2001 steering wander, constant correcting

[lesab92]

Recently purchased a 2001 MGM with 13,000 original miles. At highway speeds, the car seems like it wanders. The car seems to want to go to the left and it takes constant correcting to keep on track. It's like you're driving it all the time if that makes any sense. It has 4 new Michelin tires (same as OEM) and recent alignment at shop that specializes in front end work and alignment. I owned a 1985 Colony Park wagon for 10 years and can't remember it being this difficult to drive. At this point we don't even use the 2001 for highway driving because of the steering issue. Has anyone experienced a similar problem with a Grand Marquis. I did a little searching on the internet and have seen similar complaints, but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of an explanation as to why these cars do this. Going back to the alignment shop this week for complete inspection. Hopefully the problem will be resolved. If I learn anything, I'll post the results.

[HEMIDAZE]

This usually indicates the toe in is "toed out". Other than that it may be a tight or frozen steering part (ball joint, tie rod end, idler arm). Let us know what happens.

The same problem can happen with an extreemly worn tie rod end but is not likely with low miles and would have been found by your front end shop.

[way2old]

Also check the little"u" joint in the steering column under the hood. They will freeze up and cause steering problems. We have taken the shafts off and soak it in transmission fluid or spray with penetrating oil and work the joint until it moves freely. It is a real cheap fix if that is the problem.

[Blue)(Fusion]

Although your front end shop would probably notice it, check the inner and outer tierods for any play. Also check the pitman and idler arms for any play. Just a few weeks ago I replaced an outer tierod and my idler arm. Wasn't too difficult.

Also it may indicate a worn steering gear box.

[lesab92]

I took the Mercury to alignment shop. They removed the tie rod ends to check the components. The idler did not have play, but was very stiff. The shop opted to replace the idler arm and check alignment specs again. Don't know why a 13,000 mile car would need an idler arm, but it's done now. They adjusted the front end a couple of specs over to try and compensate for the pull to the right. They also backed off the steering box adjustment a bit. Picked up car and immediately noticed drifting to the right which actually seemed worse than before. I took car for drive on tollway and got it up to 65+. Seemed OK and on acceleration OK, but still felt that car wanted to go to the right but not like I was fighting the wheel or anything like that. Got off tollway and continued to drive and it seemed that the drifting to the right was going away. It was very cold here today and I'm wondering if the Michelins needed to warm up. I also noticed that when lightly applying brakes earlier, the pull to right was greater. The shop told me that the front end was very tight. This car has only 13,000 original miles and sat a lot in the garage. I wonder if part of the problem is that the sealed suspension not having any lube for 10 years and now possibly tire belts. Here again, these tires are less than 6 months old (OEM same Michelin Symmetry tires) and have only about 3,000 miles on them. BTW, left my wife's 2000 Century at the shop for safety inspection. The Century has 72,000 miles on it and everything checked out OK. This Mercury GM should drive as good as a 2000 Buick Century with 6x the miles. Thanks for earlier suggestions.

[Blue)(Fusion]

If all the suspension parts are tight and the alignment shop has the toe, camber, and caster within specs your problem is not the front steering or suspension components.

Did you get a print off sheet of the alignment specs? What is the thrust angle of the rear tires?

Are any of your brakes sticking at all? When lifted, do the front tires spin easily by hand? Do you have any excess brake dust on either wheel?

Also keep in mind that because of road crown, your car will tend to turn to the right. If you are in the fast lane on a highway you should notice the car tends to turn to the left.

The sealed for life parts last a pretty long time no matter what's its age. I know of mid 90s era Panthers using their original sealed ball joints and tie rods...mostly in areas of moderate climates.

P.S. Michelin Symmetries suck. I bought my car with them on there and made the mistake of replacing them 2 years ago with another set of Symmetries. I will never use a Michelin tire again after realizing just how little they grip in snow and rain compared to a tire with decent tread patterns. Even my semi-new UHPAS Pirellis grip massively better in the snow and rain and UHPAS tires are known to not be very nice in atleast snow.

[auto trainy]

I have 2000 GM and from day one we had pulling problems and had it back to the dealer 3 times and finally they adjusted the air pressure in the oem michelins and it corrected the problem,just my 2 cents,good luck.

[BrianAlex]

I just bought a 2001 Grand Marquis LS with 25,000 geezer miles on it and I have noticed the exact same symptoms as yours (OP) minus the pulling which I did feel at first but was due to different slants of the road.
This is very frustrating on long drives and a nuisance around town.
If you look away for 2 seconds you will find the car about to go into the parked cars on the right.So you have to constantly keep your eyes drilled on center and make numerous corrections.
It feels like pushing a barge along a canal with the pointy bow of a small boat.You aim it,you don't really steer it.
This car is mint,you can't even tell anyone's been in it,everything is perfect and I hate driving it so I guess I will try the alignment shop and sell if they can't fix this.
I was wondering why Ford spent millions upgrading to rack and pinion in 2003. I guess I have my answer.

[lesab92]

We purchased this Grand Marquis from the son of the previous owner last summer with only 10,500 miles. I thought if was a fantastic deal. Ours has just about every option imaginable, but like you said you can't drive it on the highway. We're very disappointed with this car and am also thinking of selling it. The previous owner was 95 years old and the story was that he used to just like to sit in the car in the garage. Maybe he was afraid to drive it and I'm wondering why no family members wanted the car and now I think I know why. Usually the geezer cars get handed down in the family.

Does your Grand Marquis have the Michelin Symmetry tires? I spent a lot of time this weekend trying to figure out this problem. Since I purchased the same Symmetry tires (huge mistake) at Discount Tire last fall, I went back there yesterday to talk with a salesman. I explained the issue and asked if he would switch my front tires. Instead, he offered to put 2 brand new tires on the front for $37 thinking that if the car did the same thing, it wasn't the tires. He also offered to sell me a new set of Michelin Destiny tires for about $200 and take my Michelins back. So now I would be at $700+ into tires and may still have the same problem. I told him that I would get back to him.

I then stopped by the local Goodyear dealer, and asked if he had any experience with the Michelin tires on the GM. He said his father had owned a Lincoln with the Symmetry tires and it did the same thing until he put some Goodyears on it. His opinion was that the only reason Ford elected to specify the Symmetry was because it had a whitewall. IMO, the Michelin Symmetry is not the right choice for this particular car model.

I also sprayed some PB Blaster on the u-joint on the engine side of the fire wall just being curious to see what would happen. I thought that maybe something would change, but the steering behaves the same.

Sounds like since we have the same problem, one of us may find a solution and share it on this board. This week I'm going to talk to a Mercury dealer and maybe even the mechanics that service the Crown Vic cruisers for our local police dept.

Send me a PM if you find anything interesting.

Originally Posted by BrianAlex

I just bought a 2001 Grand Marquis LS with 25,000 geezer miles on it and I have noticed the exact same symptoms as yours (OP) minus the pulling which I did feel at first but was due to different slants of the road.
This is very frustrating on long drives and a nuisance around town.
If you look away for 2 seconds you will find the car about to go into the parked cars on the right.So you have to constantly keep your eyes drilled on center and make numerous corrections.
It feels like pushing a barge along a canal with the pointy bow of a small boat.You aim it,you don't really steer it.
This car is mint,you can't even tell anyone's been in it,everything is perfect and I hate driving it so I guess I will try the alignment shop and sell if they can't fix this.
I was wondering why Ford spent millions upgrading to rack and pinion in 2003. I guess I have my answer.

[Blue)(Fusion]

The circulating-ball steering system pre-2003 Panthers have is susceptible to wander issues vs. the 2003+ rack and pinion setup. The steering gear usually wears out from improper maintenance of the power steering fluid. I change mine once very two years using the turkey baster method 3 times in a week period using a generic branded Mercon/Dexron III ATF.

The way I check for any steering wear is jack the front wheels off the ground and with the driver side window and hood open, I wiggle the wheel and make sure that the steering shaft is turning the same amount. If not, it's a worn U-joint. If it moves with the wheel with no lag, then you need to have someone do the same thing while you get under the car and watch the pitman arm. If this has any lag in it, then you have a worn steering gear/box. Replace. If that doesn't have lag than whoever did your alignment missed a worn tie rod, pitman, or idler arm.

I noticed the wander more with the Michelin Symmetry tires. I used 2 sets in 5 years since I've owned my 2000 GMQ. In November I installed Pirelli Zero Nero 235/55R17 all season tires and most wander went away. A month later I found I had a bad outer tie rod anyway. Replaced that and the idler arm with Motorcraft parts and there is now no wander on my car. The other steering parts are all factory original.

[BrianAlex]

OK guys,this is great info.
Yes I went out and bought a set of Michelin Symetry at Discount Tires for four hundred and some odd bucks (even though the original tires had most of their tread,the sidewalls were cracked and they were 10 years old).
Blue Fusion; How likely is it that these cars with 25K miles and Lesab92's with 10K would have steering play? I checked mine with one wheel off the ground and detected no play at all and the steering wheel seems reasonably tight.
I will do some of the things you suggest and report back.

I did some research on the steering gear and discovered that the "handling package" (which I don't have) included a different steering gear with a stiffer torsion bar and that the police package included a stiffer one still. They are identical in exterior dimensions. I will try to get the link for this info.

I may try this if nothing else works on the assumption that cops would never put up with this wandering.

Here: http://www.p71interceptor.com/steeri...rtnumbers.html

[Blue)(Fusion]

Yes there are the civilian, handling package, and police package steering boxes. I have the civilian one in mine which is the loosest of the three. I can turn the car with a single finger if I wanted and offers little road feed back. My dad's '99 Crown Vic LX with the Handling and Performance Package (HPP) has the somewhat tighter handling steering box. I like it best out of the three because it is tighter and still offers the variable power steering assist. The police unit does not vary the power steering assist at different speeds - it is the same in a parking lot and at 120MPH in a chase.

How likely it is that your steering components are worn with the low miles? Well it's not very likely but could happen. Both of your cars are older and were previously owned. Are you sure they have never been in an accident? A slightly bent frame could cause similar problems even after a wheel alignment.

[BrianAlex]

Blue Fusion,thanks. In a prior post you said;

" In November I installed Pirelli Zero Nero 235/55R17 all season tires and most wander went away. A month later I found I had a bad outer tie rod anyway. Replaced that and the idler arm with Motorcraft parts and there is now no wander on my car."

So you are pretty sure that the tires were the major (or a major factor) in the wandering?

Also I wanted to know if your dad's CV with the handling package is wandering or is it tight because I might get that gear box if it helps.

I have a 1969 GMC 3/4 with 200,000 miles and original steering parts and it handles 10X better that this thing.

One last Q! What is your 0-60 with that set-up? Thanks-Brian-

[Blue)(Fusion]

I will not say for certain about the tires. In my case they helped. But I also likely drive my car differently than you do.

My dad's car is tight. I'd day it is the perfect stiffness the steering should be.

Did you check the suspension components in addition to the steering? Worn sway bar end links or shocks or bushings or ball joints will cause similar issues. Excessive thrust angle will too so do not over look the rear end.

[lesab92]

What a coincidence that I too purchased my Symmetry tires at Discount Tire. I was thinking that if the engineers picked these as OEM that they knew something. When I bought this GM last summer, I noticed that the left quarter had had some paint work done because the shop used tape instead of paint for the stripes. The left rear tire was also newer than the other three. The paint match and tape striping was so good that you can hardly tell. So while I know the car was hit in the rear quarter, I don't know if the frame was affected. Perhaps that is part of the problem.

The front end shop that I took my GM to went over the suspension with a fine tooth comb. The only part they replaced was the idler arm and only because it was very tight. The shop owner said he had not come across this same problem with other GMs.

I'm going to call every Ford and Mercury dealer in the area this week or next and see if I can find someone that can say that they've had cars in with similar issues. We were hit with a monster blizzard here today and the car I chose to drive was our Camry wagon. I'm afraid to drive the Mercury on dry pavement, let alone in snow. And yet it has 4 wheel disc brakes, and traction control and new tires.

Originally Posted by BrianAlex

OK guys,this is great info.
Yes I went out and bought a set of Michelin Symetry at Discount Tires for four hundred and some odd bucks (even though the original tires had most of their tread,the sidewalls were cracked and they were 10 years old).
Blue Fusion; How likely is it that these cars with 25K miles and Lesab92's with 10K would have steering play? I checked mine with one wheel off the ground and detected no play at all and the steering wheel seems reasonably tight.
I will do some of the things you suggest and report back.

I did some research on the steering gear and discovered that the "handling package" (which I don't have) included a different steering gear with a stiffer torsion bar and that the police package included a stiffer one still. They are identical in exterior dimensions. I will try to get the link for this info.

I may try this if nothing else works on the assumption that cops would never put up with this wandering.

Here: http://www.p71interceptor.com/steeri...rtnumbers.html