2000 Camaro Won't Align After Turning Left

[jasonduaine]

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

Say I begin driving with the steering wheel straight and the wheels aligned straight—when I make a LEFT at an intersection and straighten out after turning, the steering wheel and wheels 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 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" 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. Back to the same problem. Any ideas? Should I start looking at tie rods, bushings, ball joints, and wheel bearings?

[pajeff02]

First thing I would look at is the pinch bolt in your steering column down by the rack. It is not unheard of for them to come loose and then they wear the hole out and create play. In addition, you will want to inspect everything in the front end, starting with the tie rods. With the front end in the air, grab each tire at the 9:00 and 3:00 positions and try to rock it back and forth. If you feel any play at all something is amiss. Also, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if something was not tightened properly after your alignment...

[RONS98TA]

Def wanna get things checked out!! It could be something serious. As mentioned above, check the steering shaft bolt. After that, check all the components aspajeff02 mentioned above. Something is a miss and you cant just "hope" it gets better. Also grab the tire at 12:00 and 6:00 to check top and bottom play. It will also check for bearing play. and lower ball joint play.

[moperider]

I know this is a year too late but it's the rack and pinion in case you never figured it out. I had the same symptoms and my car would wander to the point where it was really unsafe. It makes no sense but I replaced my rack and pinion and it fixed it. The rest of my suspension parts were all new so that was the only thing that it could be and it was.

[pajeff02]

Old thread -- looks like the OP never posted back up on what his issue was.