94 Aspire - Rack and Pinion?

Alright, well I got a 94 Ford Aspire and when driving it seems to sometimes randomly jerk to the right. My stepdad said that this sounds like rack and pinion and I was just wanting to get other opinions because that's expensive if that would be going out.

 

Anybody have any ideas?

 

Yes - don't drive that sucker until you get it fixed. You may have a bad wheel bearing on that side and it's allowing the brake rotor to lock up intermittently.

Raise it up and check the wheel for movement.

Also check the CV joint on that side.

 

So that isn't really the rack and pinion itself then? Just the cv joint or a possible wheelbearing

 

I couldn't say that Joey. It's just that a jerking to the side like you're describing, if the wheel bearing, could be very dangerous.

The rack and pinion, if worn to have a significant amount of play would allow the steering to drift, but I'm interpreting what you're saying is something is suddenly pulling from that side.

Anything that affects your steering, though should be taken seriously.

 

So more than likely it would be a wheel bearing on the right side right?

 

That is one thing it could be and should be checked for accordingly. Anything on the side it jerks toward would be a possibility. If it simply drifts to that side it could be a brake hanging up, a CV joint causing extra drag, a low tire, a bad wheel bearing, your steering devices, or an alignment issue.

But anytime the description includes jerks or pulls suddenly, it sends up a flag because you would be taken off guard and could lose control or the component in the pulling or jerking is under a lot of extra stress and something could break.

It's just a good idea to take the time to check those things out when something moves your car in a direction you weren't ready for and wasn't part of your intentions.

Hope this helps,

Bob

 

What am I looking for? Uneccesary movement or is this just something more for a professional?

 

In terms of checking the wheel bearing for play, you can raise your suspect wheel and kick it couple of times at the point the brake caliper is mounted to shake loose the rotor. Then grab the tire at the top and bottom and see if you can move it in/out. Then rotate the tire 1/4 turns, checking it each time, same way. If you don't get any play, that's a good sign.

If you get play, the bearing would be suspect, but some of the other suspension components would have to be looked at as well. You would remove the tire and check the mounting of the hub assembly for movement. If the jerking you've experienced is coming from the bearing/brake you will be able to easily shake the hub. The bearing would be well on its way out.

If the diagnosis and repair isn't anything you're comfortable with, however, I would have a shop involved to get it taken care of - considering the problem you're describing.

Hope this helps,

Bob