Kind of urgent: Issue after LCA and Ball joint replacement

[T.O_SHO]

So we just got the car back together after swapping out both LCA's because my ball joints were bad. Now, when driving the car the wheel does not want to return to center as easily as it did before the LCA change. If the wheel is at full lock and you let go it remains at full lock until you have to persuade it to go straight. This did not happen before changing ball joints. LCA's are solid, there's no visible contact between components and the rack is smooth as butter in the air, even when grabbing a tire and turning manually.

My tie rod ends need to be replaced as there is movement in the 3 and 9 locations, I am aware of this.

Does anybody have any ideas? As I mentioned the steering was smooth a butter and returned to center perfectly before the swap.

And yes, the LCA's are on the right sides.

 

[jmpSHO]

It sounds like an alignment issue but I wouldn't get it aligned until you replace the tie rod ends.

 

[T.O_SHO]

That was in the back of our heads, but if it's not, and it's something more severe, how do I know if the car is unsafe to drive?

 

[jmpSHO]

Having bad tie rod ends is unsafe anyways so replace those and get an alignment and see what happens. If you replaced everything correctly it should be safe to drive.

 

[T.O_SHO]

Altright then, thank's a bunch. We'll take it from there.

Any other ideas are appreciated.

 

[SuperHO]

your alignment went to crap with the new LCAs. outer tie rods are 20 each and take 10 minutes per side. change them, get a couple of really straight boards and push em up against the tires, take measurements in front of and behind the tires until they're even, then drive to the alignment place and have em rack it.

 

[Bill Strobel]

Sounds like not enough positive caster. This will cause exactly what you describe. Positive caster is like the forks on a chopper; the wheel is far in front of the support for the wheel. Somehow during your install of the LCAs you affected the caster.

 

[SuperHO]

caster ain't adjustable on these cars with stock suspension components unless something got royally screwed. i had the exact same issue after replacing my ball joints a few months ago, and after getting it straightened back out, she was happy again.

 

[T.O_SHO]

Just did outter tie rods today. It's much better, and the wheel returns much nicer now but at full lock it's still staying turned. Hopefully the alignment tomorrow set's it all back up.

 

[T.O_SHO]

We're all good

The wheels were toed inwards even though by eye they looked fairly parallel.