Although we work hard to maintain every aspect of our vehicles, we can sometimes lose track of the little things that keep our cars running smoothly. One of those such things is the steering system in our vehicles. The steering systems on our vehicles go through a tremendous amount of stress, and all of that stress tends to wear out steering components at a fairly fast rate. Thus, it becomes very important to learn how to diagnose these problems before they become too severe. However, before we begin learning how to diagnose steering problems, we should first learn a little bit about how our steering works, and what exactly it takes to move our cars around the road every day.
To begin with, it first helps to figure out what kind of steering that your car has. The first step in doing this is to figure out whether or not your car is front wheel or rear wheel drive. While most drivers can distinguish this difference, simply consult your owner’s manual or do a quick check online to figure out. The reason behind doing this is because it narrows down the type of steering system that your vehicle is most likely to have equipped. If your car is a front wheel drive model, than it is more than likely you have what is commonly known as rack-and-pinion steering. However, rear wheel drive cars tend to have steering gear as a standard feature. However, regardless of what type of steering system your car has, it does not make a difference when attempting to figure out whether or not your car actually has some problems. While the categories of problems are very similar, the differences between the systems designates what type of repair, or replacement parts are actually needed to fix the problem.
One of the most common steering problems involves a car “jumping” when it hits a pothole or other uneven segment in the road. Basically, it should feel as if someone has dramatically pulled the wheel to the left or right after hitting the pothole. Although there are different causes for this problem, primarily, it means that your ball joints (or the pieces of your suspension that connects the tires to the steering components in your car) are on their way out. Although it may not seem like a major problem, if let go for long enough, it can mean drastic danger for your vehicle. In order to check this, one simply has to lift the car up and give the wheels themselves a little bit of play, if you can see the ball joint straining or starting to separate, then it is definitely time to replace the joint before anything major goes wrong. Ball joint problems can also be designated by strange noises while driving. Thus, one of the best methods in solving this problem is to simply drive around and listen, if you pick up any strange clunks or bumping noises, than it is another indication that the ball joints may need to be replaced.
Another common, but thankfully fairly easy to diagnose problem comes with the vehicle either being difficult to steer, or having too much play in the steering wheel. While this may seem to be a major problem, more often than not there is a fairly simple solution. Generally, if a car has power steering, and steering has become difficult, than it is probably a problem with either the power steering fluid or the pump. To check this, simply pop the hood and check your power steering fluid. If the reservoir is low, or the fluid looks dirty, you may just need to either put some power steering fluid in, or have the existing fluid flushed out. If you put the steering fluid in the vehicle and it seems to be empty again in a very short amount of time, than it may be possible that the car has a leak somewhere in the system; thankfully, a mechanic should be able to diagnose the problem in a relatively short amount of time. However, if this does not seem to be the problem, than simply take your car out for a ride, if you can hear noise or resistance while going around a corner, or while you have the wheel turned, than it is more than likely the power steering pump or the power steering belt. If you suspect any of these problems, the best thing to do is simply to take the vehicle to a mechanic and have it diagnosed.
Sometimes, when driving down the road, you may notice peculiar pulls or have trouble keeping the vehicle traveling in a straight line. This could mean several problems, however, it is more than likely a problem with the alignment. Although it is often not a severe problem, and requires that only the front or back tires be aligned as a set, it is sometimes necessary to align all four wheels. However, even though an alignment generally tends to fix this problem, sometimes it is necessary to replace the front or back tires after the alignment if they have become badly worn. This is an important time to mention that steering wheel shakes or selected problems while driving may simply be the fault of the tires, so it may definitely be worth paying the money to get a new set of tires before any serious damage is done to the alignment or the rest of the vehicle.
When it comes to problems with keeping the steering straight, it is also very possible that there is a problem with some of the more subtle parts of the steering system. This can include problems with the tie rods in the vehicle, the suspension arms or some of the links in the suspension. The major difficulty with this is diagnosis, sometimes it can be hard to pinpoint such problems, which often means paying additional hours of labor to a mechanic in order to first diagnose the problem, let alone fix it.
Whenever it comes to steering problems, it is always a safer bet to fix the problem when you first notice it before it becomes too severe. Steering problems can quickly become very severe, and can become a serious danger for you and your passengers, as well as other dangers on the road. In fact, if you suspect massive steering problems with your vehicle, than it may even be better to have the car towed to a mechanic rather than risk driving it down the road. Keep in mind that if a power steering pump or belt fails completely it can leave you with little to no ability to control the car. Always remember to keep your car in good shape and try diagnose and fix problems before they become too severe, especially when talking about matter such as the ability to steer and control your car.
