Help! Steering wheel locks 90degrees off center??

[JimmyJam]

I have multiple problems but this one I can't figure out. My steering wheel only locks 90degrees off center now. The wheels and steering wheel are still aligned straight. So, if I hold the steering wheel straight the wheels are straight, but when I turn off the ignition and take the key out, the steering wheel does not lock unless I rotate it 90 degrees. It did not do this before. What causes this?

 

Now on to the other problems. I think my steering rack is thrashed. When I am going under 10 miles an hour, there is a lot of play and some shaking in the steering. I checked tie rods, ball joints, cv, brakes, wheel bearing, etc. They all feel firm with no play. If I go under the car and somebody moves the steering wheel left to right quickly only a few inches, there is a metal on metal knock or ping coming from the steering rack. Steering rack u-joints feel tight. When I do a full lock turn, there is a noticeable groan/noise and 'bad' feeling in the steering. Power steering fluid level is fine.

 

I also did hit a pretty bad pothole the other day.

 

I did find a cheap used steering rack and I am willing to replace it, but I am not sure what to do about the steering wheel lock problem and if they are related.

 

 

1995 Legacy wagon 285k Auto

[GeneralDisorder]

Did you check the inner tie rods or just the ends? Sounds like it could be tie-rod failure (not the tie-rod ends - the ball joint on the rod itself). Either that or the rack is shot. They aren't hard to replace.

 

The groaning could be the pump or the belt slightly loose or worn.

 

The locking thing is probably unrelated. The lock mechanism is inside the ignition lock - it could be that there is some mechanical reason that it no longer wants to lock into that posistion anymore - there are slots in a sleeve on the column that the locking bar slips into - perhaps the slot is damaged and won't allow the bar to go in..... just a guess though.

 

GD

[nipper]

At 285K i would replace the inner tie rod ends and ball joints wheather you need them or not. It is amazing how such minute play in the inner tie rod ends can cause issues. I replaced mine, they didnt even have freeplay but they moved around freely in the ball socket. the new one was a bear to move, but it made all the difference in the world.

 

The groan can be balljoints.

 

Racks dont clunk when they go bad unless they are loose.

 

 

If it was my car (i did it at 230K) i woudl just rebuild the front end first.

 

the steering wheel lock is wear and tear. It isnt worth digging into as long as it works.

[WoodsWagon]

By a groan while doing a full lock turn, do you mean driving in a tight circle? That can be "torque bind", an issue with the AWD system. It will also give you a "bad feeling" in the steering because the driveline is binding up. With an auto transmission this can often be fixed with 3 drain, refill, drive, drain cycles of the transmission fluid.

 

The anti-theft lock is a non-issue. Don't even worry about it, because it's not related to the rest of the steering system at all.

 

It is somewhat normal for the rack to make some noise when shifting the wheel back and forth while stationary. However, there shouldn't be a loose feel in the steering wheel.

 

With vibration in the steering, that's almost always an issue with a wheel or tire rather than the steering linkages. Hitting a bad pothole could dent a rim or make a tire lumpy. Try rotating the wheels front to back and see if the problem goes away.

[JimmyJam]

91Loyale said

 

"With vibration in the steering, that's almost always an issue with a wheel or tire rather than the steering linkages. Hitting a bad pothole could dent a rim or make a tire lumpy. Try rotating the wheels front to back and see if the problem goes away."

 

Good job 91Loyale! I did move the tires front to back and it did go away. The tires in the back were in very good shape. The front right tire was messed up from trying to get out of a snowed in parking spot(4wd not working right now). Wheel spin, hitting asphalt after a few tries made it bald.

 

I still have a funny feeling the rack is a loose, but the good tires do not cause it to move around.

 

Thanks.