What's wrong with my car?
 

I just went to Sonic real quick and now I'm worried about my car. I replaced a wheel stud yesterday and drove the car to and from work with no issues(30 miles each way on the highway). Now I just took a quick trip around the corner and when I turned my steering wheel about one and a half rotations, I get resistance and a loud pop. On the way back, when I made a U turn, I turned the wheel all the way and after straightening the car out, my steering wheel was still turned sideways. What did I do?

Check to see if you have any power steering fluid leaking. If the steering wheel is off center it sounds like you blew out the rack. Hard to tell from 1000 miles away.

Ok, I'll check that during my break. If I blew the rack what kind of trouble am I in?

How mechanically skilled are you?

I tend to do most work myself, but this is going to be new to me. I've changed the power steering hose for my mothers Trooper, but I've never had issues with it other than that.

Did you recently have the car realigned? If everything isn't torqued back to spec afterwards, the symptoms you described can occur.

No I didn't get it realigned. I thought about trying that. I just didn't think it would be that easy. I'm wondering what the pop is I get when I turn a different direction. The car handles fine, and responds when I turn the wheel, but the wheel being way off center is odd. On top of that, it goes off center in both directions. Sometimes it's centered with the wheel turned to the left and sometimes the car is centered with the wheel turned to the right.

Alright, I just went outisde and checked the car for any fluid loss. There's no leaking and the power steering fluid is full and a "clear" light brown. The belt doesn't appear worn and when I turn the car on and rotate the wheel, there is no noise and the wheel is lining up correctly again. It is a lot warmer outside now, as it was about 40 degrees this morning. Should I just get the tires aligned or is this just the start of something much worse?

How does it drive? Normal?

Yeah, it drives fine. It even reacts immediately when I turn.

My suggestion is to check out your ball joints for damage. I thought maybe you blew a valve in the rack, but if it's responsive and feels normal, I'd look elsewhere.

Ok, I just got back from lunch and something has to be wrong with the power steering. I see no leaking anywhere and the fluid is still full, but my steering wheel is now randomly "letting loose" in the middle of a turn and I keep feeling and hearing the popping. I almost ran into the curb. When I try to straighten up now, the car doesn't respond. It was fine this morning and now I barely have control at all.

Going with valve in the rack. Let's poll the audience and see what they say.

Dang I wonder if it's safe to drive home tonight.

Dude, you need to not drive the car until you get this sorted out. It needs to be looked at by a professional mechanic. Do not play games with steering issues, please. Paying for a tow sucks, but it's way better than crashing the car, getting hurt, and possibly hurting someone else.