Hey everyone,

A few weeks ago I hit a bump in the road going somewhat fast (it was at night), and since then my steering wheel + tires have been acting strange.

Say I start driving with the steering wheel straight and the wheels aligned straight—when I make a LEFT at an intersection and straighten out after turning, things become misaligned. The steering wheel won't return to its original position (stopping with about a 1/4th of the way to go) but the wheels will be straight.

Here's a pic of the steering wheel's position after making a left turn and the wheels facing straight:

If I straighten the steering wheel out while driving, I veer to the right.

BUT, if I turn RIGHT at some point after this, and bring the steering wheel back to its straight position, it "realigns" itself, and the steering wheel is straight and the wheels are straight. That's until I make a left turn and the steering wheel is misaligned again. So, when turning right, alignment is good, turning left messes things up. I also hear what seems to be a clacking of metal sometimes when I turn left at slow speeds.

I thought it was an alignment issue (maybe it still is?), but I just had an alignment done today at Pep Boys and it was perfectly straight—until I made a left turn. What's going on?

 

Sounds like it's in the rack.Maybe a tooth was chipped or broken.I would take to a good brake and wheel place and have them inspect it.Hope this helps.

 

Check the rag joint.