Would bad alignment lead to poor steering?

[drk mrk iv]

My tires desperately need to be aligned. I will be doing that Monday, but my question is: Does bad alignment/balancing affect the steering? I feel like my steering is a little loose. Could this affect it?

 

[PieEyedPiper]

yes, if your balancing and alignment are out of spec, so will the handling performance for your car. not to mention uneven tire wear.

 

[Talesin]

Definitely.

 

[FourG63 97GST]

what do you mean steering feels loose?
bad alignment wouldn't cause your steering to be loose it should still be tight still just badly aligned duh

but loose steering is probably from bad front end parts ex. ball joints, tie rods etc.

 

[AdamG]

One of your poorly aligned wheels could be scrubbing, thus making it feel loose. The tire is actually skidding on the pavement do to the poor alignment, is it worse on wet pavent "the looseness"?

 

[Slow99x]

No, a poor alignment would not make the vehicle feel "loose" in the steering. Only worn out steering components can do that. If any of these are bad your alignment will not hold so be careful about where you bring your car. The alignment mechanic may not have the proper tools or know how to replace these parts so they might try to do the alignment anyway. Go to the most reputable place in your area even if they charge more because they may have a warranty on their alignments. Try to avoid busy days and tell them about the steering being loose. Also ask if you can come back and look under the car with the mechanic while he checks the car. If he doesn't check the ball joints, tie rods, idler arm, and pitman arm I would have them stop the alignment and pull the car out of the shop and never come back. Never pay for an alignment up front!!! You never know what they may find and how much it will be to fix it. Ask for labor rates and parts prices. Ask if they are going to use OEM parts or aftermarket like Napa or CarQuest etc... Always ask for the old parts in the new boxes so that if you do have to come back for some reason you still have that stuff. Do your research on where you can get the best prices but still the best service. Most large chains will not have a problem with warrantees. Go to a place that has a Hunter alignment machine 400 series or higher (one large central pole with four cameras flashing at the top and what will look like radar dishes with honeycombs will mount to the wheels).

 

[jtmcinder]

A bad alignment can make a car's steering seem loose even if all of the parts are in perfect condition. Going farther, a car can seem loose even when the parts are fine and the alignment is in spec.

Like most road cars, our suspension has many rubber bushings. These squish and stretch under load. Some alignments can cause the car to be loaded in one direction and then suddenly switch to the opposite direction, causing the car to wander. This is one reason why some people avoid zero toe, even when zero is the center of the spec range. Unless you have upgraded the bushings, zero toe can lead to alternating loads as the car tracks across imperfections in the pavement. More often, however, the wander that people compain about is caused by front toe-out, which causes the car to pull towards every bump.

- Jtoby