Help! One wheel steering

[rezwrrd]

I was driving around town on these stupid angled one-way streets and took a sharp left turn a bit too quickly because somebody was coming, and something in the front suspension gave a sudden creak.

Didn't think much of it until I got home and was parking in the driveway, when there was another sudden creak and the left wheel wouldn't go left or right. So I'm stuck in the driveway with one wheel steering... glad I at least made it home.

It's pouring rain so I haven't had a good look at it yet, but I imagine it's something in the linkage. I don't know what any of those parts are called, so any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[IPreferDIY]

The last picture in the following link is labelled with that stuff:

http://www.idmsvcs.com/2vmod/suspension/front/index.html

[87gtVIC]

Inner or outer tie rod gave way on you. DANGEROUS.

Fantastic link BTW.

[rezwrrd]

The last picture in the following link is labelled with that stuff:

http://www.idmsvcs.com/2vmod/suspens...ont/index.html

Thanks! That helps a ton. I should've known 2vmod would have the diagram I was looking for.

Inner or outer tie rod gave way on you. DANGEROUS.

Fantastic link BTW.

I'll say! I'm considering myself extremely lucky that this happened at 1 or 2 MPH and not 65-75, and that it was in the driveway where I don't need to have it towed.

[pantera77]

I'd be giving that front suspension a serious shake down and inspection if a tie rod end was loose enough to pop.

[jaywish]

When I needed a tie rod end quickly all I could get was 'the better" China end. Surprise, a few years later, pot hole and bang, broken tie rod end. I should have left the original ford end in there. probably would still be connected.

What is worse is that I had to get another one on a Sunday to fix the broken one and you know what kind I got on a Sunday.

Moral of the story
Buy a good expensive tie rod end.

[rezwrrd]

UPDATE: The rain let up a bit, so I had a chance to look at it. Turns out it's no-wheel steering and the center link is no longer connected to the pitman arm. Did the pitman arm snap or something?

Looking under the left side:

[86VickyLX]

At first I thought, OH MY GOD THE STEERING BOX BROKE! Seen that once in a junkyard before.
Well the picture looked like that. But the pitman arm is still attached to the box? They tend to wear out, but this should've been noticed during any routine service, also, the noise would've been present for a while before this happened...

[rezwrrd]

At first I thought, OH MY GOD THE STEERING BOX BROKE! Seen that once in a junkyard before.
Well the picture looked like that. But the pitman arm is still attached to the box? They tend to wear out, but this should've been noticed during any routine service, also, the noise would've been present for a while before this happened...

There appears to be just a stump sticking up from the center link, but I'm going out again to double check. The rain is supposed to let up within the next hour or so, so I can start jacking it up and crawling underneath.

[87gtVIC]

Looks to me like the pitman arm broke.

[IPreferDIY]

When I changed mine, it was practically seized, so I'm not surprised there wasn't any obvious slop to provide a warning. My car would occasionally stall when backing out of my driveway, so I guess that was an indication of strain on the engine from the seized joint. It looks like what happened to rezwrrd is what would've happened to me eventually if it wasn't for the slop I experienced from other sources that led me to change everything.

I'm glad there were no complications BTW.

[sly]

dayum!

[rezwrrd]

It appears the shaft/spindle inside the small end of the pitman arm popped out. There was a neglected zerk on top of that end of the arm, but the inside was bone dry. Mad at myself for not even thinking to check for grease fittings while changing the oil.

I got the bolt off of the spindle easily enough, but can't get it to budge from the center link. I haven't even started on the big bolt. I know I'll need a pitman arm puller to get the arm off, but is there something I need to get the spindle off of the center link? Or just PB blaster, a BFH, and lots of swearing? Anything else? (Is there a writeup on GMN or CVN somewhere?)

I popped the spindle back into the pitman arm, so I might be able to wheel it across the driveway to get the Saturn out of the garage to go get parts and tools.

[IPreferDIY]

For the part stuck in the center link, "just PB blaster, a BFH, and lots of swearing". There might be enough meat on the end of the shaft to use a pickle fork if you have one. My only concern with the BFH would be bending the center link, but I doubt the shaft would be stuck on that good.

When you loosen and tighten the big nut, make sure the steering wheel is locked so that the force is taken by the lock rather than other components. I was amazed at how much force the lock could take. You'll probably need a long cheater bar.

For the Pitman arm, if you can get a grinder with a cutoff wheel, it would probably be worth cutting into the arm near the shaft, but not so close as to mess up the shaft. This will take some of the pressure from the Pitman arm off of the shaft and lessen the risk of wrecking the puller.

I would spray the shaft with some lube before putting the arm on to try to make it easier to remove in the future. The arm is essentially a press fit on the shaft, and the big nut does the pressing. You don't really need a torque wrench as long as you can feel the arm bottom out. (That's what would make the torque wrench click.) If you're lucky, you might not need an alignment, but that's a judgement call on your part.

If you have a small bungee cord that you don't mind getting dirty, that would probably be good enough to hold the center link to the arm for the little bit that you need to move the car.

[85crownHPP]

Damn... it looks like there isn't even enough of the ball left to use a pickle fork! And for as shiny as it is, I'm surprised it wasn't making more noise!
Fortunately, turning at low speeds puts more stress on steering parts, so that's usually when they pop, or over a nice bump...