Steering and suspension check
Note: For detailed illustrations of the steering and suspension components, refer to Suspension and steering.
With the wheels on the ground
1. With the vehicle stopped and the front wheels pointed straight ahead, rock the steering wheel gently back and forth. If free play (see illustration) is excessive, a front wheel bearing, steering shaft universal joint or lower arm ball joint is worn or the steering gear is out of adjustment or broken. Refer to Suspension and steering for the appropriate repair procedure.
i. 1 Steering wheel free play is the amount of travel between an initial steering input and the point at which the front wheels begin to turn (indicated by a slight resistance)
2. Other symptoms, such as excessive vehicle, body movement over rough roads, swaying (leaning) around corners and binding as the steering wheel is turned, may indicate faulty steering and/or suspension components.
3. Check the shock absorbers by pushing down and releasing the vehicle several times at each corner. If the vehicle does not come back to a level position within one or two bounces, the shocks/struts are worn and must be replaced. When bouncing the vehicle up and down, listen for squeaks and noises from the suspension components. Additional information on suspension components can be found in Suspension and steering.
Under the vehicle
4. Raise the vehicle with a floor jack and support it securely on jack stands. See Jacking and towing at the front of this manual for the proper jacking points.
5. Check the tires for irregular wear patterns and proper inflation. See Tire and tire pressure checks for information regarding tire wear and Chapter 10 for the wheel bearing replacement procedures.
6. Inspect the universal joint between the steering shaft and the steering gear housing.
Check the steering gear housing for grease leakage or oozing. Make sure that the dust seals and boots are not damaged and that the boot camps are not loose. Check the steering linkage for looseness or damage. Check the tie-rod ends for excessive play. Look for loose bolts, broken or disconnected parts and deteriorated rubber bushings on all suspension and steering components. While an assistant turns the steering wheel from side to side, check the steering components for free movement, chafing and binding. If the steering components do not seem to be reacting with the movement of the steering wheel, try to determine where the slack is located.
7. Check the ball joints for wear by trying to move each control arm up and down with a pry bar (see illustration) to ensure that its ball joint has no play. If any ball joint does have play, replace it. See Suspension and steering for the ball joint replacement procedure.
i. 7 To check a ball joint for wear, try to pry the control arm up and down to make sure there is no play in the ball joint (if there is, replace it)
8. Inspect the ball joint boots for damage and leaking grease (see illustration). Replace the ball joints with new ones if they are damaged (see Suspension and steering systems).
i. 8 Push on the ball joint boot to check for damage
9. At the rear of the vehicle, inspect the suspension arm bushings for deterioration.