Here's the skinny.... About a month ago I was in an accident. Damage to front passenger side fender/rim/door. Collision shop assesed damage and fixed the body work. They sent the car to Firestone where they replaced the control arm and the rack/pinion brace. Got the car back and it was making all sorts of noises and the steering was tight and seemed to stick. The steering did not feel this way even after the wreck, so I assume it was something they did. Took it back to them and they didn't know their @$$holes form their elbows.... Convinced the collision shop to get the car into the dealership. Dealership discovered that a lot of the bolts on the suspension, especially the control, arm were never tigtened back up (Firestone is EVIL). They also discovered that the driver side axle/hub/bearings were bad (previous two shopd somehow missed this). They tightened everything back up and replaced the axle/hub/beearings. Got my car back this morning and the steering still isn't right. It has more resistance than normal and seems to slightly stick... Kind of hard to put the felling into words. The only thing I can think of is that the rack assembly itself is f'ed up. Have contacted the deaership to let them know it still isn't operating properly and the manager is currently brainstorming with the tech that worked on it. They don't have any SRT4's left on the lot to compare it too. (only a standard caliber {weird looking}). Anyone have any idea what the prob could be? The car has been in and out of three different shops now and I am starting to loose my mind!

On a side note: Even if they didn't have an SRT4 to compare to, shouldn't the tech at the Dodge dealership know how it should feel? The response I've gotten from two different places is that they assumed it was suppose to drive that way because it is a SRT4/sports car (which I know is not true, becuase it didn't even drive that way from where the wreck was to my house and then to the collision shop).

 

Sorry to hear about your accident, glad your OK. It sounds like the steering is doing what my '85 Daytona turbo was doing when the seals in the steering rack began to bind. It would actually stick at times which was scary as hell to say the least. So you may be right on target when you mentioned your steering rack. Hope you get it worked out soon.

Jimmy

 

I believe you said they had to replace the power steering rack?If your steering feels really tight or almost like its working against you they might not have bled the power steering system all the way and you might have a air pocket in there.Not a guarantee but i work at a dealer and i know when we do those PS racks if you dont get all the air out its almost like it doesn't have power steering(really tight wheel).also i would check the level of fluid.

 

I checked the fluid and it is fine. Will have to mention to them to make sure and bleed it when I take it in AGAIN today....

Thanks to the both of you for the feedback. Probably gonna end up replacing the rack!

During lunch I took her for a spin and while going over a speedbump at an angle the car made a horrific noise. It sounded like it was coming from the front driver side tire well, but closer to the engine bay. Sounded like something was loose or grinding/popping. Definately metal on metal. We'll see what they end up doing....

Once again, thanks!

 

Well chances are if they didn't replace the rack already thats gonna most likely be your problem.Hardly ever have i seen a car with impact damage to the wheel,door,fender area and not have to replace it.Its probably tweeked a lil bit and just enough to bind up on you....Good luck keep us posted.Just a FYI its not gonna be cheap if you have to pay for it out of pocket.

 

I had accident on jan 1 of this year. They replaced pretty much everything on the front left side. I know exactly what u r talking about, turn the wheel and stays in that position, doesn't want to re-center? If so, its your rack/pinion and have them look at the steering column. If its off by 1/16", it needs to be replaced. good luck. Let me know what happens.










John

 

I found the noise, it is the sway bar. It is making contact with the control arms. One place said it was bent. Went to the dealership for a second opinion and they said it was on backwards....WTF... So on my lunch break today I am going to Firestone to get this resolved.

As far as the steering, it is a battle. I priced out a new rack, $750 just for the parts.... The guy at the collision place said the Insurance Company (AIG) probably won't go for replacing it. I have a call into my agent, but she is on vacation until Monday. Currently in the process of getting this resolved. Was pretty much told by the collision shop that unless it is really binding or there is noticable damage (leaking fluids) he probably can't get it taken care of. I plan on re-instilling the fact that there IS a noticable issue. See what happens I guess....

Eng - I have been told that there is no way to asses damage to the rack without replacing it. Are you saying there is a way by checking the steering column? Do you know what exactly would be off by 1/16"?

Thanks again guys...

If you see a massacre of various mechanics & collision specialists in Washington on the news, then you will know my problems weren't resolved.....

 

Update:

Sway bar was installed backwards/upside down when Firestone replaced the Rack/Pinion brace! Got that dealt with...

.... Still a noise though... While driving at approx 35mph, if I swerve back and forth there is a popping noise. The only thing left to replace/check out is the rack itself... Would it make a popping noise?

 

It could if it was binding up,but it would do it at all speeds.How did the axles look when they did all this work,i know from past experience that if a axle is bad it will make a clunk/popping sound.I hate to say it bro but it sounds like you got a bunch of f*cking mutts working on your ride.I hope everything gets figured out.

 

Front driver side axle was replaced, other one was fine. I don't think the rack is binding up too bad, it is not impossible to steer, it is just on the wrong side of borderline, definately not what it once was. It is at all speeds however. The popping is at all speeds as well, but only when the force is exerted at a specific angle. It popped while turning into my work up a slight hill. As for the various mechanics that are working on it, I have little if no confidence in their ability at this point. I'm not even sure about taking it to the dealership. Slowly, but surely the car is being repaired one noise at a time. It is taking out of my work day because I have to drive the car all over and push people just to do their f'ing jobs.

One thing I have discovered - Mechanics (the ones I've dealt with), whether at the dealership or a local shop, will only do the minimum amount of work possible until you light a fire under their ***!