there seems to be some excess play in my steering wheel. There is about half an inch or so that the steering wheel will turn but the wheels wont. I was wondering if there is any easy way to fix this. It is just more of an annoyance than anything. I noticed it after a day of autox. It wasn't really tight before but now it seems to be at the point where I have to move the steering wheel to keep the car straight on the highway.

 

anyone?

 

One of my friends has this problem with his 02 GT. The previous owner had lightly rear ended a car and their mechanic told them it was probably something in the steering rack and pinion damaged.

 

Could be a number of things, could be something with the rack, could be worn our ball joints, of a few other things.

I would say it is most likely something in the rack, but it is quick and easy to check the ball joints, so do that first.

 

Well how do I check that stuff? Sorry I don't know a whole lot about suspension or what to look for. Also It isn't horrible and It is much better then a lot of other cars I have driven but it isn't as tight as what it use to be. It also seems to be kind of sloppy in corners. But it could just be my tires or the steering being slightly looser.

 

To check the ball joints jack up the front end so the tire is off the ground then push back in forth on the top and bottom of the tire, if there is play then the ball joints are worn.

 

If you aren't sure what's wrong, take it to Midas or a suspension shop and ask if they do free estimates. I went and had mine checked because I noticed play in the steering and found a worn tie rod end. There are some essentials that you shouldn't ignore, brakes and steering top my list. Look at your local shops, I'm sure there are some that have free estimates.