2000 Intrepid: Sticky steering.

The steering on my car started to "stick" a little going around corners a
week ago. By that I mean, when turning a tight radius, the wheel wouldn't
spin back on it's own, I had to force it a little.

Today, it was more severe, going around a tight turn, it stuck hard and I
had to really pull to release it (a little frightening). It actually left
the wheel about 20 degrees misaligned. No shimmy or apparent alignment
issues, just 20 degrees off, until it happened once more that I had to force
the wheel out of a turning position (now it's straight).

What is this? It almost seems like steering shaft bearing or something.

Thanks in advance.

 

I had a similar experience though not quite as severe.
What had happened with me was when I'd turn the wheel to the right, it would
stop...not turn any more. I would then turn the wheel to the left and then
back to the right and it'd be ok. Fortunately the 3 times that it happened
I was going slow and could adjust. The occurrences were rare (considering
the number of times when you drive that you turn the wheel to the right) and
with no discernable pattern.
I took it to the dealer and they said I'd need a new rack...big bucks.
Several folks on this newsgroup suggested that I change the power steering
fluid to see if that helped. The mechanic I took it to did a flush and a
change. So far, no issues. You might try that.
HTH
Rich Arnold