What's causing my steering to wander

[WhiteCobra]

To start things off im a proud owner of a Ford Ka*. Past month or two i've been getting some slight knocking noises over uneven surfaces and sometimes a decent knock over a speed bump... I'd planned at the end of the month to get the local mechanic to do the droplinks, lower arms and see if the top mounts needed doing...

But now i feel the steering is slightly... Loose? It's not massively noticeable, and sometimes i find myself wondering if I'm imagining it... But on quite a few straight roads i find my self giving the car a nudge with the steering wheel to keep it going dead straight... And sometimes turning can be inconsistent, needed maybe a bit more or a bit less turning of the wheel to complete the corner..


Mate at work reckons i need to change the track rod ends... I'm not mechanically minded so does this sound about right?

I had a new steering rack put in around aprill as there was play.

Many Thanks





*Not really proud

 

[realscot]

Wishbone bushes would be the other option, even more common than track rod ends on a Ka for going. Just fit 2 new complete wishbones as they are relatively inexpensive.
I'm assuming you had the tracking done after the new rack was fitted?

 

[Lopéz]

Track rod ends (though if someone fitted a new rack they should really have changed the ends too not reused the old ends)
Replacing the bottom arms (wishbones) will renew the bushes and the balljoints as realscot says, which are 2 of the common causes of wandering steering.