Hi I have a 1996 ford contour. I recently had rotors and pads replaced on the front of my car. I confirmed that I needed them based on the car sounds from this site. Thank you for that. Even before the rotors and pads problem my car when i am driving seems like it is uneven…almost like the tires are uneven…But the tires all match. like a floating sensation…I really can’t explain it totally but wondered if anyone else ever experienced this? There is a very slight pulsation in the steering wheel also.
Thanks in advance
It sounds to me like there is a good chance you may need to give your tie rods some attention.
There are quite a few other possibilities, including uneven tire wear. But for safety sake, and peace of mind, take the car to a good, local alignment shop. Have the whole front end inspected and don’t be surprised if you hear that you need new tie rods. If you hvan’t had an alignment done in a while you could just ask for that - any front end problems will come out through that process.
Ditto to cigroller’s advice. It’s time for a good look-see of the front end components. And by the way, “floating” can be caused by something as simple as worn out struts. I’ve seen cars on the highway with struts so worn out that you could actually WATCH the cars float!
I agree that this problem is likely to be worn-out struts.
While those are being checked, have the tie rods inspected also.
Since both of these items are safety-related, I suggest that you have the car checked a.s.a.p.
If your car has a center steering link and this becomes worn, it will do exactly as you describe. So basically as everyone else said–get all the steering components and suspension checked out.
Thank you to all of you! I took my car to have front end inspection. Sure enough…broken springs …so I need front struts, springs and brackets. Thank you all again! Kathie
Thank you for posting back with the results. We so rarely get to find out.