Ok so the steering on my car is bone stock and has been loose forever with a slight pull to the right, and the shop I took it to awhile ago for an alignment said they couldn't do it because of the slop in the steering wheel/gear box. I don't believe that it would prevent them from doing an alignment but that's not why I am posting right now. The reason is I just noticed that the tread on my front tires is almost completely gone (they were practically new) and it looks as if I have been driving it with a serious toe in problem. What is the best way to figure out what the problem is and how to fix it aside from replacing everything down there, which I know it needs but I don't have the time or cash to do it now. I have 6 days to get this fixed. I think I need new tie rods, but I don't want to replace them unless needed, how do I tell if they are bad or not?

 

Actually, adjusting the steering box is no big deal. I have seen steering with 1/8 turn or more of free play adjusted to be perfectly tight. You must follow the adjustment procedure in the factory service manual to the letter, or you can damage the gearbox.

The first thing you need to do is invest in the factory service manual.

 

Well that's something I will have to do latter after I fix the problem. I jacked the car up just now to see what I could find if anything was obviously loose and I hit the jackpot. The Lower control arm on the drivers side is jacked the frig up at the bushing where it connects to the frame. I don't understand how it happened but now I need to replace the lower control arm. So much for taking a few weeks off from working on my car.