My car was in a front impact collision several months ago which affected the alignment. I'm wondering if that could have an affect on how loose the steering feels now. I don't do much driving at sustained high speeds, so I didn't notice it before, but while driving on the interstate the last couple of times I noticed an excessive amount of play in the steering. It was actually scary enough to make me slow down to about 70 mph. Would an alignment cure this?

I know both my front outer CV joints are pretty bad, but that wouldn't have any affect on handling, would it?

 

Get an alignment, I need one and I can feel a lot of wiggling when going on a bumpy road at 60mph

 

check your tire rods, because if anything shot tire rods would add some "wiggle" or "play" into your steering wheel.

 

First off, fix the known bad parts (the CV joints) and don't be going speeds that require "slowing down to 70mph) when your drive axles are bad. Then have someone qualified check out your suspension completely - sway bars, tie rods, control arms and bushings, everything. Make sure the wheels are balanced properly and the lugs are torqued right. Don't play with your life here.

 

Good advice everyone. I have the new front drive axles sitting in my living room awaiting installation, about how much time do you think I need to set aside to change them out?

It also looks like I may be getting that complete front suspension kit a little sooner than originally planned.

 

Definitely check your tie rods.

 

Bringing this thread back from the dead.

Problem wasn't the axles or CV's, I replaced them and it didn't change a thing.

Had a four wheel alignment done by a reputable shop. It helped keep the car in a straight line at lower speeds, but didn't seem to cure the looseness of the steering.

Checked the brakes, they're fine too.

Finally replaced the front bumper, come to find out the left side of the frame was pushed in about an inch from the accident in August of '08. Despite my concerns, no one seems to think that this would cause such a difference in handling.

Changed out all my front control arms with ones fitted with new bushings. I figured this would solve it, as most of the bushings were severely damaged. I also replaced all four wheel bearings, and both front tie rod ends along with my newly added Vogtland coilovers. All this seemed to make the problem far worse!

I even had the alignment checked and the suspension looked at by an Audi specialist. The front was toed in about 3/8 and the rear toed in about 1/4, camber was ok. I know an alignment is necessary, but are these measurements enough to make my car act like this? It still feels dangerously loose and now it tends to swerve randomly when driving over 40mph.

What else should I check before spending money on an alignment that may not fix the problem? I only replaced the tie rod ends, I didn't replace the inner tie rods, or have them looked at for that matter. What does a damaged inner tie rod look like?

 

Seems like the remaining link is the rack. Can you wiggle either of your wheels side to side when one or both sides are jacked up?

 

also check your rear wheels. when i had bad rear bushings, my car would randomly shoot to one side under high speeds and it killed my rear tires.

 

I really hope it's not the rack. Is that really more likely to be damaged than the inner tie rods? I also have a very small power steering fluid leak, have yet to find the source. Could this be part of the problem?

I actually replaced both rear tie rods/bushings as well. The other rear bushings were all intact.