Steering wheel is cocked left, no rhyme or reasion Tracer/escort 97

[bigblock665]

Iv got a merc. tracer "same as escort" , Went out to drive it today, started going down the road and realized the steering wheel is cocked to the left, but when i take my hands off the wheel the car goes perfictley stright.... The car got stuck in mud yesturday and I was spinning the tiers alot...... will this have any effect as to why my steering wheel is cocked left!!! HELP ME!!!

[Rickottman]

eather you have irregular tire wear or when you were in the mud you knocked you car out of alignment

[denisond3]

That has happened to me on a couple of my other front wheel drive cars. The rack and pinion steering assembly is bolted to the subframe, and if it gets nudged a tiny bit sideways, the wheel wont be turned straight ahead when the car is going straight ahead.
To fix it; I run the car onto ramps going as straight ahead as I can. Under the car I loosen the bolts holding the rack assembly to the subframe, and tap it sideways while my wife helps the steering wheel turn back to the straight ahead postion. Then I retighten the bolts.

[12Ounce]

I agree with denisond3's diagnosis ... the rack is moving inside the mounting clamps. But I would suggest picking-up (from the dealer) and installing a couple of new isolators (rubber rings) that go inside the clamps.

Not expensive, easy, ... and it'll make the fix more lasting.

[bigblock665]

Thank you guys it was the mounting clips... It works grate "thanx lots"