[s-cars] I think my steering is shot... Help!

[Levent Cur]

So lately since there is no snow, I put my 18" rims back on. I have 
noticed that the car has a tendency to go with the ruts, but only 
sometimes. When I come to a stop at a light the steering wheel will move 
itself slightly to the left (I'm sure following a rut).

Now here is where I'm stumped. All 4 tires are 36psi. All four have even 
tire wear. Alignment is fine. The car when moving on flat non-rutted 
roads, as I stop the steering wheel stays straight. The car tracks to 
the correct side of the road the car is on (to the right on the right 
side and to the left on the left side, no odd pulling).

The steering damper is 1.5 years old. Can it go bad that quick. Keep in 
mind my LF strut mount sleeve was completely torn from the mount for 
about 5 months before I got it replaced, so I'm sure that put un-needed 
stress on the rack. I have STFA for the past 40 minutes reading 7 pages. 
I may just buy the VW fox one this week and put it in anyways.

Anyone have any ideas, other than the damper? (I hear clunking when the 
car is stopped and move the wheel left to right. All suspension 
components are TIGHT.)

-=Levent=-