Fit wandering on highway + steering wheel not returning to center

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Today | 05:04 AM

#21

MeanMan

Member

Joined: Nov 2025

Posts: 158

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitter123

That’s kind of where my head is at too right now. I agree it doesn’t make sense to jump straight to replacing the rack without first verifying that the geometry and suspension components are actually behaving correctly under load.

One thing that keeps bothering me though is the progressive caster change on the right side. Back in April it was around 3.8 on the right, then around 3.4 before the most recent alignment, and finally around 3.0 after alignment.

That makes me wonder if something in the right front suspension geometry is gradually moving or settling somehow.

At the same time, I also can’t completely ignore the possibility that the aftermarket suspension/top mounts changed or amplified the steering feel compared to before.

The hard part for me is that I’m not very DIY, so I have to rely on garages for diagnostics, and this seems to be the kind of subtle problem that many shops don’t really take the time to dig deeply into unless something is obviously broken.

Also, the car has 283,000 km (160,000 miles+), so I also have to be careful financially and avoid throwing parts at it randomly. The body is still very clean and rust-free though, so I’d really like to find a reasonable path to keep the car driving properly for another 6–7 years if possible.

If it makes you feel any better I know mine hasn’t had the easiest life or best maintenance prior to me owning it and it’s at 284,000 miles. You mentioned the aftermarket top mounts and caster changing. You say you’re not very DIY, but you can absolutely do the following. Take either paint pen or better yet a scribe (hardened tip scratching tool for making fine but distinct lines in metal) and mark the location of the bolts on the top hat once verifying they’re torqued to spec.

a socket set and torque wrench aren’t hard tools to use. Make sure everything is tight to spec as it should be then like I said mark the bolts a mark on them and the top hat, doesn’t have to be pretty just either a line or some like to make either a — across both items or a > < they’re called witness marks, so at a glance you can tell if something has moved even a small amount. Might also mark the top hat itself.

I assume the orientation of the top hat mount is with the slits running front to rear (allows caster adjustment) as opposed to perpendicular to the front of the car (allows camber adjustment)?

Today | 12:15 PM

#22

Detergentcandy

Member

Joined: Jul 2025

Posts: 99

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitter123

Do you think a lower control arm bushing that’s shifting/deforming under load could realistically explain both the caster drift and the steering feel gradually getting worse over time?

Definitely possible. Bushings can look fine even if they're not. The only way to actually be sure is to disconnect the control arms and inspect the bushings out of the vehicle. As @bobski mentioned, the rubber may be fully intact but the tube in the center that the bolt goes through might be torn free from the rubber. And you likely aren't going to notice that with the arms installed.