My 2008 Alpha has a weird (to me, anyway) steering issue that I've never experienced. Thought I'd throw it up to see if others have noticed or if there is a problem with mine.

On every vehicle I've ever owned, moving at slow speeds the steering "wants" to straighten back out regardless of how tight you turn; in other words, if you let go of the wheel, it will straighten back out. On my Alpha, it does just that UNTIL you reach about the halfway point (halfway to full lock). Then, it actually wants to turn tighter and will go to full lock if you let go of the steering wheel. It's not a problem, per se, if you know about it, but it is a bit un-nerving the first time it happens in a parking lot.

I have my torsions cranked up to just over 23", otherwise stock, Michelin LTX AT2 285/75-16, no problems with tire wear or pulling. I have not done an alignment since the torsion crank, but this issue existed prior to that, so that's not the cause. Just wondered if everybody else's act this way, or do I have a steering problem?

 

they turn a tighter circle than any car i ever had. i think thats the reason.

 

They do have a tight turning radius for their size, but my 06 4WD Tahoe turns almost as tight and doesn't do that. Nor has any other vehicle I've owned in nearly 40 years of driving, and some had extremely tight turning radius' (you want tight? Try a '87-'89 4wd Toyota van!). It's just a bit odd to let go of the wheel and have it go tighter to full lock on it's own.

I just wanted to make sure that it was normal behavior (for the H3).

 

Not normal to me.

Check the alignment and the steering rack clamp (the rubber bushing will allow the steering rack to move if it is worn).

 

Does it matter which direction you are turning, or does it do what you describe both directions?

 

both my bone stock h3's did it.
i checked in a parking lot today, it turns hard left or right.

 

Both directions. Even though it did it before the torsion crank, I'm still thinking alignment, even though it steers straight, no abnormal tire wear. Every vehicle should be engineered with "self centering", so the behavior isn't right.

 

I agree about the self centering idea in general, but with FT4WD/FTAWD, the self centering is not near as quick as a rear wheel drive.

Had 75 and 79 Chevy FT4WD trucks, those you almost had to steer back to center or they would take a LONG time to get there. After I converted the old NP203 T Case in the 79 to PT4WD with locking front hubs, it would center up pretty quick in 2WD.

My H3 is significantly better than that, but still is not a super quick self center out of a tight turn.

 

Yeah, with my H3, up until about halfway, it will self center fine. But once you reach that point (about halfway to full lock), it will immediately/quickly go to full lock if you let go of the wheel. At full lock, the inside tire looks like it is turned tighter than the outside tire, and even appears to be leaned over a bit. I have also noticed that my H3 squeals the tires at low speed turns in the concrete parking structure where I park for work; the tighter the turn, the louder the squeal. Likely connected?

 

Squealing is normal when turned very tight, like on a fresh blacktop parking lot. Jeeps do it as well. Had a friend have a bit of an argument with a cop because the PO heard the squeal, did not see it while happening, but drove around to threaten a ticket.... until it was demonstrated that it can make that noise even at very low speed.

The 3 has a very tight turning radius, for off road obstacles, more than is needed by the average guy in a parking lot. I know if I turn mine way over, let go and keep moving slowly it will migrate to full lock... but the wheel has to be like 3/4 turn or so.