Bad LCA bushings?

[mclasser]

Lately, the steering has gotten pretty sloppy on my I35. On slightly bumpy roads, the vehicle wanders and the steering wheel twitches left and right. The same thing happens on smoother roads but to a lesser extent.

A few months back, my mechanic replaced the leaking high pressure power steering hose. At the same time, he did a general inspection and said the suspension looked good. There was dried fluid on some suspension components so I hosed everything off afterwards at a car wash and moved on with life.

I read LCA bushings can get damaged from the leaking fluid on these cars. I haven't gotten a chance to jack up the front end yet but are my symptoms consistent with bad LCA bushings? Oddly enough, I don't hear any noises.

 

[slo town]

Assuming there are no obvious suspension issues, check the alignment before doing anything else.

Scott

 

[BigD1]

On my last inspection at the Lexus dealer, right and left lower control arm bushings got flagged yellow caution which means that I need to plan on having them serviced soon. They said bushings are starting to show wear/cracking etc., but my steering is still fine for now. Just going to wait to have the bushings fixed when I buy the next set of tires. I will need an alignment, so I will get it all fixed at one time at a local independent shop.

 

[supton]

When I looked at my '99 the LCA bushings seemed fine. Car still wanders in the wind. I plan to R&R them this summer. Doesn't seem to wander on bumps, but I could see how different makes might respond to wear differently.

 

[JMJNet]

What kind of car?