My cobalt recently suffered a curb strike. A right turn was made but due to snowy conditions, the car slid into the curb in the opposite lane while the steering wheel was turned right. This happened at relatively low cornering speeds, about 20 km/h.

The steering was thrown out of whack after this. Ie. with the wheels in straight ahead position, the steering wheel would be angled at about ~10 degrees to the right.

I had an alignment performed, and they straightened out the steering. A camber kit was also installed at the time.

The persisting problem at the moment is that after a turn, the car does not self center like it normally would in all cars. Also, the steering feels a bit stiffer than before (only while driving, not when the car is stationary). This problem occurred immediately after the curb strike, and I thought that an alignment would have solved it.

I crawled under the car, and everything looks straight (tie rods, u joint) and there are no obvious signs of damage.

I suspect that the rack and pinion assembly itself maybe damaged (bent gear teeth, gouge bushings, etc) but before I plop down $2xx for a remanufactured unit, I would like to be sure.

Thank you. Any input/thoughts welcome.

 

Sounds links something is bent or broken. Make sure your struts are not bent bending them would effect the SAI and effect return ability. Also double check the lower control arms make sure they are straight

 

Sounds like rack and pinion to me, but I'm no mechanic

 

Jacked up the front end today and observed the following:

-Turning to the right, the steering wheel is super stiff (as if the car was turned off and on on level ground) except for the last 60 degrees from lock.
-Turning to the left, the steering wheel is super stiff all the way up to lock.
-Struts look good. I do not think the issue is due to a misaligned suspension because the steering is stiff even with the wheels off the ground.

It does not seem like the stiffness is coming from the intermediate shaft, but I am not sure. How can I confirm?. I am having a really hard time unbolting the steering u joint due to its location.

 

Never even noticed the location before but that's probably gonna be the best bet. Unbolt it from the rack and see how it feels. If you have the front up and the car running try turning it from the wheels with the intermediate shaft off that should tell you.

 

I've been told that the problem may be the steering angle sensor. Any opinions?

Also, how tight is the steering wheel supposed to be with the wheels off the ground? Perhaps I am mistaking the amount of effort required of me as excessive.