Steering problems

[Keeffe]

Hi guys,

Have a VS drove up a gutter in the rain the other day flattened the tire. As I only bought the car and it had some tyre wear I decided to replace all the tyres.

I had a wheel alignment and the car is ****ed, it is driving like shit so I took it back they made me feel really bad for bringing it back and reluctantly re-did it.

Still shit! it is very jurky in the steering, almost feels like the steering is balancing on a point and and small movements wants to fly off in the direction of the turn. feels like one tire is gripping more than the other around corners.

Just 100% shit to drive.

Anyone able to explain these symptoms, and even elaborate on the symptoms one would see with toe in and toe out etc etc

Cheers guys.

[hako]

It's possible your problem lies with the steering rack...possibly the rack has been bent or otherwise damaged - however if you had a full wheel alignment done....toe-in, caster and camber plus a test drive then the technicians should have reported that there is still a problem.
I'd jack the front of the car up on stands so that you can turn the steering from left to right and see if it is smooth in operation. If it jams or jumps or whatever then the problem is probably in the steering rack.
Probably your best bet after the above mentioned test is to take it back to where it was aligned for their advice.

[Ozzie]

how hard did you hit the gutter?

Could be worse and the whole strut housing could be bent

[Keeffe]

Hit it fairly hard.

It was pissing down rain and the gutter looked like it was further away and bam.

car jumped straight up on the gutter was a decent height too. Hub cap flew off into a shop.

Was a beautiful car before that happened.

Had a bit of noise in the rack but it steers like shit now

[EREXON]

Well id think a tyre pro will find a potential problem with the steering, i cant believe they haven't picked anything up.
Where did you go, is the place well known???

Try take it to a mechanic to have a look over and see what he finds you could have damaged a few things.

[Keeffe]

I went to a holden dealer for the alignment. And they were the most unhelpful people I have ever dealt with.

I really don't want anything to be bent. I would like to have a look myself but I am not really sure how to find the problem. I do most of all work myself as I don't trust mechanics as they never seem to do the right job and charge a fortune.

Any hints on knowin how to tell whats bent. Nothing looks bent it all looks good the rim didnt even get damages and nothing is visually dented or bent.

The alignment shows up ok but there are a few figures on the alignment I am not familiar with.

[vsl67]

I heared of bent suspension arms before ,have you checked this ? and how are the bushes and bearings?

[hako]

Had a bit of noise in the rack but it steers like shit now

Can you explain further what the noise in the rack sounded like and when was it happening.

The other thing to consider is that previous to the 'accident' the alignment may have been out causing heavy steering. After the 'accident' you fitted all new tyres and had an alignment done. It is not unusual to find the steering 'light and twitchy' when new tyres have been fitted plus its possible that the alignment was out previously making the steering heavy and unresponsive.

[jas98]

could be:

bent control arm
bent strut bar (radious rod)
stuffed suspesnion bushes
wheel bearing
tie rod end
ball joint
crossmember
strut
strut top

but seeing as you took it to holden or even a tyre place etc they are supposed to check teh front ends and make sure its in workable condition before carrying out and work...well thast what they do here anyway

realistically your best bet is to either jack it up and check all suspension for movement or take it to a reliable suspension place...or for shits and giggle take it to pedders for the $14? safety check

[Keeffe]

Went to pedders today they threw it up on the aligner.

The alignment was out terribly Thanks genuine holden dealer.

The guys at pedders Ballina let me watch and they had to do the alignment twice as the wheel was not centered. They let me set where I thought centre was.

So the camber is out a bit so for my 96 commy with 140k on it it will be all new shocks nolathane suspension upgrade kit and a new rack.

Anyone know where I can get a good reliable remanufactured rack?

[VrWagz1]

Its hard to know if your getting a good rack, alot just have new seals whacked in and sent back to the shop for exchange and others are actually properly overhauled. You probably need to talk to the person at the counter of the shop your at to see if they can tell you what gets done with their overhauls