Front Wheel Hop / Loose Steering - '97 PI

[bf1049]

I've got a '97 Crown Vic P.I. w/ 132,000 miles on it. I won't get into detail, but recently the car was completely abused for a couple of hours. Before the beating everything was fine, the car rode straight down the road, and the steering was still tight. After the beating the car is pulling, but not always in the same direction, the steering wheel is off center (at about 11 o'clock), and the front wheels, particularly the left / front wheel, hop severely over even the smallest bumps in the road, causing a lot of bumping noise and a loss of control. I looked underneath, and didn't see anything obviously broken or bent. Does anyone know what might be causing the loose, uncontrollable steering. I'd appreciate any ideas.

[reekor]

The pulling might be due to an alignment issue this would cause your steering wheel to be off center and to pull in any given direction. The front wheel hopping severely over even the smallest bumps in the road sounds like a shifted or broken belt in the tire. All of the above can be caused by bouncing the car off of a curb or running over a curb.

Originally Posted by bf1049

I've got a '97 Crown Vic P.I. w/ 132,000 miles on it. I won't get into detail, but recently the car was completely abused for a couple of hours. Before the beating everything was fine, the car rode straight down the road, and the steering was still tight. After the beating the car is pulling, but not always in the same direction, the steering wheel is off center (at about 11 o'clock), and the front wheels, particularly the left / front wheel, hop severely over even the smallest bumps in the road, causing a lot of bumping noise and a loss of control. I looked underneath, and didn't see anything obviously broken or bent. Does anyone know what might be causing the loose, uncontrollable steering. I'd appreciate any ideas.

[bf1049]

Thanks for the input. This is still a marked police unit (believe it or not), and the garage crew at my dept. sometimes needs a little assistance before they will actually fix the car (they know what's wrong, but try to pull the wool over your eyes until you show them that you know what's wrong). The car was "injured" during training excercises for pursuit driving. Anything else that I could point them towards would also help. Thanks.

[reekor]

Okay with that said you might want to start out by putting the car on a frame rack, it doesn't take much to bend the front of the frame on these cars. If the frame is bent on the driver's side this will put your steering box out of alignment placing your steering wheel off the 12'o clock position.

Originally Posted by bf1049

Thanks for the input. This is still a marked police unit (believe it or not), and the garage crew at my dept. sometimes needs a little assistance before they will actually fix the car (they know what's wrong, but try to pull the wool over your eyes until you show them that you know what's wrong). The car was "injured" during training excercises for pursuit driving. Anything else that I could point them towards would also help. Thanks.