Steering problem

[melteye]

To go straight I have to turn the steering wheel a complete 1/4 turn to the right, and when turning the wheel i have to turn for a few inches before the car actually starts to turn. Wat could be the problem.


Ford Escort LX. 95

[Heep]

Sounds like you need an alignment...badly.

My friend's Civic did that, the passenger side lower control arm was broken off, so the wheel had huge negative camber (the bottom was sticking out further than the top).

[replicant_008]

I'd suggest you get someone to put the car up on a hoist and to do an inspection of the front suspension AND the steering components.

There could be a variety of reasons including Heep's suggestion of alignment. The most serious could be failure of a component in the suspension or the steering. At the moment, it sounds like you have an excessive amount of play (ie you mentioned a couple of inches of movement required before you get response from the steering), which could be related to the steering bush, rack, tie-rods etc. This could be related to excessive wear or failure.

It would be worth someone having a look at it - the consequences of further failure could be very serious (including loss of control).

In New Zealand, we have 6 monthly road worthiness inspections on all vehicles (other than those less than 3 years old) - the symptoms you describe would result in the vehicle being ordered off the road immediately. You would then have 14 days to repair before another inspection or be required to pay further inspection fees!