sarcastik

I have a steering issue in my 2005 Mustang V6 Premium. Basically the steering wheel inside the car can turn just a few degrees in either direction before it actually starts turning the wheels. Seems like a really small issue at normal speeds, but on the highway it takes a bit of extra attention to keep the car in a straight line (the way I wrote that makes it seem more dangerous than it actually easy, but definitely something I need to fix).

It feels like something needs to be tighted or something. I don't actually work on my car, but I like to know what I'm dealing with before I take it in so I don't get ripped off...as much. Any help anyone can provided will be greatly appreciated.

petrock

Steering issues like this could be any number of things. Most likely its a bad inner or outer tie rod. But it could also be bad ball joints, control arm bushings, rack-n-pinion mounting bracket bushings, steering shaft u-joint or any combination of these.

A bad steering shaft u-joint is pretty simple to diagnose though even if you aren't mechanically included. Just pop the hood and look at the shaft coming out of the firewall down to the steering rack while a friend wiggles the steering wheel back & forth. The shaft should move as a complete unit. There should be no play in the u-joints in the shaft. If there is, then the shaft is bad and should be replaced.

However, since your not very mechanically included, I'd advise taking it to a reputable shop to diagnose & fix.

Good luck...

buster

I agree, take it to a pro, it could be a combination of issues. The last thing you want is to realize that you are just along for the ride at 80 mph. These parts get used everytime you drive your car and your car is seven years old. Don't put it off, fix it now or stop driving the car until you have the $$$ to fix it. Even saying "I'll take it easy", could wind you up in a ditch or worse.

amustangrocks

my 05 is near 100k and just got new frt control arms, frpp from am, gt struts and shocks from nto, gt500 strut mounts from am, sway bar end links from cjpony, 2 tie rod ends from rockauto.com., 2 new frt bearing hubs from rockauto, 2 new nitto 450 tires from discount tire and a mount and bal and frt end align, local shop.

i dont want to add up the parts, but that took care of any mod money for a while and i did all the labor myself. your loose steering could also be from frt wheel bearings(hubs). you really need to have it looked at by a pro

sarcastik

Yah I've got an appointment for monday. The car just hit 40k miles so I hope it isn't anything TOO big, but I've got the money to do it now so I'm going to get it done. It still dry outside in California so I've been taking my motorcycle even though its cold as *****. My mechanic said it could possibly be something he could tighten up or adjust in the steering gearbox, but I guess I won't know until Monday. Thanks for the replies.

Here's a pic of her BTW:

sarcastik

I took the car in yesterday and to my surprise it ended up being primarily a steering alignment issue. The mechanic was still unable to fully explain to me how this made the steering feel loose like what I was experiencing, but after he preformed the alignment it the steering felt tight and accurate again so whatever...lol