Hello car talk. I am having a lot of play in my steering. Whenever i am driving at high speeds and hit a bump or crack in the asphalt my steering jumps around. I recently replaced my tie rods and had an alignment done.
I was looking at my steering column and noticed there was some wiggle before it went into the box
Is there a normally a small amount of wiggle? What should I do if something needs to be done.
There shouldn’t be any wiggle.
The intermediate steering shaft may be worn.
Tester
Thank you for the response. I tried to add this video but was to large of a file. I’m new to maintaining a vehicle and want to make sure I’m doing it correctly.
(Attachment 20221112_184935.mp4 is missing)
For this sort of thing, it is a good idea to hire a shop to investigate. They’ll have a lot of experience how to make the diagnosis quickly , and will tell you the most likely culprit(s), then you can replace the parts yourself if you like. Any play from the steering wheel to the front wheels could cause it, or just the sum of all the small individual part-to-part plays in the path
I own a Ford truck older than yours. On a 1995, I’d tend to suspect ball joints, tie rod interfaces, and control arm bushings before the steering column. Steering box/rack could be faulty or need adjustment as well. Wheel bearings possible too, but usually those would make a noise.