Lately (within the last few weeks) I've been noticing that the steering on my 02 is slowly deteriorating. When I accelerate hard the darn thing wants to practically make a left hand turn, and if I let off fast it seems then to want to turn right, or at least drift right.
With 126k, mostly driving twisty mnt roads, I'm not surprised if something has worn out, tie rods, ball jnts, bushings, etc. I replaced the struts around 90k and had an alignment done. I currently have my studded snows on it, but they have been on for a few months now.
My question is, for someone working in their garage with just basic tools, is there a way to determine what is lose/worn? If I put stands under it, will I actually be able to grab a hold of components underneath, jerk them around, and see/feel the culprit? Also, will Les Schwab (or any alignment shop for that matter) inspect for free?
Thanks for any tips, hints and/or suggestions.
Rich
With 126k, mostly driving twisty mnt roads, I'm not surprised if something has worn out, tie rods, ball jnts, bushings, etc. I replaced the struts around 90k and had an alignment done. I currently have my studded snows on it, but they have been on for a few months now.
My question is, for someone working in their garage with just basic tools, is there a way to determine what is lose/worn? If I put stands under it, will I actually be able to grab a hold of components underneath, jerk them around, and see/feel the culprit? Also, will Les Schwab (or any alignment shop for that matter) inspect for free?
Thanks for any tips, hints and/or suggestions.
Rich