My car has developed play turning to the driver's side. Turning right, it is as tight, direct, and easy to drive as ever. Going left, it feels like the tire never bites in. It is loose and floaty. No matter how I turn the wheel or enter a corner, it does not feel right. The alignment is dead on and it tracks perfectly at any speed. All of the suspension is relatively new. As I stated, this developed rather suddenly and recently.
I have two hunches. One is the sway-bar link. It has over 30k miles on it and is one of the first and oldest things I replaced when I got the car. I'm not sure if it is shot or if it perhaps came loose. I impacted it on three or four months ago when I had the strut out. It appears tight from a cursory inspection, but I am going to make sure when I have a chance, and then replace it if that does nothing.
My only other suspicion is the upper steering column shaft. Not the lower flex joint, that I replaced before, but the part above it. I can physically feel it has play and makes a knock when I move it with my hand. I also feel a slight knock under my feet and sometimes in the wheel when I turn it a certain way, but this strictly happens at parking speeds and most often reversing into my garage. It makes zero noise over bumps or potholes. Whether the two issues are related at all, I do not know. I feel it cannot be that causing the handling issue, because then why would it only effect left turns?
I am going to check the links anyway, but am I right to assume that the problem is not the steering shaft if it only happens to one side? I really don't want to replace that SOB right now. I don't recall it being easy without dropping the rack and having to align it again.
I have two hunches. One is the sway-bar link. It has over 30k miles on it and is one of the first and oldest things I replaced when I got the car. I'm not sure if it is shot or if it perhaps came loose. I impacted it on three or four months ago when I had the strut out. It appears tight from a cursory inspection, but I am going to make sure when I have a chance, and then replace it if that does nothing.
My only other suspicion is the upper steering column shaft. Not the lower flex joint, that I replaced before, but the part above it. I can physically feel it has play and makes a knock when I move it with my hand. I also feel a slight knock under my feet and sometimes in the wheel when I turn it a certain way, but this strictly happens at parking speeds and most often reversing into my garage. It makes zero noise over bumps or potholes. Whether the two issues are related at all, I do not know. I feel it cannot be that causing the handling issue, because then why would it only effect left turns?
I am going to check the links anyway, but am I right to assume that the problem is not the steering shaft if it only happens to one side? I really don't want to replace that SOB right now. I don't recall it being easy without dropping the rack and having to align it again.