I HAVE A 2007 TOYOTA CAMRY WITH 20000 MILES ON IT. I GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT A FEW MONTHS AGO. I CRASHED INTO A CURB WITH MY RIGHT PASSENGER SIDE RIM. BECAUSE OF THIS MY RIGHT FRONT BALL JOINT AND LOWER CONTROL ARM WERE BENT. THE RIM SUFFERED COSMETIC DAMAGE BUT I ORDERED A NEW ONE. I REPLACED THE PARTS AND GOT A WHEEL ALLIGMENT AND BALANCE. ONCE I GOT ON THE HIGHWAY I NOTICED THAT MY VEHICLE WOULD SWERVE TO THE LEFT. I LET THE STEERING WHEEL GO AND NOTICED THAT IT SLIGHTLY TURNED TO THE LEFT. I ALSO EXPERIENCED A VIBRATION ON THE STEERING WHEEL AND REST OF THE CAR AS I BRAKED AT SPEED OF 60- 65 MPH. I ALSO NOTICED THAT AT HIGH TRAFFIC TIMES IN STOP AND GO SITUATIONS MY VEHICLE WOULD TURN COMPLETELY TO THE LEFT AS I WOULD LET THE STEERING WHEEL GO. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND THEY RECOMMENDED ANOTHER ALLIGNMENT, BALANCE AND ROTOR REPLACEMENT. I ALLIGNED THE VEHICLE AND BALANCE THE TIRES, I DID NOT REPLACE THE ROTORS. NOTHING CHANGED. THE PROBLEM IS STILL THERE. I AM THINKING OF REPLACING THE ROTORS SOON TO SEE IF IT CORRECTS THE VIBRATION. I AM WONDERING IF THERE IS ANOTHER PART IN THE FRONT END THAT MIGHT OF GOTTEN DAMAGED THAT COULD CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO TURN LEFT. I NEED HELP. WHAT DO YOU THINK I SHOULD DO. I

OK, you just bought this tractor and don't really know it's past. Have you raised the steering axle off the ground and tried turning to see if it turns free when unloaded? If you have any steering components that are on the verge of seizing or locking up, you will find it somewhat difficult to turn even unloaded. With the steering axle off the ground you should be able to turn the steering wheel with your little finger. With the steering axle off the ground you should be able to grasp either of the front wheels and turn the steering from lock to lock also. If you can't do either of these, you probably have some part of the steering system trying to seize. Check the king pins, tie rod ends, drag link, and the steering column bushings. It may well be necessary to separate or isolate steering components in order to confirm which component is "binding". Another thing that can (but rarely found) cause "hard" steering is a differential with locked up side gears and spider gears. Have you ever driven a farm tractor equipped with a differential lock? If you answered yes you may recall how the steering goes to blazes if the differential doesn't unlock when you let up on the actuating pedal. That condition will not affect the steering effort on a parked machine so I really doubt it is your problem since you say it is hard to turn when sitting still.

Check the part numbers of both steering units (if you can get these). If the part numbers are the same, I'd think these were interchangeable. However, the part number for the Thunderbird could be different than the Lincoln even though the units were essentially the same.

Last year my daughter was driving a 2012 Nissan Pathfinder, transporting her 2 children ages 1 and 3. This was the only vehicle that she owned and drove it for almost 2 years before the incident happened. My daughter totally lost all control of her steering after taking a left from a stop sign on to a main Hwy. She was almost involved in a serious if not fatal collision. Her husband had it towed to the dealership where they could find nothing wrong. They tried re-enacting what happened but still said they found nothing. My daughter refused to set foot in the vehicle with her children and got rid of it. This brings me to this web site today. Last night My mother was driving her 2009 Dodge Caliber to my house to visit me. She had bought the car new off of the lot and had been driving it since. She was waiting at a red light when she noticed an emergency vehicle approaching. Her light turned green and she waited to let the emergency vehicle pass. She said that she tried to give the car gas but it wouldn't move at first. She said that when it finally moved it acted like it wanted to fishtail but yet she hadn't given it too much gas. She was turning left at a major intersection and said the car was uncontrollably steering all over the road. She said it didn't matter which way she turned the wheel it went where it wanted to go. She described it as driving on ice. My mom made it to the median, turned the car off, with hazards on, trying to catch her breath. She was almost at the turn to my neighborhood so she decided to go very slow. She said that it could have been really bad. I believe that something serious is being missed mechanically. The reason that I'm searching for answers now is because it happened to 2 of my family members at different times and in different vehicles. How many more has this happened to or will this happen to? If anyone out there has any information that would help me find out what's causing this please let me know. Thanks