1999 Ford Contour. Front wheels binding when

if this has a conventional front end(not front wheel drive) then there will be one on each outer tie rod end one on each inner tie rod end, both upper and lower ball joints on each side, idler arm and pitman arm. if its front wheel drive it will have a rack and pinion steering. there for there will be one on each outer tie rod end and one on each lower ball joint, if they have grease fittings. so conventional steering has 10 fittings total and rack and pinion has 4 total.

Check tire balance, outer tie rod ends, inner tie rod ends, ball joints, CV joint bolt torque at hub, and control arm bushings. You will find your problem some where in this line up. GOOD LUCK FRIEND.

What you describe is most often caused by a bad tie-rod end, which is part of your steering. This causes the clunking that you feel when you turn, and the tire wear.
Jack up the front drivers side and when the wheel is off the ground, try to force it left and right. If you feel any play in it, a tie rod end is bad.
To find out if it is the inner or outer tie rod end, look underneath and locate the tie rod for that wheel- it will look like a pole about an inch thick. Get somebody to move the wheel left and right like you did, and look on either end of the tie rod for which end is moving. That will be your bad tie rod end. The "outer" is the one by the wheel- the other one is the "inner". Most often it is the outer tie rod end that goes bad.
It is important to get a bad tie rod end replaced as soon as possible because it can separate and cause you to lose control of your car when the wheel will suddenly turn either in or out, depending on which way you are steering when it fails. After a tie rod end is replaced, your car will need an alignment to set the adjustment correctly. If you are changing it yourself, mark how far the old one is threaded in so your alignment will be fairly close to where it was.
Good luck, and Thank You for using FixYa!

with the front wheels of the ground remove the outer tie rods from the knuckles. Turn the knuckles by hand. Do they move freely? if not than the upper or lower ball joint are binding.

With the tie rod end still disconnected turn the steering wheel to the left. Does it still bind up? If so you probably have a bad steering gear box.

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You are on the right track. You may have overtightened the tie rods or the sway bar links. Whenever you do this much front-end work, you should always get the front-end re-aligned. The front-end mechanic will probably find and fix this as a normal part of the re-alignment at no extra cost.

Raise car on lift,Remove right front wheel,Remove right outer tie rod end cotter pin and nut.Separate tie rod end from spindle,That's where you will be bringing the alternator out,

That was a common problem on Windstars. It is frequently caused by binding in the tie rod end. It presents as either a clunk or something akin to a dot matrix printer. It rarely shows up as a problem on a normal inspection of the tie rod but can cause problems later.

Look behind front wheel for rod that attaches to spindle/knuckle, and moves your wheel back & forth from steering rack. The tie rod (outer) is the piece attached on the end, that is threaded on that rod, and attaches to the spindle/knuckle, behind the wheel. Grab your tire and try to wiggle it hard from side to side. (hands at 3 & 9 o'clock ) Push with one hand while pulling with the other. If there is slop, or play, you have probably got a bad tie rod end, which you can observe it move by looking at where it attaches, while someone else wiggles it. Maybe this picture will help you I.D. it.

Check the tie rod, tie rod ends, and ball joints for excessive play. Jack up the front on either side and have a helper push and pull on the top or bottom of the tire. Watch the area where the hub pivots on the axle. if both sides check out. with the truck on the ground, have the helper turn the steeribg wheel back and forth about a half turn with the key off. Look for loose outer tie rod ends, and inner tie rod ends.
F-250 4x4 steering componants are pretty basic, If your unsure what to look for then take it to someone that knows how to fix it. Correctly. If you replaced any of the joints. It would be in your best interest to get it alighned.

Apply some up pressure on the bottom of it, this will bind it so you can tighten it on up. Yes indeed it must be aligned after installing new tie rod ends.