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| The suspension mystery continues, and I don't know where to go from here. (Page 2/6) |
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Threedog
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AUG 02, 04:54 PM
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My diagnostic is going to be the following:
- First I am going to replace the front tie rods (inner and outer), as it might be a "side to side" thing.
- Then I will have it aligned (even though the issue first showed up when the car was aligned)
- Then I will check the CV axles. They are brand new, and were the same length as the old ones, but it is possible one isn't in all the way or there might have been a small difference in length(is it possible to over torque the axle nuts on the bearing side? I just made those tight instead of putting them to a specific torque).
When I took my front inner and outer tie rods ends off, I discovered this. Is it normal? (this is the passenger side of the steering rack, tie rod removed, the bolt I am pulling on is the outside steering damper bolt)
video: https://drive.google.com/fi...IDF/view?usp=sharing
If it is not normal, could it be causing major issues? And should I be rebuilding or replacing my steering rack?[This message has been edited by Threedog (edited 08-02-2020).]
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Threedog
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AUG 02, 04:56 PM
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Edit: Double Post [This message has been edited by Threedog (edited 08-02-2020).]
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Rickady88GT
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AUG 02, 05:57 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Threedog:
My diagnostic is going to be the following:
- First I am going to replace the front tie rods (inner and outer), as it might be a "side to side" thing.
- Then I will have it aligned (even though the issue first showed up when the car was aligned)
- Then I will check the CV axles. They are brand new, and were the same length as the old ones, but it is possible one isn't in all the way or there might have been a small difference in length(is it possible to over torque the axle nuts on the bearing side? I just made those tight instead of putting them to a specific torque).
When I took my front inner and outer tie rods ends off, I discovered this. Is it normal? (this is the passenger side of the steering rack, tie rod removed, the bolt I am pulling on is the outside steering damper bolt)
video: https://drive.google.com/fi...IDF/view?usp=sharing
If it is not normal, could it be causing major issues? And should I be rebuilding or replacing my steering rack?
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My opinion is that that is to much play. But that is not causing your rear end bouncing problem.
How much play do you have in your steering wheel? Turn the steering wheel back and forth slowly to see how far it turns before you feel it statr to turn your front wheels. The play in that rack can cause some slop in the steering wheel or mushy feeling steering.
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ag9123
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AUG 02, 07:40 PM
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Did you replace the rear lower ball joints? They're hard to check for looseness without getting a pry bar in there and checking for play. My left rear lower ball joint was shot but seemed ok when tugging on the wheel up and down and side to side. When I took the control arm off to install poly bushings, I could see the ball joint was dry as a bone and ready to pull out of the socket! Was getting a MAJOR wiggle when doing any type of steering maneuver at highway speeds. Bad enough that I would need to slow down til it stopped. Verify that the cradle bolts are torqued properly and check ALL the suspension bolts for tightness including the rear tie rods.
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1984 Indy Fiero[This message has been edited by ag9123 (edited 08-02-2020).]
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Threedog
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AUG 02, 07:44 PM
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I replaced all ball joints, and have checked every bolt.
The more questions I answer, the more I think about this..
Is it possible that an improper alignment has been the cause of all of this? It actually started after I got it aligned.
I rebuilt the whole suspension, drove it to the shop, then when I left the shop it started doing this. I can’t quite remember if it was doing this before I went to the shop (it was a short drive, and months ago)...but could they have caused this somehow? Even though the machine said the car was aligned?
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ag9123
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AUG 02, 07:52 PM
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Did you check all the nuts and bolts after the alignment? It's possible they left something loose...it happens. Hopefully they gave you a before and after printout of the alignment specs. Can you post those here if you have it? ------------------
1984 Indy Fiero
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Blacktree
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AUG 04, 08:52 AM
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I know from personal experience, if the rear toe is set wrong, you'll have a wild ride. This is especially true if the rear wheels are toed out. Every time you hit a water puddle or a bump or something, the rear end will step out.
Also, once an alignment shop forgot to tighten the bolts on one of the rear struts after setting the camber. It was like riding a bucking bronco! I got a free alignment out of that... 
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Threedog
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AUG 04, 02:26 PM
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Thanks for the help guys! I went ahead and got a steering rack anyway, figured it couldn't hurt (I also didn't like the play in the current one, and it was the last mechanical part that was 30+ years old!). Gonna install this week and hopefully get it aligned by Friday, will report back.
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Threedog
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AUG 11, 09:36 PM
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Update, alignment did not fix it.
I am pretty much at a loss, but I decided to check my (new) front upper ball joints as a friend mentioned that they are directional and I don't remember paying as much attention as I should have when I insstalled them a while back.
I got ACDelco 43D0026A ball joints of Amazon, but the same ones on rockauto refer to "additional camber adjustment". When I took the boot off, I noticed that the ball joint has a deep "groove" on one side. Should it look like this? Are they in there backwards?
 [This message has been edited by Threedog (edited 08-11-2020).]
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Rickady88GT
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AUG 11, 10:52 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by Threedog:
Update, alignment did not fix it.
I am pretty much at a loss, but I decided to check my (new) front upper ball joints as a friend mentioned that they are directional and I don't remember paying as much attention as I should have when I insstalled them a while back.
I got ACDelco 43D0026A ball joints of Amazon, but the same ones on rockauto refer to "additional camber adjustment". When I took the boot off, I noticed that the ball joint has a deep "groove" on one side. Should it look like this? Are they in there backwards?
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Sorry, I don't know if they are or can be installed wrong, left for right. But if the alignment shop got it in spec, that could not be your problem.
The ball stud should be able to swivel enough to allow the A arm to travel its full range of motion without binding. For example if the ball joints are directional, they might have more travel towards the wheel side of the A arm. This will allow for suspension droop without binding.
BTW, that looks like a clean job you've done.------------------
[IMG][/IMG]
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