1994 cutlass supreme steering.

[cap10longboat]

I recently had a collision that bent the control arm on my 1994 cutlass. As a result, the botton of the tire on the driver side was pushed in farther than on the top. kind of a "\" position when looking from back to front. I bought a used control arm from a local salvage yard and installed it. Now there is a LOT of play in the steering, making the car undriveable. Any ideas? I think that maybe the inner tie rod got messed up at the same time and when I put the new control arm in, it was no longer the same alignment as when both were bent...

Thanks for any replies....

[GTP Dad]

There are a couple of possibilities here. First, the ball joint on the used control arm may be bad. Also, the bushings that hold the control arm may be worn and need replaced. The tie rod may be bent or damaged or finally the rim may be bent and causing drivability issues.

[cap10longboat]

I put in a new ball joint when I replaced the control arm, I guess I'll start with the bushings and go from there. Hell, a rebuilt rack and pinion with new inner tie rod ends is only $120 if that's the case....

[maxwedge]

Originally Posted by cap10longboat

I put in a new ball joint when I replaced the control arm, I guess I'll start with the bushings and go from there. Hell, a rebuilt rack and pinion with new inner tie rod ends is only $120 if that's the case....

That type of impact may have damaged the rack, easy check here, have someone turn the wheels off straight away and see where the play is.