I was turning right at a corner, only going like 5 mph and all of a sudden my steering wheel locked, you could say. Then, as I turned the steering wheel back to the left to straighten the wheels, to drive straight, I felt and heard this grinding noise.

Recently, a mechanic friend of mine changed my inner and outer tie rods. I did not go and have the alignment corrected because I couldn't afford it then and still probably can't. I looked under the car and it didn't look like anything "broke". My new OEM tie rods were in tact. There was no fluid on the concrete either. I checked my power steerinig fluid reservoir and it was just as full as it was when I last added some fluid to it months ago.

The Civic is seriously freakin me out. I don't dare drive it cuz I just got it out of the shop after getting in an accident that wasn't my fault and had a significant amount of body work done to it. If anything happens on the road from this point on until I get it fixed, I know it will be my fault cuz the steering is seriously f'd up. I'm freakin out here cuz I have a new class starting in three days and I have no idea what's going on.

Should I pay to have the car towed to the nearest shop and have them diagnose the problem? Should I try and diagnose it myself?? I haven't been on here in a loooong time, so I don't know if my Civic specifics will show as my signature still, so I'll list them below. Thanks so much...

1995 Honda Civic EX
OEM shocks and struts
OEM inner and outer tie rods
approx. 140K miles on the car
17" Motegi rims in the front w/ performance tires and the stock wheels and tires in back since one of the back rims is dented and can't go back on

 

It seems like a bit more than a coincidence that you are having steering issues after a recent wreck. I'd take it back to that shop and have them check it out, maybe see if insurance will cover it as missed damage.

 

Taking the car back to the shop is a good idea if you think driving it is safe. If you want to troubleshoot, put the front end on stands and then turn the wheel lock to lock in an attempt to reproduce the problem. If so, then attempt determine where the noise is coming from.