bob

Like the thread title says, I'm trying to diagnose a steering issue which occurred after installing new struts, springs and C/C plates on my car.

The issue occurred after getting an alignment which may or may not be as relevant as the suspension install.

In the case of the suspension install I never disconnected the rack and its attaching components from the control arms yet after having driven the car on the incredibly poor roads of Virginia Beach (I can honestly say that the roads are as bad as say Chicago) after which the inclination of the steering wheel changed so that it was cocked to the right a good 3/4" or more.

I took the car back to have the alignment checked and the camber was spot on as well as the caster (which is adjustable but would require disassembly of the plates in order to do so) but toe was out really bad and they corrected it. I also had them check the tie rod ends to see if they were worn?

The issue was fine until I went back to Va Beach and was subjected to the same poor roads but this time it occurred in the other direction to about the same degree if not worse (in order t to travel straight the wheel had to be cocked to the left enough that it would obscure the DIC).

Also there is a bit of shimmy to the wheel when going down the road, it seems to occur most of the time in the 50-60 mph range but I've noticed it at slower speeds.

There are no obvious worn external components so I suspect that the rack is failing in some fashion (inner tie rod ends perhaps?)

In both instances the steering wheel did not change position until the front suspension had been rapidly loaded and unloaded resulting in a wide range of suspension movement.

AlsCobra

Really uncertain about what you're describing. Was the steering wheel pointing straight for a while then went off center? The only way for this to happen is for something to be loose and working its way out. Now if you have wide front tires, depending on which way the road you're on crowns, your wheel may be off slightly.
The caster setting should be set about .5 degrees higher on the right side to compensate for the "normal" crown in the road. This on a very level road will make it slightly drift to the left.
If it really is just off center now and wasn't before, I would check everything associated with the steering rack(inner and outer tie rod ends and mounting bolts for tightness). The rack could slip a tooth internally I suppose but I highly doubt it. Really have to find a good alignment tech with a lot of experience also. The newer machines make it possible for just about anyone to do alignments but its not always correct. Hope this helps some.

AlsCobra

One other experiment would be to swap the front tires from left to right. I know they are directional but it won't hurt for just a quick ride. Just swap them and drive it again to see if the off centered wheel changes. I noticed that your car is an 09 and you might have a slightly separated belt in one of your tires. It's worth the 15 minutes to rule out a tire pull.

bob

Yeah was straight then went over big bumps and then the wheel was cocked in one direction. In order to travel straight in both instances you had to have the wheel cocked by 3/4" or more. The first time it was cocked to the right after rolling over a big bump in the road, had the alignment checked and the toe was severely out. Second time it happened the wheel was cocked to the left, took it in and the alignment shop said that the toe was okay and they just had to rotate the steering wheel back into place.

I just can't fathom why after rolling over big bumps (which created a lot of suspension travel) why the toe would go out the first time to the right and the second time to the left requiring the steering wheel to be centered?

The issue foremost in my mind is a catastrophic failure of the rack at an inopportune moment (as these things always seem to happen then) like say accelerating onto the highway or running down a country road at three times the limit.

bob

I don't think its a tire issue since the wheel pulled right then left and they took the car for a test drive (I didn't ask if they swapped tires) but in between alignment checks the car didn't observe any irregular pull other than what you'd get from a lot of crown in the road (neither the camber or caster is set to compensate for a lot of crown).