this weekend the car decided to exhibit a new and interesting problem! the car brakes just fine. i begin to come to a stop but as i let my foot off of the brake the steering wheel "blips" to the left a bit, all by itself. it even does it if i am 99.9% still and barely moving, like right after i've come to a stop and have let my foot of the brake to accelerate again. this can't be good. i checked the torque on the lugs and they are to spec. nothing i can see without the car in the air looks wrong. i hope it's not a bent part in the steering rack. anybody experience this or something like it?

 

could be that the left caliper is sticking... causing the car to pull to that side...

 

true, true. . .but the car doesn't actually pull at all. it's just the steering wheel itself that moves. weird, eh?!

 

please feel free to chime in everybody. any time now

 

So that would say something steering.. PS fluid level ok? I've had steering racks on Hondas that needed to be bled if they ran low, as they'd trap air in the rack.. hmm

 

I had the same exact problem with my 91 stang. Like you said it wouldn't pull, but the sterring wheel would just flick off to my left. I was on the verge of getting the cobra brake upgrade. Soon as they were installed the problem was gone.

 

Could it be that there is in fact a caliper sticking, but it "pops" loose so fast that it does blip the steering wheel but doesn't perceptibly change the car's direction?

 

i'll check the fluid level, but there is no attendant noise that goes with this condition to make me think it's the fluid level. actually, maybe i need to check the BRAKE fluid level. hopefully i didn't get air in the ABS system. maybe you're right and the caliper is sticking/binding/????. we'll see what the dealership says. i've got a call into them and the guy i work with is very good [and an S197 driver].

 

northy_polk
You Stated, "the car doesn't actually pull at all. it's just the steering wheel itself that moves"
Sorry but if your steering wheel is hooked to your steering system then the car has to pull to whatever side the wheel moves. Unless you have one of those magic mustangs. It's real hard to give advise if you can't describe the symptoms.

 

ZZ: i hear you and agree. . . but that's the thing. the wheel does not move when i'm actually in the act of braking, as if the car was out of alignment or one brake was engaging more than another or the car was tramlining. it's AFTER i let my foot off the brake that the wheel moves. in other words, if i slow down enough, i can just roll at 5 or so mph and ever so slightly "tap" the brake pedal and each time i let my foot off the brake the wheel will move about 1-2" left and then return to center. the wheel itself is not loose when the car is sitting at idle [i've had that problem in the past].

if it's magic, it's BLACK magic. i'm sorry if i'm not communicating very well. if i think of a better way to describe it i certainly will do so.[sm=smiley5.gif]