Wandering steering

[Ahsan1]

I recently bought a 2007 xc70, 100K miles on it, one owner car.
My issue is:
1) steering is loose. It seems to have a mind of its own. When I accelerate, the car wants to wander left and right. Under steady cruising, the car tracks straight and does NOT wander. I'm just not happy with the amount of "play" in the steering and the amount of correction it requires. The steering wheel wandering is MOST noticeable under moderate to hard acceleration. There are no noises heard, no shuddering or vibrations or clunk.

I have very recently replaced the front control arms with bushings, and ball joints but this has not remedied the problem. I am waiting to have my angle gear sleeve fixed for the AWD, so currently the car is functioning as FWD.

Any idea what the problem could be?
Tie rods? Sway bars? Struts?

[billr99]

Try looking at the U-joint in the steering shaft. Also was an alignment done after the A-arm replacement? Obviously if not that would be something that should be done.

Cheers,

Bill

[Xheart]

What can you tell us about the steering's inner and outer tie rod? How is anti-sway bar and end links?

[Ahsan1]

Thanks for the prompt reply guys.
1) an alignment was done at 165k, so quite recent. I purchased the vehicle 2 weeks ago, replaced the control arms and ball joints. The problem was the same both before and after fixing those so I didn't repeat the alignment.

2) what I can tell you about the tie rods: well...
A) outer tie rods were replaced at 77k
B) took the car today to a suspension shop, they test drove it with me, confirmed the loose steering. The mechanic there says there is play in the left inner tie rod... He recommends replacing it.
C) I don't know anything about U-joints, hoping the tie rods are the culprit.

Therefore, I have ordered a set of inner tie rods, will have them replaced in the next 2 weeks when they arrive... Hopefully that remedies the problem.

Try looking at the U-joint in the steering shaft. Also was an alignment done after the A-arm replacement? Obviously if not that would be something that should be done.

Cheers,

Bill

[user17600]

Check the tires. A faulty/damaged tire can lead to symptoms as well. Rotate the back and front is a cheap way to see if there's an issue.

[billr99]

Boy, I've had some pretty worn inners on my P2s and have never had that bad a wander. Still suggest taking a look at the steering shaft joint as it is a known wear point especially if the car has seen some bad road surfaces.

Cheers,

Bill

[Astro14]

Lower control arm front bushings. Wear quickly, and allow changes in suspension geometry when worn, toe, in particular. Changes in toe under braking or acceleration will cause the wandering.

I’d start with new lower control arms if the tie rods seem decent.

[billr99]

Lower control arm front bushings. Wear quickly, and allow changes in suspension geometry when worn, toe, in particular. Changes in toe under braking or acceleration will cause the wandering.

I’d start with new lower control arms if the tie rods seem decent.

He said he already did the A-arms and the problem was the same pre-install and post. Of course with my suggestion, I'm assuming that the arms are quality products.

Cheers,

Bill

[Astro14]

Sorry. Missed that in the original post.

I will say that replacing all four inner and outer tie rods at the same time on the XC this spring really tightened up the steering. I could only detect a tiny bit of looseness in one of them, but I did all four since I was going to pay for an alignment.

I would also check that the rack itself is secure to the sub frame. A loose rack could cause all this.

[Xfingers]

Astro, any difficultly removing the outer tie rod ends from the steering knuckle? I wanted to check the condition of my inner/outer tie rods on my 2002 but couldn't break them loose.