It all started when I got a used tire installed on the front driver side. I don't think the tire was balanced correctly so it had highway vibration, which I believe (could be wrong) rattled something loose that threw off my alignment. Whenever I hit a noticeable bump in the road, the steering wheel would pull to one side or the other.
HISTORY: after lowering the car, the spindles were drilled out to compensate for camber (advised by alignment shop that didn't want $500 to correct it). It was what I could afford at the time.
At the time my Tokico's were pretty much shot, so I put off the re-alignment until I switched out for some KYB's
. While under there I also replaced bump stops, dust covers, mounts, etc. The throw out bearings that came with the new mounts had a funny little ridge so I only used one since my old bearing on one side seemed okay. (If memory serves, the new throw out bearing is on the driver side mount.) This solved my issue with being tossed to one side or the other when going over bumps and made the car wicked stable. EXCEPT when making hard rights. For example, when entering a highway using "clover-leaf" style ramp. I had a 4 wheel alignment done to try and correct the issue, which ended up being a pain in the ***! First shop tried to stick it to me, made the alignment worse than before and said it was good. no print out, nothing. Got a refund and found another shop that was able to get it back to just about where it was before a mechanic touched it
, they also had me replace a ball joint on the drivers side. I used an escort ball joint since I have a '92 and most parts stores have the 93+ ball joints. Unfortunately, it still tries to suck me into hard corners. As I have been experimenting with it to try and figure out the source, I have come to this conclusion. On straightaways and LEFT turns/corners it handles like a dream
BUT, when I take a RIGHT hand corner/turn fast enough to make the suspension dip, the steering wheel shifts about a half inch into the turn and the vehicle (Yay active suspension!) responds by diving right in at the new trajectory. Sometimes it turns sharper than the road. When I correct, I can feel the suspension(and steering wheel) "shift" back to its normal position.As a side note: I also have the infamous CLUNK. After reading through the forums and a little poking around, I decided the clunk was either; A throw out bearing in the strut tower, or my stabilizer bar mount bushing (I was able to move the bar one time and it made a similar clunk noise). Sorry, I don't mean to be dragging on.
Already did a quick shakedown and inspection. Tie rod ends are new. End links are new. new driver side ball joint. New struts, bellows, stops etc. The wheels are solid, no play. Lug nuts are tight. Springs are only a couple years old and were in good condition when I changed the struts ( a little dirty). Lower control arm bushings on driver side are old, the rubber is starting to crack where it hangs out from the steel. Otherwise, the LCA's aren't visibly cracked or damaged. The passenger side is hard to tell, just replaced a valve cover gasket that was leaking like a stuck pig, so it's covered in oily residue. I don't believe the stabilizer bar is the culprit since it only pulls one way, but I have been wrong many times in the past
.SO, lets have it. How bad is this, and where do I start? Any help/guidance, as always, is very much appreciated, and any random thoughts or ideas to help in the brainstorming are also encouraged. Thanks!
. There was however a DEEP groove in several spots on the bolt. The new bolt fixed the steering issue, and reduced the predictability of the "clunk", but didn't get rid of it completely. Now, instead of clunking when the tires are moving independent of each other (going over a speed bump at a 45) now it is just occasionally when backing up, or taking up drive, ie. when first backing out of a parking space or switching from reverse to 1st. 