Need help. Ever since I got my SC400, I had what felt like speed wobbles when i drive or wandering steering. When I brought it in to the shop, the mechanic said that replacing the front upper and lower control arm bushings would fix that problem. When I got it back, it seems like it might be getting worse. They did mention that the tie rod end bushings are in bad shape. Could this be the cause of the wandering steering or could it be the sway bar bushings?

 

Replace every bushing you can, check the balance of your tires and wheels, then get an alignment.

 

could be as simple as: bad tires, wheels unbalanced, uneven tire pressures.

Personally i'd take the rims to the tire shop and have then check the balance.

Start with the 'cheaper' fixes before you go all out and spend some $$

Or just do what's posted above me, bushings are fairly cheap and might as well swap all of them out 'while your in there'.

 

Steering rack bushings are fairly notorious for going out too, and they have a DIRECT effect on your steering feel. Have them checked.

 

Y would you guys just throw parts at a car till u find the problem?!?!?!?! That sort of mentality gives businesses a bad reputation.


Chef05b- what is the exact problem you seem to be having the move details you give the easier it is to try and diagnose ur problem. Does the car have "speed wobbles" at any mph or is it only at a set speed? Does the problem get worse as speed increases? As for your wandering concern, does the car wander (left to right, and vise versa) or does it just pull toward one directions? How do your tires look? Are they worn uneven?


Hope you can answer some or all of these questions and maybe myself or one of the other members can help you out

 

^^ hey . . . I said "check"

 

And all imsaying is proper diagnosis will save you time and money. I'm not tagging on the above posters either I just know how it feels to spend money thinking u fixed an issue only to have it persist.

 

It's not really speed wobbles, it feels like it. It's actually more like wondering at freeway speeds, starts at about 60 and pulls mostly to the left. I've had an alignment done when I got the control arm bushings replaced. The mechanic did say that the tie rod end bushings are warn and need to be replaced. The tires look pretty good and tire ware is about even. Thanks Nova.

 

Does the steering wheel shake? Any play in the tie rods (inner or outer) means they need to be replaced I would get those done. Granted not being able to road test ur car and verify your complaint makes it a little harder for us. Also it is highly recommended that you get another alignment after you do tie rods.

On a side note if you have basic hand tools some sort of automotive knowledge you can save a bit of money and do the tie rods yourself and then get it aligned. If you do them yourself count the amount of turns it take to remove the outer tie rods and just put the new one on the same amount it will get u close

 

Great tip. The wheel doesn't shake, just wanders mostly to the left. Mostly at freeway speeds, but sometimes at city speeds too. Haven't had a chance to put up my car so I can check if there is a lot of play but when I had it at the shop, they showed me that they tie rod end bushings where warn.

 

Lifting the car off the ground might not show that anything is wrong. Suspension geometry changes when the wheels are off the ground. It would be best to have a drive on style lift so that you can grt under it and inspect while all 4 tires are on the ground

If the wheel does not shake then u can rule out balanced tires as an issue. A pull to the left would indicate either positive camber on drivers side, negative camber on the pass side I would look closely at your steering components (you said tie rods were bad) and have the car re aligned.

Camber causes wear and pull concerns
Toe will cause tire wear
Caster can cause wondering/ pull concerns