Horrible steering problem with my maxima.
 

It was in an accident about a year ago where the front passenger side wheel had be hit on the side. About 3 months after, the axle starting to make noise when making a hard right turn. Then the steering began to get really screwy. If I took off from a stop to fast, the steering would kind of pop and I would have to drive with the wheel turned in order to go str8 and after the car was finished accelerating, the steering would pop back to normal and I would have to turn the wheel back straight. It would also go haywire when making a hard left turn at pretty much any speed. I've since bought another car and left the maxima sitting but now I am interested in fixing it. What all could this problem possible be caused by? I've already made my mind up about replacing the struts and the front axle, but what else could possibly need replacement? thank you very much

Bring it back to the shop that did the sh*tty work...if you waited too long, they may not want to fix it under warentee...having a steering problem is very bad...the first time i felt that, it would be it there parking lot ready for them to work on it the NEXT day

-matt

Im not much of an expert but id think its a problem with the drivetrain, caouse it sounds like only one of the wheels is getting the power. possibly one of the axles lost grip with the drivetrain and is now not getting power.

hey guys, thanks for the replies. As far as a sh*tty repair job, it was never fixed in the first place. My insurance company totaled it out and I bought another car. I'm just hoping the problem is nothing but the axle because I'm sure that has either gone out or is on its last leg.

:wtf:

You are asking us questions about a car that you dont even have anymore? I dont get it.

No No No, i still own the car. I bought it back from the insurance company for $548. I had just spend that much on tires and brakes so I felt like I could sell part it out to get some money back. I've since decided to fix it and keep it.

:tardsmash hmm i know this.open your hood and check where the 3 bolts go for the struts.look in the middle,if that plastic its broken buy new for all 4 struts its like a black piece am not sure i think its called MOUNTS COVER.

oh ok sorry. I got a bit confuzzled there.

I can tell you from repairing salvage cars for a while that you might never get the original feel back.

The problem you are having sounds like a bad tie rod end, ball joint, or even a bad control arm itself.

My suggestion would be to change everything on the hit side. change the control arm (comes with a new ball joint). These are about $65-90 aftermarket. The strut, strut mount, brake rotor and pads should be changed too.

Change the outer tie rod end as well. This should cost you about $35 for the part.

When you have the outer tie rod end removed see if there's any play in the steering rack itself. i.e. you can move one wheel and the other one doesnt move. If there is play then you will need a new rack. I've seen them as low as $249 and as high as $1500 from the dealer.

I used to repair insurance salvages before they started branding the titles. My car right now is a salvage and i've had it 4 years. You cant cut corners. Just replace the parts I suggested and get a good alignment. See what happens then.

Your car may have more suspension damage and/or may need to be pulled on a rack. It's not something anyone can tell by reading your posts. A trained eye would have to inspect the car and the undercarriage.

I used to go to auctions too until these knuckleheads started coming along that paid $8500 for smashed civics and accords driving the prices up for everyone.

One last thing. I see you're in Atlanta. I'll be in savannah for 2 more weeks. If you're around here I'll check the car out for you

how would this fix my problem? thanks