Steering won't return to center
 

My son's '05 Dakota Quad-Cab starting having issues two days ago. Turning either direction, it won't return to center like usual. I drove it around a little last night and it doesn't seem to grab anywhere during the turn, it just doesn't re-center.


Looked around for grease fittings to start (found one), but no noticeable results. I'd rather not start just replacing parts until it's fixed (who does?). Anyone had similar issues?


I'll get it up on jacks tonight and see if I can find out anything else to add.


Thanks.

check:
-operation of the powersteering
-proper tire inflation
-raise the front end and turn the wheel with the engine off...it should move throught its range easily and smoothly
-alignment angles, total toe setting and caster
the return to center is due to the caster angle. by building with a positive caster, the weight of the vehicle pushes the spindles to the lowest point. turning the wheel causes the spindles to rise. when moving, the vehicle weight forces the spindles down to the low point, which occurs when the steering is straight. large differences in cross caster will cause the wheel to sit off centered.
-if the toe is grossly out of spec, the toe scrubbing will work against the caster angle.

I had this problem with a Lincoln, ended up being the ball joints. I found it by breaking the linkages loose and moving things by hand.