Mercury - Grandmarquis :: 2001 - Steering Not Returning To Center
May 14, 2012
We just took in a 2001 Grand Marq with just shy of 170,000 on the clock. Super clean old man's car, runs great. I took it for a test drive with it today, and I noticed the steering does not return to center after a turn. It seems to stop at about the 1/8-1/4 turn mark, and you have to manually have to turn it back the rest of the way. It makes for some odd feeling driving. Now the car has already been through our shop, but they did not see any problems. The tires are like new, and otherwise, it runs great?
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My 'new to me' 01 Ex has 129k miles on it and the one problem is the steering. I read (all 34 pages of) the wander cure thread and I played with my steering box extensively over the last 3 weeks. The initial tightening really worked with the slack in the steering, as did adding air to the passenger front tire to even it out with the driver's side. But it did not cure everything. In fact, the tightening of the box revealed something else - the steering now exhibits what feels like binding. And now I must make minute corrections every second or two all the way down the road, even perfectly straight, flat roads. It's sorta driving me crazy(er) and my wife won't even consider driving it until it's fixed.
I was so caught up in diagnosing this problem that I completely missed that the steering wheel would not re-center itself after turns. My father noticed when he visited last weekend and tried to drive it but parked it after going around the block. If making a 90 degree turn, the wheel will maybe make it back to 45 degrees and stops. So you must manually turn the wheel back to center if you want to go straight.
So I've gone back and tried to loosen up the steering gears to start again, but now the gears seem tight regardless of how I adjust it.
I have already planned to replace the ball joints and get the alignment adjusted when I do the shocks and rear sway next week. Should i wait to see if the ball joints fix the problem or should i plan to replace the steering box at the same time? What say you all?
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Purchased a Prius C II last weekend. I noticed that when not accelerating hard the steering wheel needs to be nudged back to center after making a turn. Or, put another way, if I move the wheel 5 degrees to the left or the right from dead center, it stays that way, and the car veers off in that direction instead of straightening out on its own.
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I'm stuck failing a vehicle inspection for the steering wheel not returning to center after a turn. It turns most of the way back but you definitely have to finish the job yourself. I've jacked it up and turn the wheel lock to lock with no bind at all, one finger, nice and smooth. I've replaced almost everything up front (ball joints, u-joints, bearings, drag link both ends, etc.).
Mechanic that did the inspection seems to think the steering gearbox and/or the power steering pump could be the source. I have only seen threads for loose/wandering steering (which is why I replaced everything up front already) pointing to the gearbox. I brought the state trooper in to verify it and he said while he wouldn't necessarily fail it, he can't override the mech's call because it does require assistance to straighten out.
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My friend has a 06 Prius with about 85,000 miles.
Ever since he purchased the car (used) at about 67,000 miles, I've noticed that the steering wheel is slow to return to center and the steering lacks the "springy feel" of the low-mileage Priuses that I have driven. I noticed abnormal tire wear on the car so I suggested 4 new tires and an alignment-- which was done without any improvement. The front toe was set to 0, and the rear toe is minimal (0.05 and 0.1 on the LR and RR, respectively). However, I did not have a zero-point calibration performed at the time of the alignment.
There is no obvious damage or wear to the suspension, as far as I know. Recently though, the steering wheel has decided to clock itself to the right so I know it needs another alignment. It has only been 17k since the last one. Are there any parts that I should consider replacing before doing this alignment?
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Ok try this. On your 2011-13 Elantra if your driving below 60 on backroads and the road slightly turns to the left or right when you get back to a straightaway does the wheel automatically center itself or will it stay turned in the direction you just slightly turned? My wheel stays turned in the direction of the turn and I have to manually move it back to go straight. I have a 2013 Elantra GLS Auto.
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Changed intake manifold on it, because it had cracked and warped. After changing, now the exhaust line that leads under the car is glowing red and sparks were seen coming from under the car too. Cannot figure out why. It was suggested that something may have fallen in when we changed the intake manifold but I don't remember seeing anything falling in.
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I have a 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis. The check engine light came on and AutoZone diagnosed it as a misfire on Cyl. #4. I changed all the plugs but I do not know how to turn off the light to see if I fixed the problem. How to turn the light off.
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I have a 2001 Merc. Grand Marquis with a digital dash. The problem I am having is that the speedo displays 0 intermittently. What may be causing this? The cruise control will still work if I set it when the speed is showing.
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I've got a 2005 F350 that i recently did balljoints, tierods and shocks/stabilizer on. Just stating that because i don't believe anything could be binding up to cause this.
If i am to take a left turn, more than 45 degrees, the truck will seem to lose power assist on the return to center and be very stiff when i return it by force until i jerk the wheel past center and let it come back the other direction and it seems to regain power assist.
Also, the steering is just generally bump. I have not driven a better condition 2005 to tell the difference but i'm sure this isn't the way it's supposed to be
I am not having any issue with braking force, as of yet. The first winter i got the truck i blew a power steering line that goes from the gear to the cooler, in which direction i don't know. It's been a year and a half since then so not sure that caused any failure.
Before this symptom the pump would whine when on left turns only, no problem turning right if i feel like doing right turns the rest of my days. I guess what i'm getting at is, does this sound like a bad pump? Bad gear? Both?
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Although it starts most of the time, about two times a week it will act as though it's going to and won't. We had it in a shop for about 3 weeks and the mechanic said it started every time for him. When I got it back, within a few days it would not start. I try after about an hour and it starts. He ran diagnostic tests and nothing showed up. I want to give this car to my teenage granddaughter and I can't have this problem.
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Getting slight vibration when traveling at about 60 to 65 mph. Tires are almost new and had them rebalanced about 2000 miles ago. Shocks are less than a year old. Wondering if it is a wheel balance problem or possibly an alignment problem.
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How the HVAC system on the big Merc and Crown Vic are controlled. One answer says it's vacuum, another says it's electrical, another says electronic via the BCM. Which is correct? Does it have an electric servo to move the flapper door(s) like the Taurus I'm familiar with? Even the BCM has to have something to tell to move the flapper doors.
In the car I'm looking at, the lines into and out of the evaporator are cold when A/C is selected and the compressor clicks in. That makes me think the issue is with air direction. All I have to do is figure out why.
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Have a 2000 grand marquis that will not start after it gets warmed up. Recently had two occasions where after driving for about half hour and it's shut off, it will not start. Cranks good, but will not start. After it "cools down" it will start. Have had it to my mechanic and the dealership. They can't find anything??? They say it has to get worse before they can make it better. They don't want to start throwing parts like fuel pumps at it.
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My garage was struck by lighting this morning, and about two hours later I heard a very loud snap coming out of the vicinity of my garage. The snap was so loud, my ears were ringing. When I went to start my car (2002 Mercury Grand Marquis), it would just crank, but never turn over. The interior lights and trunk lights did not work, so I replaced the battery thinking that the power surge could have affected the electrical system of my car...and I needed a new battery anyway. With the new battery installed, all of the lights once again work, but the car still will not start. The voltage meter is low and it never runs low. I tried resetting the fuel pump shutoff, but it was never tripped and I can hear it pumping when I turn the key on. Is it likely that the mechanical failure is due to forces outside of electricity even though this car has never failed to start, or could the electrical surge have affected something else (alternator, fuses, etc.)?
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My windshield wipers do not park all the way down. The left one is up at a 5 degree incline, the right one more like 15 or 20 degrees. I went through a car wash today, and the air dryer blew them all the way to the left, and back to the right a little. I turned them on and back off, and they returned to the original position (5 and 15 degrees). Car is 2002 Grand Marquis LS.
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My '03 Grand Marquis "shudders" when I accelerate, especially up hills. It feels like it cuts in and out momentarily, shaking backward and forward. Here is what I have had done, based on mechanics' advice: replace spark plugs, replace fuel filter, clean throttle body, clean mass airflow sensor. It still does it after all this and I am stumped.
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Today while driving my 03 marquis the check engine light started blinking, after a few blinks I noticed it stopped . But a few moments later it started blinking again then stopped, so on an so on. I also noticed that the car had a immediate loss of power and it seemed like my car was missing, and while trying to give it gas it would shutter. It never killed on me but I can tell it ain't running right. A friend of mine told me to push the brake down while car was running an in drive, an give it gas like you was going to,"power brake it". I did, and instead of it power braking it just shook forward as if it only had 4cyl instead of 8cyl. then my buddy said its a bad "coil", no how he knows that idk. But is that true or what it might be???
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We have a 1994 Grand Marquis. Sometimes when driving the check engine light comes on and suddenly she doesn't want to accelerate very fast at all. If you do try to hit the gas, it sounds like the engine speeds up but there is no change in acceleration. It is also hard to get to/over 50mph. If you pull over and rev the engine a few times (slowly) there is an audible click from somewhere inside the engine. It will happen a few times and then the car seems fine. Inevitably the issue will come back a some miles down the road.It doesn't get driven every day and so far we have not had the light come on when we are near anyone that can read the error. Also, it resets and is not on if you turn the car on and off, even if the problem persists. It only comes on while driving (though it will stay on if put into park and left running). Oh, and possibly related, it seems that the air that is put out form the defroster is very damp when this happens (sometimes).
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Several minutes after I start driving in the morning, my car starts making a strange noise under the hood. It sounds like a motor running, or a strange buzz. After a few minutes, the noise stops stops. When it does, and if I'm stopped at a light, my engine jerks one time. The engine actually shut off one day, but I could start it right up. It does this once during the trip. The speed of the car or engine has no effect on the sound, but it stops if I turn the car off. If I restart the car, the noise does not return.
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What would make a 2000 mercury grand marquis stall when turning right? I turned the key and it started running again. Check the engine light and it was po442 which is the emissions leak.
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