What broke in the steering when wheel turned?

[rendyx]

A friend of mine's dad was moving the SHO (a 94), and turned the steering wheel extremely hard when there was no P/S on, and the car was off. Apparently, he then heard a crack noise from under the column, and now there is:

-Some looseness in the steering
-It pulls a little to the left (wheel must be held ~15 degrees to the right)
-On the thruway, it turns quicker to the left than to the right. It does this around town, but not as obvious.

Any thoughts?

I am wondering if that little pinch bolt behind the wheel against the firewall slipped or got damaged in one way or another. Other than that, could it be the rack?

 

[sdpatt]

It must be a component upstream of the power assisted portion. In the driver's footwell, remove the rubber steering column seal at the firewall and check the pinch bolt and joint for being intact. The only other thing that comes to mind is the slip joint viewable under the dash, above the pinch bolt.

 

[twr]

My 95 does the same thing. If you turn the wheel back the opposite way with the car off it will pop back again. I have not yet figured out what the problem is. I do know that it's not the pinch bolt or out at the rack. It's between the knuckle and steering wheel.

 

[projectSHO89]

If you're lucky, the pinch bolt is the problem.

Most likely the failed part is the slip-shaft for the collapsible steering (safety component).

"Improper interference fit between plastic collar and extension shaft."


Steve