# 2002 Pontiac grand am steering wheel has to turn a whole 1/2 a turn before tires move **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** pontiac\ **Created:** [April 8, 2021, 2:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040 "2021-04-08T02:12:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frantz\_todd](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/frantz_todd/32/25801_2.png) [@Frantz\_todd](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Frantz_todd)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 2:12am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040/1 "2021-04-08T02:12:10Z")
Hi was wondering why my steering wheel turns to far to the left about a 1/2 a turn before it turns the wheels. when centered it turns right just fine but when going back to center I have to turn the steering wheel a 1/2 a turn to move the wheels, had an alignment done and have replaced the rack and pinion, along with the tie rod ends. The car only does this when moving not while parked it doesn’t pull or anything just annoying to have to turn so much to be able to turn the car, if anyone know what the cause could be please share it with me. ---
**Author:** ![COROLLAGUY1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/corollaguy1/32/7575_2.png) [@COROLLAGUY1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/COROLLAGUY1)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 2:45am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040/2 "2021-04-08T02:45:04Z")
Go back to the shop where you had the work done. Ask them why they didn’t test drive your vehicule after the repair.The play in the steering should have been obvious. ---
**Author:** ![CapriRacer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/capriracer/32/22_2.png) [@CapriRacer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/CapriRacer)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 11:38am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040/3 "2021-04-08T11:38:01Z")
Yeah, something’s broke and it’s going to be expensive to fix. ---
**Author:** ![NYBo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nybo/32/17281_2.png) [@NYBo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/NYBo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 1:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040/4 "2021-04-08T13:27:45Z")
Sounds like that new steering rack is loose. ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 2:10pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040/5 "2021-04-08T14:10:37Z")
Sounds like steering column u-joint is loose? Supposed to have set screw but maybe installer messed it up ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 5:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040/6 "2021-04-08T17:27:34Z")
I can’t see this much play being caused by a worn part so I wonder about the rag joint and rack mounts as mentioned. It was not stated who replaced the rack and tie rod ends but if the shop that did the alignment performed this repair and ran the car out the door in this condition it would be best to avoid them in the future. ---
**Author:** ![lion9car](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lion9car](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lion9car)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 7:04pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040/7 "2021-04-08T19:04:24Z")
> [@Frantz\_todd](#): > > The car only does this when moving not while parked it doesn’t pull or anything just annoying to have to turn so much to be able to turn the car, if anyone know what the cause could be please share it with me. It’s not “just annoying”. Whatever it is could completely let loose at any point, causing you to crash and injure someone. Don’t waste time getting this corrected. ---
**Author:** ![wentwest](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/wentwest/32/6073_2.png) [@wentwest](https://community.cartalk.com/u/wentwest)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2021, 7:08am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040/8 "2021-04-09T07:08:04Z")
Where do you live? I don’t want to have you on the road anywhere near me until you get this fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2021, 12:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040/9 "2021-04-09T12:30:27Z")
Ya, that’s odd. Since rack is new. ---
**Author:** ![Frantz\_todd](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/frantz_todd/32/25801_2.png) [@Frantz\_todd](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Frantz_todd)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 7:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040/10 "2021-04-11T19:59:15Z")
Well took the driver side tire off to find the problem and the rack moves down when turning the steering wheel right checked to see if the mounting bolts where there and they are so maybe has something to do with the joint possibly, but I inspected the joint in steering column looks fine not bent or anything, also the bolt that connects the rack to the joint is there. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040/11 "2021-04-11T20:57:39Z")
And now your will take the car back and demand that they fix it correctly? ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040/12 "2021-04-12T16:03:03Z")
You might elaborate a bit on the part about the rack moving down when turning the steering wheel right. The rack housing should not move at all although the inner tie rods may move up and down to some degree as the steering knuckle turns. Assuming all mounting bolts are tight, bushings intact, etc. I wonder if there is an internal issue with the rack itself. I have seen a few GM racks that exhibited some squirrelly characteristics in the past. One of them would handle fine but the minute a tire hit a damp spot (not a puddle) the car would go stupid; and it was not the tires. Replacing the rack fixed that particular problem. Keep in mind that when it comes to remanufactured parts most of the people rebuilding them are a bit shy on mechanical aptitude. It’s all assembly line work subject to whims, bad moods, employee disgruntlement, and so on. Some good days and some are bad. ---
**Author:** ![Cavell](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/cavell/32/43396_2.png) [@Cavell](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Cavell)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 5:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2002-pontiac-grand-am-steering-wheel-has-to-turn-a-whole-1-2-a-turn-before-tires-move/176040/13 "2021-04-12T17:07:38Z")
Towed back to shop?