Steering clunks

[holter95]

I've been experiencing a loose-feeling clunk coming from my rack-and-pinion steering. It makes an audible clunk when you shake the wheel back and forth, especially with the car off. Sounds like a tie-rod is loose, but the dealer checked it and gave it the all clear. I too crawled under and shook around, couldn't find anything loose. They tightened the steering gear (pinion?) to correct my offset steering wheel. I'm thinking it may be wear in the rack/pinion system with 146K miles on it. Anyone with similar experiences? Am I looking at new parts?

John

 

[mrboyle]

It sounds like you have a loose tie rod. The easiest way to determine if this is the problem is to lift the front tires off the ground and do a shake test. To do this (once the tires are off the ground) grab a hold of the tire (you'll need to do this on both sides) at 3 and 9 o'clock, now push and pull the tire (like you are trying to turn it) and feel for any noticable play in the steering (if you have a loose tie rod you'll feel it). Once you determine which side has the loose tie rod you need to determine if it is the inner or outer tie rod, then you can replace the worn out part.

 

[KEbert]

I would also say that it is a loose tie rod.