[kfhutc]

My son called and reported his '02 Jetta 2.0 was "pulling hard to the left" and he was having trouble steering. He said he did not hit anything, but it just suddenly started doing this after making a normal right turn. He stopped and checked for a flat tire but all was good. I told him to get it home (a mile away) if he could, and park it.

Upon arriving home, the first thing I noticed was the front wheels were obviously not aligned. The passenger side is pointing to the right, while the driver's side is virtually straight. I haven't had time to lift the car for inspection as I'm at work now, but I'd like to get some input on what the likely cause is. Ball joint? Steering knuckle? Tie rod?

I've attached a few pics showing the passenger side tire/wheel compared to the driver side. Before I investigate further (when I have the time), any thoughts on what might have happened?

Thanks in advance for any help/input.

 

[KiDGiB]

I would check the tie rods. A castle nut could have backed out.

 

[kfhutc]

Thanks KiDGiB, I'll check them tonight and see what I discover.

 

[Skimmer0220]

Re: 2002 Jetta steering issue, please help!

looks like a tie rod possibly, you'll find out really quick once it's jacked up if it's a tie rod problem but that would be my guess off the bat

 

[kfhutc]

Re: 2002 Jetta steering issue, please help!

Thanks for the input. I had time to jack it up last evening and found two of the three ball joint bolts completely sheared and missing. Now I need to figure out just exactly what all needs replaced, and how to do it. Replace ball joint and control arm to start? If so, how do I get the ball joint to line up with the control arm again? I have little front-end experience, and driving it to a shop at this point is not an option, obviously. I'll check with a mechanic friend before tearing into it, and hopefully get some advice from some of you.

Why did this happen in the first place? A weak or defective part? Loose nut? Damage from hitting something? Last August my son did damage the underside of the car when he drove over a concrete parking curb. I had to replace the radiator and a power steering pump fitting, but the car has been driven normally since then. Now I'm thinking perhaps he damaged the control arm/ball joint at that time, and possibly something was bent or cracked and finally gave way.

Anyway, I need to get this repaired, so any advice is much appreciated on where to start. Pics attached. Thanks.

 

[KiDGiB]

Re: 2002 Jetta steering issue, please help!

It looks like the bolts could have backed itself out. My guess is it has been worked on before and wasn't torqued properly.

Does the control arm look bent that it needs to be replaced?

If not, i would just replace the ball joints, put in new bolts, and of course an alignments once everything is fixed.

 

[kfhutc]

Re: 2002 Jetta steering issue, please help!

Yes, now that I look at the pics more, I think the bolts could have backed out and may not have been torqued properly to begin with, like you mentioned. The control arm doesn't appear to be bent, at least not to me. We've had the car for about a year and a half, and it came from a friend who's daughter had driven it through her college years. I don't know all of the repair history, but likely the ball joint has been worked on before. 166,000 miles. I'm trying to make it last my son through high school and college as well.

Thanks for the input.

 

[german_drift_car]

Someone went drifting😥😅

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[german_drift_car]

Check the ebrake and see if it is worn too

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