1999 Mercury Grand Marquis Logo
Posted on Mar 17, 2011
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Car wanders back and forth on road will not drive in a straight line. front end has been checked but still have the problem

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Howard Pfeiffer

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  • Mercury Master 1,249 Answers
  • Posted on Mar 17, 2011
Howard Pfeiffer
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Joined: Nov 19, 2010
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If the alignment and suspension are fine...it has to be a seperated radial tire...first be sure the idler arm and pitman arm are not worn out...(but this should be part of the front end inspection) A belt seperation in the tire can cause vibaration and tracking concerns. Your local tire dealer should be able to measure this for free...it is called "radial tire runout"...the tire is beginning to shape more like an egg. Hope this helps.

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2answers

Will the wheel alignment cause the steering to have play in it if it is out of alingment

Generally, no. However, if your wheels are toed out, the tires catch grooves in the road and wants to wander over the road. It may feel like "play" in the steering. Play in the steering is usually caused by bad tie rods and they let the wheels wiggle while driving and the effect is a car that wants to wander over the road.
0helpful
1answer

Steering wandering had ball joints track rod ends done for mot last couple of years tracking been done cars wanders when driving quite scary

There are many reasons for wandering, I should highly recommend you do some serious looking before you drive any trips, or any higher speeds until you have the front end checked by a reputable mechanic (one highly recommended.)
Here are some reasons for wandering.
1) A bad tire (the tire can look fine, but be bad.)
2) A bad "front end alignment".
This is repairable, but good shops will not fix it until and unless the whole "front end of the car" is in good order.
3) A worn component in the "front end".
God bless your efforts.
0helpful
1answer

How to Diagnose an Alignment Problem?

tire wear is a method of diagnosing an alignment problem
abnormal wear on the insides or out sides of the tread indicates a problem with toe in/out and or camber settings
wheel wobble at speed ( 20 mph up ) indicates castor setting problems
steering wheel not self centering after turns indicates castor settings
steering wandering on the road indicates worn steering /ball joints and or alignment settings out
car running sideways ( crabbing)on the road indicates worn rear suspension parts , broken center bolts on leaf springs ,and rear alignment problems which will affect front end alignment
this is indicated by the steering wheel position off center when driving straight ahead
0helpful
2answers

How do I adjust the power steering on my 2009 Nissan frontier 4 liter v6 it has been harder to steer from day one it now has 50,000 miles on and still will not free wheel back from making a turn as co

You might need more. Fluid look for a cap with a steering wheel on it and check your levels add power steering fluid if needed if that's not it your power steering pump is probably bad
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1answer

I njust noticed my steering wheel in my 2000GMC 1500 is now rotated about 100 degrees when the truck is going straight. My mech. says tie rods and tierod ens are tight and everthing seems normal...he did...

a bad idler arm/pitman arm, You will have a hard time trying to keep the car going straight, it will wander all over the road.
  1. Road walking. When the vehicle wanders back and forth in the direction of travel and it is difficult to keep it straight.
  2. When sitting still, there is considerable play in the steering wheel. It can be moved considerably with no resistance.
  3. When sitting still, and with the front wheels off the ground, it is possible to move the wheels side to side without the steering wheel moving. If there is to much play in the steering wheel or side to side movement of the wheel when the vehicle is stopped could indicate there is a problem with the idler arm.
1helpful
2answers

How can u tell if idler arm is bad.

3 Symptoms of a bad idler arm,
  1. Road walking. When the vehicle wanders back and forth in the direction of travel and it is difficult to keep it straight.
  2. When sitting still, there is considerable play in the steering wheel. It can be moved considerably with no resistance.
  3. When sitting still, and with the front wheels off the ground, it is possible to move the wheels side to side without the steering wheel moving. also check out the tie rods and Pitman arm,
they may contribute to this also. have a good day!!
1helpful
2answers

I have trouble steering...the truck wanders over the road...i have replaced idler arms, pitman arm, center link, shocks, brakes, new tires, front end alignment, bearings...the right front tire sits...

when the steering wheel is centred, the front wheels should both point slightly inwards.
after the amount of parts changed, i would recommend that you get the tracking checked at a garage using the proper, calibrated measuring systems, to make sure that the steering is set up properly and safely.
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1answer

While driving down the road my 88 chevy 1500 wants to swerve to the left and then to the right. I had the wheels balanced, and have put new shocks on the front. Any ideas?

Check ball joints and tie rod ends for play. Jack the truck up on the frame and try to move the wheel up and down for ball joints and side ti side for tie rod ends. Also make sure you check the idler arm on passenger side and pitman arm on steering box. None of the parts should any play whatsoever. If there is any play in them when you try to move them then replace them.
There could also be excessive play in the steering box but that shouldn't make it swerve back and forth. That would just let it wander to one side or the other until you corrected it by turning the wheel. Hope this helps.
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1answer

When driving i feel that the car is aqua planing on straight piece of road very light on steering the rack has been changed about 8months ago.

it sounds like you may have loose tie rod ends. which causes the front end to feel like it is floating. look under the front of your car at the steering linkages and have someone gently move the steering wheel back and forth. so you san see what is moving....dont forget wheel chalks!
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