cristind

I was parked behind a friend with my tires turned out and he ran into my front tire with his running board. I thought no big deal. But now i have the following symptoms:

Difficult to turn left
Too easy to turn right
Keep the steering wheel at 10:00 to drive strait
When i start or kill the engine, the steering wheel turns about a half turn on its own

I took it in for an alignment, and they said my sway bars were bad (what's new?) then they said the rack and pinion was bad. Tie rods and ball joints look great. My theory is the torque sensor mainly because of the last symptom. Its wanting to return to the neutral postion but has been knocked out of adjustment.

Any ideas?

843de

Park it and don't drive it until you have it checked by a collision repair facility, or a competent chassis/alignment shop.

You have a damaged steering rack or a bent inner tie rod, either condition makes the vehicle a danger to yourself and others on the road.

Contact your friend and get his insurance information since the repairs are on his dime.

firemangeorge

X2 what Mike says above.
If you continue to drive it something may break off and you could loose control of your vehicle.
I would say you've definitely got some broken or damaged parts under there. Make sure to take a close look at the rack and pinion mounting points also.

cristind

The handling isn't that bad just a little tension in one direction and there is no knocking or noise of any kind. The other vehicle was backing out and couldn't of been going more the 5 mph. I'm leaning towards the torque sensor or the rack and pinion being knocked off center/neutral position. I've had two shops look at it but plan on doing any repairs myself. They have not identified anything being bent.

firemangeorge

Hmmm. You ask for help and Mike and myself gave you an honest opinion. Now you reply that "it's not that bad". OK. I guess you can handle this yourself.
Just keep driving it . What do I know. Good luck.

cristind

Calm down flowmaster. Your quick response to my brainstorming and your knowledge is very appreciated.

843de

Just concerned for your safety, an inner tie rod that's damaged can let go without warning, then you are just along for the ride.

And speaking as an attorney, if you lose control due to a known defect in the vehicle thereby causing injury to a third party, you are liable for any and all damages...your insurance will not pay.

Please be careful and get it fixed as soon as possible.

cristind

No worries. I'm not driving it other than to test it after rotating the tires and what not. I got it up on a lift yesterday and inspected anything that could have been bent or broken. No play in the tires. tie rods good. Nothing! Then i started the car and the steering wheel spun ALL the way right.

More details about the accident: I was parked on gravel with the tire ****ed out. Only the tire was impacted but didn't blow. The steering wheel had to have locked but was forced past that. It still locks as it should.

cristind

Torque sensor reading more voltage on one side vs the other which is causing the pulling. Needs zero point calibration. i found these instructions for performing the recalibration without a scan tool. Does anyone know if this procedure is universal?

With the car off, and the wheel straight do the following

1. Using a paper clip or backprobes, connect PIN 9 to PIN 4 on the ODBII connector.
2. Turn the steering wheel 45 degrees to the left
3. Turn the ignition switch on (II)
4. The EPS Light will be on for 4 seconds, when it goes out do step 5
5. Turn the steering wheel Straight, and release
6. The EPS Light will turn on in 4 seconds, when it goes out do step 7
7. Turn the steering wheel 45 degrees to the left
8. The EPS Light will be on for 4 seconds, when it goes out do step 9
9. Turn the steering wheel Straight, and release

now the EPS light will blink twice after you relase the wheel, within 4 seconds. then it will blink 5 times.

If the EPS light stays on, you will have to do this process again.

I have taken it to two Chrevrolet dealers and they start talking pumps, valves and steering fluid, absolutly no knowlege of electric power steering. took it to a collision guy with a hunter code link tool but it wouldn't pull my VIN# for the calibration specs. he said my only option was the dealer but at least he verified my theory :)