Problems with steering when hitting bumps or dips.. Wandering front to the left!! (Page 1/1)
phils88GT MAR 15, 07:52 AM
Good Morning All!

I am having some weird steering / suspension issues on my 88 GT and need advice please...

When I am going down the road, regardless of speed, although noticeable at high speeds, when I hit a bump, or even better, a quick dip in the road, when the front suspension rebounds and come back up, the front end, seemingly from the left front, feels like it is "wandering" or loose.. kinda unnerving.

Within the past couple of months, I have replaced the upper and lower front BJ's with Rodney Dickman parts, new outer tie rod ends, and shocks (all four corners were utterly shot) with KYB's. After I replaced the aforementioned parts, I had the car aligned and the shop told me that everything was ok, but... my inner tie-rod on the rack was bent slightly. I didn't get a picture of it, and they aligned it anyway, and said it aligned ok.

Could this cause the issues I am feeling? Other than that issue, she rides so much better, and tracks straight at any speed.

I should also mention that this same side, when I was replacing the BJ's, the lower BJ on the left side was actually bent! Someone had obviously in the past tagged a curb or something pretty hard to bend the shaft of a ball joint..

I went on Rock Auto, but could not find any inner tie rods for my 88. Does anyone make these or am I gonna have to get an all new rack? Because if I have to get a rack, I may as well due the convert to power steering...just a thought...

Thanks everyone! 
theogre MAR 15, 08:56 AM
"inner tie-rod on the rack was bent slightly." should Not cause your problem.

Very likely other parts replaced would not do that too except 1 shock/strut was bad.

Bad Control arm & other "rubber" bushings can do this & "look good" standing still. Rubber or outer shell can be bad & outer shell when rusted out doesn't compress the rubber enough to steer right on the street.

Many times need picks, bore scope, etc to "see" more of outer shells because how installed on the car & rust etc hinds a lot of the bushings.

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

phils88GT MAR 15, 09:57 AM
I can remove and check the new KYB shocks and make sure they are good. I will say that I have not touched the control arm bushings. If they need to be replaced, should I use poly bushings or just factory OE rubber type?
1985 Fiero GT MAR 15, 10:16 AM

quote
Originally posted by phils88GT:

I can remove and check the new KYB shocks and make sure they are good. I will say that I have not touched the control arm bushings. If they need to be replaced, should I use poly bushings or just factory OE rubber type?



Use factory rubber unless you are sure you want poly. Apparently it has little to no benefits over factory rubber other then ease of installation, and if not installed right, you will have horrendous squeaking. That said, I have poly that is installed right, and I love it, it gives a very very firm ride, no squeaks, and or course, it's red, that's got to add like like 32hp (1 for every poly thing) along with bumper stickers (I only have 1) hahaha
cvxjet MAR 15, 11:12 AM
A) check straightness of A-arms, spindles and steering arms.....check all bushings, also.

B) Check your shock absorbers; Gas shocks can lose pressure and do weird things to suspension movement....

(Example of shock weirdness; One of my (Modified for coil-overs) rear struts lost pressure....Driving home on San Mateo bridge (Dead-straight causeway for 7 miles) I noticed when I accelerated the car would pull to one side- and when I cut the throttle, the car would pull to opposite side...Inspecting suspension I finally spotted liquid leaking from one strut)

C) Check your alignment- find a good alignment shop- they should give you an alignment rear-out/diagram....

[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 03-15-2024).]

Raydar MAR 15, 02:43 PM
The long bolts that go through the lateral and toe links, and the rear knuckle, need to be tight or your car can wander around.
I found it most noticeable when getting on and off the gas, going in a straight line. Accel would pull one way. Decel would pull the other.
I suspect that bumps or dips could have a similar effect.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 03-15-2024).]