My WRX has been acting up for the past day. When I accelerate the steering wheel will turn a few degrees to the right but the car will go straight. As I am driving the car will track straight with the wheel in this position. When I brake, however, the wheel returns to the center position where it should be and the car brakes in a straight line.
When I accelerate again, the wheel turns to the right and stays there while going straight until I brake again.
Tie rod end or some other loose steering component. Like really loose, like you shouldn't be driving it until you've jacked up the front end and wiggled the wheels to see what is happening.
Check the clamps and bushings that hold the steering rack to the cross member.
Steering rack bushings. The stock ones literally mush up until they fall out. Get some aftermarket ones and be done with it.
Got it up on the rack today at work, turns out the right LCA is cracked all the way through, no idea how it happened or how long it has been like that.
Could this be the problem? 
Wow. You're fortunate nothing really terrible happened.
I'd take the MIG welder and reinforce the area around that hold if it wouldn't mess up anything else.
wow.. that was an accident waiting to happen.
Glad you caught it in time.. now what caused it?
My guess is that it cracked during a rallycross or some driving like that and the winter potholes made it worse.
That could have got really ugly really fast.
Glad you caught it before it did.
time to mock up a jig and make tubular control arms...ya know, since you already have it off and all
I'm gonna vote getting a whole new(ish) LCA from a junkyard or carpart.com
Get some aluminum ones from a 2006!!!
Well I got a used one for $150 from the junkyard but it was rusted horribly so I just got a new one from the dealer for more ($250 after overnight charge and tax) but it came with a new balljoint.
The good news is that since my car is so clean underneath with barely any rust on the bolts it didn't take long to swap it out.
In reply to EvanB:
That's probably a lot cheaper than the one year-only aluminum ones go for.
Make sure to get it aligned! :-)
