1997 Chrysler Town and Country rack and pinion

JDSFML

MEMBER
1997 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY
3.8L
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
222,000 MILES

I recently had to change out my power steering pump.

Since then I have had a bad shack in the front end of the van. At first it was a big wobble but only at lower speeds, now its a fast shack and its at every speed.

I thought maybe it was the rotors and brakes since it had been 7 years since they were replace but that wasn't it.

Tires all seem fine on the front end. I haven't had them re-balanced and rotated as of yet.

Somebody said it sound like air in the lines but power steering is working great now. No noise and no problems.

Could it be the rack and pinion is going bad or maybe something else?

It does drive straight down the road still and now unusual ware to the front tires.

3 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,908 POSTS

What you described can be caused by worn spots inside an inner cv joint housing, but this sounds more like a simple broken tire belt. CV joints cause shaking in the steering wheel at speeds up to about 35 mph, and only during acceleration. If there's a broken tire belt, you'll see the steering wheel wobble even when coasting slowly through a parking lot in neutral.