 mostly stock with safety updates. I have the drivers side steering arm loose, but cant seem to remove it. Is there a cam or pin I am not seeing? Couldn't find any reference in shop manual. Removed cotter n nut. Used air hammer gently. Pushed forward 1/2" n then stopped. Swivels vertically.
View 1 RepliesHow do you remove the rear pass side wheel studs? I have knocked them loose but there isn't enough clearance to remove them. I have removed the parking brake shoes already. Does the hub have to be pulled to do this?
View 2 RepliesJust started noticing that whenever i turn right the passenger side front wheel vibrates. 2003 ford explorer xlt 4x4. i asked a friend and he said cv axle.
View 1 RepliesI have a 2006 Kia Rio base sedan. I've owned it from 55K miles to 70.5K miles. It does not have power steering.
When moving at rather slow speeds, maybe 0-15 or so mph, it seems that bumps or potholes or other irregularities will cause the steering wheel to turn significantly. I feel the steering wheel move back and forth by itself and the wheels feel like they "flop" to either direction to the whim of the road's irregularities if that makes sense. The wheel feels almost as if someone is grabbing it and moving it back and forth. The movement is forceful enough that if I'm not holding the wheel, the car can really wander around, possibly into another lane but I have not wanted to test that.
I tried looking up this issue on existing threads but couldn't find it. Also, I didn't really know what to call it. I had an apparently useless alignment at Firestone about a week ago (car still pulls to the right) which did not seem to affect the issue. I attached a scan of the alignment sheet thing.
Incidentally, it seems like they left a thing out of spec but maybe that's a whole other question. So, what could cause this and whether it can lead to damage or safety hazards?
Something is snapping/clunk in 4 wheel about every 20-100' driven on the left side. Slightly notice it in 2 wheel but 4 it's loud and you can feel the clunk. It's almost like when you feel the transfer case bind up, yet feels like it's right in the left side, up front. Yes I have to put new tires and rotors up front, upper and lower ball joints and inner tie rod on the right side. U joint in front drive lines feel solid.
View 4 RepliesSo after getting home last night and having a lot of trouble backing into the driveway, having a serious loss of power, I take it out today and find that the truck is rocking from side to side as I drive, a bit like a boat in rough water. Further, I wasn't able to get much power out of it, capping about 20mph/30kph. Reversing produced some ugly grinding or scraping noises. The steering wheel swung very quickly back to its neutral position after turning, and I've noticed a strip on the road near the driveway where I apparently spun one of the tires trying to back in. Some quick searching says it could be a wheel bearing, an axle problem or suspension-related.
View 1 RepliesThe seat in my 2000 gasser Limited is 3" to the right of the steering wheel and lines up with it on the left side. Is that normal?
View 14 RepliesIt's an 08 Ford F-150. 4x4... Truck was pulling hard to the right. Took it in and got the alignment done, they told me front right was worn and would still pull slight right. When I drove it, still pulled just as hard. Took it back and had tires rotated, they test drove it multiple times and made small adjustments then told me it was good to go. Drove to work today and still pulling. Not quite as bad but definitely more than a slight pull. What's my next step? What else could cause this?
View 19 Replies2004 Ford Taurus - transmission was going out last Aug - had it rebuilt (new seals and torque converter) got it back steering wheel was slightly off (1/2 inch) of being the center when driving straight. Took a while to get it back to the shop - life happens - took back today - said they did everything they could and really needs an alignment which they do not do - drove it home after hanging out at the shop for 5 hours. The steering wheel is now off 2 inches from center and the car is pulling noticeably to the right. Going back tomorrow - but they are saying that it was not them and that I need to pay for an alignment.
View 3 Replies2011 Ford Taurus with 4000 miles. Car, at times, will pull to one side when brakes applied. Dealer could find nothing wrong first time(no cost). Second time they found that the "rear pads stuck in brackets on both sides. removed calipers brackets and pads and did full clean and reassembled". Third time road test found "no pull". "checked on ramp, all brakes seem fine, all free and moving properly. No problem found.". Road test with technician found slight vibration in steering wheel when braking but no pull. Technician says an uneven or slanting street could cause car to pull. Never heard of this before (my other car is fine on the same roads & streets). Is this a possibility as a cause of my problem?
View 17 Replies1981 f100 2wd 4.9 L6 c6 9" rear w/ front discs and rear drums. went through and fixed all leaks after I got it running. Then I got to steering and suspension. Replaced all tie rods. only thing i reused were adjusting sleeves. Taped off thread protrusion on oem steering parts so i could measure and get the new rod ends in the ballpark. Did a simple shadetree toe adjustment so i could drive it to get it aligned. I should mention i already replaced front rotors and bearings as well. Mic'd the spindles so they're in spec.
I am however running used tires but they balanced out pretty well. all torque application was strictly adhered to by the maintenance manual. made sure tire pressures were up to snuff and greased everything that could be lubed to include kingpins. the kingpins are the only thing i have not rebuilt....but i did check the radial and axial play....nothing out of spec. So I took the truck in for alignment. picked it up and it pulls to the right just as bad as it did when i drove it to the shop. the tech tried to tell me it was just a bad tire and that i needed a new one....of course i knew that was wrong.
Swapped tires from side to side, and magically the truck still pulled to the right. So I've narrowed it down to either the steering box maybe, or just a shade tree alignment tech that doesn't know his fourth point of contact from his elbow. It does not have a steering stabilizer installed, but i would think that shouldn't matter?
After installing drive gear springs i had a wheel alignment done. Since then the steering wheel is not level even thought the car goes straight it is slightly off. i brought it back 3 times and every time they did the alignment the steering wheel is off either the left of the right. i made an appointment to have it done at the dealer but cant figure out why they cant get it right.
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