someone please help me... i just bought a 95 honda accord and its not driving right. (the front tires and steering wheel are jerking from side to side really bad!) a couple friends have told me they think its either the axles or the cv joints. which do you think? and how much will it cost to fix it?? please help... im a girl and know NOTHING about cars!

 

Loose ball joints?
Loose radius rods?

Those things (rather than axles or CV joints) will feed back into steering. Unless you want us to help you through fixing it yourself, you need to take it to an alignment shop. Did it drive like this before you bought it?

 

it was like this when i bought it, and they warned me about it. but they said they thought it was the axles. how will i be able to tell if it is loose ball joints or loose radius rods?

 

Get the steering wheel to lock. Jack the front of the car and put it on jackstands. Try to push/pull at the 12/6 o'clock position. Also the 3/9 o'clock. There should be little to no movement of the tire.

If you have play in the 12/6, look at the upper or lower ball joint to see if it is moving when putting force on the tire.

3/9 is the tie-rod or possibly the radius rod.

 

Here's the steering knuckle (#1, 3) which is the structure behind each front wheel. It holds the brake caliper & wheel bearing. The axle comes in through the round hole.

You'll find the upper control arm (#5, 6) above each front wheel. The upper ball joint is on this, covered up by a rubber boot #9. When the car's on the ground, grab the tire at the top & try to shake it violently towards & away from you. Feel for any looseness in that ball-joint.

Same for the lower ball-joint #4 at the bottom of each knuckle.

Here's the steering rack.

The outer tie-rod ends (#15, 17) are tucked inside the front wheel, kinda low & behind the axle. Grab em & try to shake to feel for looseness.

This last picture shows the radius rods (#8, 9, 10, 12 depending on model) which go forwards from the lower control arms (#11, 13) & bolt to the frame way up front. Look for looseness anywhere.


You can lift the front of the car to shake things & look for some of these problems. If you do it that way, make sure it's properly supported on jack-stands. Your arms or head won't last long if the car falls down off the jack.

 

thank you!! and now that you've explained it, that sounds more likely. i believe you are right with everything. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 

i did the 3/9 position on the drivers side front tire and it turned so fast it spun and locked the steering wheel. what does this mean?

 

im havin some similar issues. Ima gonna take to a shop and have um take a look, its a friend so its not gonna cost anything to put it up on the lift and hopefully find out wuts up.Shocks ,struts and the like are outta my league...lol Good luck

 

Lock the steering wheel as PAhonda mentioned and try it again. Take the key out and turn the wheel until it locks.

 

Once the steering wheel locks, try to push/pull on the tires.

There should be very little movement of the tire once the steering rack is locked.