Hey guys, I can't drive with my wheel at 12 or else my car will pull right, so over winter break I want to fix up my front end and try to get some solid steering action.

What all should I look at replacing? I'm new to this, so far I'm just suspecting tie rod ends and bushings. What should I look for while inspecting the front end, besides play in parts?

Many thanks

 

Swap tires from left to right.

Check for the right rubber brake line to be blocked... if so, car will pull left HARD when you first get on the brakes, but will pull right when you let off.

What are the alignment specs presently?

 

Should've mentioned I redid brakes with all new lines and rebuilt calipers awhile back.

I've never had the car aligned since I've owned her, I suspected something failing in steering because at higher speed I always noticed a slight "wobble" noise coming from the right. I'll definitely swap the tires though when I get a chance to inspect, probably tomorrow.

With the car parked I can turn the wheel to the 12 position and both will look straight, but sometimes I'll park the tires at an angle and can tell the passenger side isn't lined up exactly with the driver's. So maybe failing bushing/tie rod ends?

Thanks for the reply

 

Easy enough to find out...

Get up under it and LOOK AT IT while your assistant shakes the steering wheel back and forth. If some one of the parts moves but the next one in the chain doesn't, ... you found your problem. If it's all tight, keep looking.

Could also be strut tower bushings or ball joints; but checking those is a bit more involved.

 

personally, I would check the front tires especially the right front tire check for separation bulging in the tread Etc.

Now move on to the suspension check your tie rod ends and check your idler arm to start with.

 

So, you find anything? The tire swap would've been my first suggestion too, also check tire pressures, sometimes it's the small things .

Checking everything for sloppiness, is always a good idea and can show your weak links, to add to sofakingdom's comment, when your helper's moving the steering wheel, do it slowly and smoothly so that you can see where your slop is. Keep in mind that slop in and of itself won't lead to a pull. Using this time to check ball joints would be good too.

If that's fine, alignment is next. Both camber and caster will cause significant pull. Toe, only can cause a small amount of pull.

Check wheel bearings for play, sounds your right hand side is your place to start.

Our suspension (I think just about all, actually) are set up so that the inner wheel on a turn will be at a greater angle than the outer. This compensates for the fact that inner wheel travels a shorter through the corner. Basically the same idea as the differential in the rear. So, if the wheels appear parallel when straight, you're probably close, but an alignment is cheap insurance, and can be used as a diagnostic tool to find bent/broken parts.

Hope you get it sorted, and it's something simple.

 

Tie rods and ball joints are usually the culprit of wobbling, ball joints are probably whipped and the play leaves the assembly able to turn slightly and pull.

 

Hey guys, I just redid the sway bar bushings & end links up front, the rest of the steering actually looked pretty solid! It looks like I might just be out of alignment, that's the next step I gotta take and I'll report back

 

For me it was a rubber brake line. They are cheap and ez to replace about $10 each