i guess this belongs here,

got a problem, ive replaced some of the steering linkage, inner and outer tie rod ends, idler arm. i have not yet replaces the center link or the pitman arm, steering box rag joint. i have all new poly bushing.

here is my problem, the car wanders around on the road, under acceleration and not. i had the car aligned and it still want to drift slightly to the right, along with the wandering.

ive searched and not found much useful, and quite frankly, am tired of playing "technician" and just swapping parts. any definite ideas on what causes this? sorry about the "technician" part for those of you who are, its just my experience

 

wanders following grooves in the road?? then it's tires, if the car slowly pulls to the right? it's the crown of the road. If the steering feels loose then get it up in the air and find out what's worn out, could be ball joints, etc

 

i have all new ball joints in the front and well as poly bushing.

with the car in the air, i dont seem to have any play. if i turn the steering wheel just a hair, the wheels move accordingly, if i hold the wheel and have a someone else grab a wheel and jiggle it, there is no slop.

i had it aligned to compensate for the crown of the road so that should be fine.

ultimately whats happening is when you are driving, the front constantly moves around on the road, not much, but enough to make it look like you drunk. also, i dont have another thirdgen handy at the moment to check, but when i steer, the wheel turns very easier to the right, but has a little more resistance when turning to the left. all these cars could be like this for all i know due to the sterring setup, but im not sure.

thanks

 

Have you looked at your front sway bar?

 

and what would i be looking for?

 

It could be the tires, ply steer & conicity. For a quick test, swap the left front tire for the right front tire, run a back to back test with no other changes.

Also, get your driving checks done a smooth asphalt roads. As mentioned above, all tires will tend to follow grooves cut in the roads.

If nothing works for you, take your car back to the same alignment shop and tell them your problem, ask for a double check on your settings for free. For your car, you might need more toe in.

 

now that you mention it, i do notice the problem more-so on the highway than on country roads, maybe it is following the grooves in the road.

 

Yeah I'll attest that they follow grooves in the road. New paving on the interstate from Watertown to Sioux Falls and they decided to try a different type of groove system. They aren't perfectly perpendicular to the road in some spots and it feels like my car is sliding side to side. Every vehicle taken on that stretch has that problem.

 

A better way to do it is to leave the car on the ground and have someone wiggle the steering wheel while you watch the steering linkage for movement. This way all the components are in their normal position (the position that's going to wear the most) and following their normal range of motion. You can do it on ramps too if it's too hard to get under your car on the ground.

If it's harder to turn one direction than the other, your steering box may be going bad ... or something is binding up.

I've also heard that the metal the steering box is mounted to can crack. This would allow the steering box to move around which could easily cause a wandering feel.

 

I have the same problem, and the sway bar post has me intrigued......or would it have anything to do with the 2" wheel adapters on teh front?

 

If you have wide tires up frony they will follow the road. Cars will follow the crown in the road too. Do you know the guys at the alignment shop? Finding a good shop is one of the hardest things. Most places do a toe and go or get the car into spec and leave it. I've seen cars be within the factory spec but still drift to one side because the specs are so broad.

Also, I don't think the swaybar will affect it. I have had my swaybar off the car completely, it is a drag racing trick for weight transfer. You will have crazy bodyroll but the car will not drift or wander from this.

 

No they will not if you have things setup properly. I have wide and very sticky tires on my car and it tracks exatly where I point it over the worse road conditions. you guys posting this stuff have problems of your own you know nothing about.
True that if you just put wider tires on the problems that never showed before now will- they are more predominant with wider tires, BUT it is not the uncurable fault of the tires. It is bad suspension geometry and or worn ssuspension parts- generally a combination of both.
If the car is lowered, its simply bump steer and probably also worn balljoints, tierods, strutmounts, etc....
Point is, it is 100% curable.

 

ya, i only have 245's on the front, so i know something else is going on....my concern is could it have something to do with the spacers? they are just over 2". the car has 9.5" wide rims on the front (ya, with 245 rubber). I'm looking to switch to a 17x8.5 from the 18x9.5, so i can machine 1" off the spacer. I am also concerned because when i jack the front up, the car will drag the tires in, before they lift off the ground. And when i lower it, u can here the tires rubbing on the ground, as they are forced out where they should sit......(lemme know if i need to clear that up).

 

I 100% understand what you just posted. that happens with any car jacked up off the ground, the supsension articulation will droop the outside and drag it inward, then when the car is released back down you have to roll it to settle the tires back outward and drop the chassis back into normal stagnant height.
Unfortunately, the change of rims you are stating will not have any altered affect in correcting the steering problem. I will say again it is related to suspension geometry and/or worn suspension componants, not the wheels and tires.

 

HPE, I think I know what I am talking about. I've been working on cars for 15 years. I know you can adjust other things to make the car track correctly. That is why I asked about the alignment. Most places don't take the time to set the car up right. Maybe next time you will post the whole paragraph instead of one sentence. I personally don't have problems with my car. I have wide tires and it tracks great because I set it up correctly. I was just throwing my 2 cents in.

 

Fact1- the two sentances of yours I quoted and replied tp above have absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the paragraph and they are bold statements ment to stand on their own- they are not true. You are wrong in how you worded them. this is not an attack on you, this is a correction of facts.

Fact2- I never questioned or even asked about your experience or abilities nor does it pertain to the sentance you youself posted above that was untrue.
Have a nice day and just corrct the misinfo.

 

you guys posting this stuff have problems of your own you know nothing about. That is what you wrote which questions my ability. Like I said. I do not have a problem.

And my statements were not meant to stand alone. If they were I would have put them by themselves and started a new paragraph about the alignment.

 

alright, so another possibility would be less weight in the front of the car then? thus changing the geometry? Im trying to track this problem down, as it is extremely annoying, and down right dangerous at times. The whole front suspension is solid....went over it already. I may need to get an alignment done. havent done that since i purchased the car. car now has a ls1/t56 as opposed to the tpi setup.....im assuming there is a weight difference.

 

Pure xs, You will need to post info to help in the troubleshooting. Is the car lowered? Whats the spring rate,-how much traavel are you experiencing? Whats the control arm and tierod angles? Bumpsteer? how are the shocks?, conol arm bushings, are the strut mounts worn and sloppy?, tire rod ends in good shape?, balljoints worn, tire pressures even, toe settings caster set properly on right side 1/2* up for crown compensation? Frame or suspension parts damaged or bent? SI angles off, scrus radius even?........It goes on- it could be one or many problems listed above.

It could even be in the rearend alignment with the thrust angle off or the car doglegging back and forth due to worn LCA bushings.

 

i'll go over it this week, and see if i can find anything. I'll post up by saturday. thanx for your help