Steering problem, Help PLease.

[BigBoiLS]

ok so i have a 2001 v6 ls sport and i'm pretty sure i need an alignment but it does something weird and i'm not sure if its because i need an alignment or something else is wrong.

So the steering wheel while driving straight is turned to the right about 15-20 degrees. the odd thing is that sometime its will stay straight and drive straight or it will lean 15-20 degrees in the opposite direction, but it will drive straight. after a little while it tilts to the left it will turn back to tilting 10-20 degrees to the right.

it is predominately tilted to the right but every once in a while it will tilt the same amount to the left.

i will have it checked out next week due to labor day but if any one could help with a diagnoses so i can have and idea of what im looking at.

 

[BigBoiLS]

it also squeaks when turning left to right. i know my ball joint need to be replaced also but would the ball joints cause the steering wheel to shift like that

 

[SlickLS]

Sounds to me like one of your ball joints are loose. Crawl underneath your car and look at the nut on the bottom of the ball joint. if you see a few to no threads showing then you need to tighten it. If you see about 7 to 9 threads then you should be ok. Hope this helped you out.

 

[BigBoiLS]

were is the ball joint? I looked at what i think is the ball joint, right inside my tire at the very bottom. One side has no threads showing and one side has maybe four.
But also my front end looks like it is lower than normal, and it is causing my tire to rub. would that be from the ball joints or something totally different? it rubs on the side that shows no thread.

 

[SlickLS]

were is the ball joint? I looked at what i think is the ball joint, right inside my tire at the very bottom. One side has no threads showing and one side has maybe four.
But also my front end looks like it is lower than normal, and it is causing my tire to rub. would that be from the ball joints or something totally different? it rubs on the side that shows no thread.

go tighten up those bolts like I said and you will see everything should be ok..the reason why it is like that is because the ball joint is not seated up against the control arm..you better tighten it up before you messed the threads up with the ball joint flopping around

 

[BigBoiLS]

would it just mess up the threads on the ball joints. i plan on purchasing new ball joints for $120 for both. if so im going to have firestone tighten up the ball joint tuesday (i havent driven my car since you recomended tightening the ball joints) and then i will order the new ball joints and have them installed and an alignment done.

 

[SlickLS]

Just tighten them up first and see if that fixes the problem, which it should. If they don't make any noise then you should be good to go for alittle while. You can tighten them yourself with a deep well socket and some vise grips

 

[BigBoiLS]

i already tried to tighten it but i dont have the tools. my tool kit is limited and very basic. but i will take it tomorrow and they recently started squeaking so they will be replaced i just need a way from and to work for now

 

[SlickLS]

i already tried to tighten it but i dont have the tools. my tool kit is limited and very basic. but i will take it tomorrow and they recently started squeaking so they will be replaced i just need a way from and to work for now

When the dude is tighten up the ball joints ask him to spray alittle grease around all the joints around that whole side.