That swaying is the same symptom I had after I bought my 86 and got it driveable. Going around a slight curve following rutted pavement scared the living daylights out of me. It was like the back tires had a steering wheel attached to them and somebody was jerking it back and forth.
I put it in the garage and set up strings to check the toe. The rear tires had too much toe in. Can't remember the exact numbers anymore. I set the front and rear toe as best I could and that sway was gone. Totally different car. I couldn't believe how the car behaved with the rear alignment out!
If you have time there are lots of threads and links here on how to check your own alignment so you can at least rule that out. Maybe rear wheel bearings or loose cradle. Sure seems similar to the problem I had. Good luck!
Make sure they are not using " total toe in". You have to have 1/2 of it on each side. Are the ball joints loose in the "A" arm? Some thing is loose or warn out. check every thing. Take nothing for granted. get a crow bar and pry on every thing.
Tires it’s the tires get new ones then get another alignment. Your ties are not worn evenly. I had the same problem when I bought just one new tire to pass inspection. But after a few hundred miles it stopped because the tire wore down. Buy a new set of rear tires Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.
[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 11-30-2012).]
Rotated tires front to rear Problem still exists. Got in with a prybar as suggested, nothing is loose. All bushings ok. Upper control arms solid. Discovered right rear wheel bearing is bad.
I will look into the alignment threads, anyone have a good one they could suggest? I'm going to go see if I can "borrow" someones wheels for a quick test ride.
Rotated tires front to rear Problem still exists. Got in with a prybar as suggested, nothing is loose. All bushings ok. Upper control arms solid. Discovered right rear wheel bearing is bad.
I will look into the alignment threads, anyone have a good one they could suggest? I'm going to go see if I can "borrow" someones wheels for a quick test ride.
That wheel bearing is all it would take to make it woble
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't
just a thought - if you or you had someone change the bushes to poly etc did you strip the hub fully? if so could it be that the drive shaft nut that secures the hub was torqued up properly?
I changed the rubber out to poly myself, but I never broke the nut loose. The passenger side halfshaft was changed right before I got the car though, same side as the bad bearing.
It's been on my mind, believe me. I am trying to get my mom to do it, she's the one who lent me the money, via credit card, to have it done.
I have noticed that the rear wheels seem to point towards each other at the front of the wheels.
this would suggest, assuming everything is bolted tight that the rear toe is out and needs to be redone (however your eyes alone cannot determine this - unless it is real bad and pretty obvious) looked at your vid on youtube and mine was very similar to this after I dropped my enigne. it seem to dance around the lane - i went and got aligned and hasnt been a problem since.
It's been on my mind, believe me. I am trying to get my mom to do it, she's the one who lent me the money, via credit card, to have it done.
I have noticed that the rear wheels seem to point towards each other at the front of the wheels.
Go back and talk with them first in an effort to resolve the issue. I've been to small claims court before and arbitration is what they usually try first before going in before a judge. If you discovered the hub bearing is bad allowing perceptable play in the wheel, that's a very good indication that a proper shake down was not performed to make sure the car was eligible to be aligned. Lube all of your ball joints, I had a bad ball joint revealed during a lube job when the same wheel didn't show movement when checked. The grease forced the ball of the joint upward and I could see the wheel appear to slide outward in the process.
Not a good idea. If you change anything you no longer have a case with the alignment shop that charged you $500.
DITTO - get a second opinion from a suitable alignment shop - and if they say the car is way out then surely you would have a case - provided you havent driven the car for miles and miles - I am assuming they checked and logged the mileage on the alignment check sheet.
WHat should they measure? I'm going to try adjusting the R. toe. I' spent most of last night on the search function and google reading up on it.
its not a case of being able to take a measurement and it cant be done successfully by the eye either - yes you may get it somewhere near but not accurate enough.
I got a chance to drive it with a borrowed set of 17s today, and surprisingly, they made the problem a lot worse. Now I'm completely stumped. I'll be putting a motor mount in it, but I dont think that would cause THAT much of a problem.
[This message has been edited by Stainless1911 (edited 01-03-2013).]
Also checks your upper control arm mounts up front. Take the tire off, jack the suspension up to keep it in the position it would be in driving down the road and see if you can wobble it back and forth. The tube that bolt runs through is only pinched down/tight on the bolt on the ends and tends to oval out over time allowing the control arm to wobble slightly. It won't appear to be much but it only takes a tiny bit of movement to feel it driving. I've also had bolts that were thinned by rust and allowed bushings to move excessively. Alignments are key. I've been to 3 shops and there always seems to be something wrong when I get it back or something they totally missed in their "thorough" inspections.
I'm thinking the same, I had this issue a few years ago, I thought it was other factors, ball joints etc, can't say for sure from a video but it's very easy to diagnose, take the front wheel off, jack the front suspension, compressed, facing the rotor, rock it back and forth if it moves from 11:00 position to a 01:00 position, watch the upper A Arm bolt.
[This message has been edited by rourke_87_T-Top (edited 01-04-2013).]
Here is alignment chart for 87 Fiero. Notice measurements are in DEGREES not inches. These cars are short so alignment is critical to handling. I took this chart to my alignment shop and made certain they understood it is stated in DEGREES. Also not rear camber is - not + Hope this helps.
[This message has been edited by oldbikeracer (edited 01-04-2013).]
I wanted a pair to get by for a while, and requested a harder sidewall. The tire guy showed me how almost none of the 14" tires were more than single ply. I figured I'd go to a 15" rim. A different guy told me taht he could probably get a set of aluminum wheels for 200. Steel wheels were going for 80, so , i have new 15' aluminium rims
Now I have had good tires and bad tires, they make a huge difference, but this...is something different. It still has a little bit of yaw sensitivity, probably due to the short wheel base, but it's a completely different car now.
I call it my "Silver Bullet", very fond of the little thing really. Now it's time to start thinking about changing the name to something like, "38 Special". Yes, I like the sound of that.
I'm wrestling with the same problem. I have Held wide track slalom suspension in front and wide track bump steer correction in back. I think that my wide low profile tires have something to do with it and I don't have a rear stabilizer bar yet. I've been on roads where the studded tires have worn grooves and it has been a white knuckled experience where I was actully afraid that the car ws going to jump right off the road. My current plan is to get a rear bar installed and then recheck my alignment. The shop that did my last alignment didn't have Helds specs form the rear and they just did a corvette spec alignment.
