Steering wheel shifted from 12 to 7 o'clock to left. Van shakes while turning right.

EDRICHARD3

MEMBER
2000 MERCURY VILLAGER
100,000 MILES

Out of nowhere I noticed the steering wheel has encountered to the far left (instead of the center at 12 o'clock it has moved to 7 o'clock). Also, while turning right even the slightest bit, the entire front right side of the van shakes quite a bit. It seems like one point of the tire is synchronized with the shaking. It is also losing power steering fluid slowly. My wife drives the van so I do not know exactly how the problem has progressed to this point. I do not want her driving, especially with our two year old son in it. I cannot see anything that seems out of place or shifted besides the steering wheel position and the fluid loss. Thank you.

3 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,916 POSTS

Sounds like something has happened inside the rack and pinion steering gear, but some of the symptoms point to other potential causes. I could make the case for a broken belt in a front tire, a badly-worn strut, worn lower ball joint or control arm bushing, etc. Even a dragging brake caliper. With so many conflicting possibilities, your best approach is to have the steering and suspension systems inspected at a tire and alignment shop.

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Saturday, September 17th, 2016 AT 4:16 PM

EDRICHARD3

MEMBER
6 POSTS

Thank you very much. I was hoping there was a common issue while not having much faith in that. I'll have to bring it in and hope for the best.

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Sunday, September 18th, 2016 AT 3:46 PM

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,916 POSTS

Tire belts tend to break on some brands, Goodyear in particular, when the tread has worn to the point the tire needs to be replaced anyway. I get the last ounce of life out of everything I own, and that includes tires. When I replace a tire, you can almost see the air inside it! Some broken belts were so bad they would knock your teeth out, but they really don't cause the steering wheel to be off-center by much. Still, I'm hoping that's all you have.

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Sunday, September 18th, 2016 AT 8:12 PM