car wobbles at highway speed
Moderator: volvite
car wobbles at highway speed
I see the post below that is similar to this, but i wanted to dig a little deeper. My pathy is 2001 LE with 175k miles on it. I have fairly new Michelen LTX MS2 on there. There has never been any work on the shocks, struts or any undercarriage work. On a recent road trip I noticed that she wobbles side to side. Not a small wobble but a fairly violent rocking from side to side. When I slow down it stops. This is usually around 70 mph and up. Normally I only commute around Atlanta so you never get above 50. Took it back to NTB where they had recently rotated my tires and they test drove and found nothing. They said all my tires were under-inflated (which is strange since they just rotated them and checking tire pressure is supposed to be part of the process.) The car seems to drive fine - doesn't pull to one side or anything like that. Tires look fine. I checked underneath and didn't see any loose mechanical items (I thought maybe a sway bar or something was broken). Shocks seem to work fine. The car rides fine for an older car at lower speeds. Based on the post about the bushings I can check that, but don't know what I am exactly looking for. Are these bushings on the strut? Near the shock? What does a bad one look like? Any other suggestions.
The bushings are the ones in the upper and lower, rear suspension links. They generally split apart around the rubber. The one that usually goes first is the right side, upper link. If you raise the vehicle and let the suspension hang, it usually makes it easier to see. You "can" replace the bushings, but it is a real pain in the tail. Also, the bolts that go through them often seize to the steel sleeve inside the bushing, necessitate having to cut them out with a Sawzall. I usually get a set of links from Dorman products; they are a complete link and have a lifetime warranty and are priced reasonably at Rockauto.com.
Thanks for that info. Any thoughts about replacing all the suspension gear such as shocks and springs? I was reading the post about the guy with the bent rod. I have been driving with worn out trailing links for a few months now. I guess I should check that. JL replaced his entire suspension. Mine is 2001 with 175,000 miles on it and I don't plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. Should I do this while they have it in the shop? Or wait till they fail?
Opinions?
I have to do front brakes and rotors too. should be an expensive trip.
Opinions?
I have to do front brakes and rotors too. should be an expensive trip.
Ordered my parts last week from RockAuto. Had to buy the bolts from 4x4 Auto Parts. Both arrived quickly. NTB installed them this weekend for me for a couple hours of labor and also added an alignment.
I looked at the old part....it was definitely time to replace. I guess you don't notice the bushings wearing out over time, but I can certainly tell the new ones are in place.
I noticed that when I go from Drive to reverse or reverse to drive too quickly there is a loud and felt "clank" in the rear right of the vehicle. Mechanic suggested that the axle is "seating itself" on that side caused by the new suspension pieces and that it should wear stop in a couple days. I don't understand that, but I will try it. It didn't do it yesterday, but I have taken it easy on the transitions. I will update this thread if the problem persists.
I looked at the old part....it was definitely time to replace. I guess you don't notice the bushings wearing out over time, but I can certainly tell the new ones are in place.
I noticed that when I go from Drive to reverse or reverse to drive too quickly there is a loud and felt "clank" in the rear right of the vehicle. Mechanic suggested that the axle is "seating itself" on that side caused by the new suspension pieces and that it should wear stop in a couple days. I don't understand that, but I will try it. It didn't do it yesterday, but I have taken it easy on the transitions. I will update this thread if the problem persists.
Weak shocks or worn springs could do that. Make sure that you tightened the bolts with the vehicle on the ground and the weight on the suspension. A bad alignment could cause wandering.benjamin wrote:I REPLACED MY LOWER CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS LIKE SIX MONTHS AGO WOBBLE WENT AWAY UNTIL LAST WEEK ORDERED THE TOP ONES INSTALLED THOSE YESTERDAY AND STILL GETTING WOBBLE ORDERED THE LOWERS AGAIN ANY OTHER THING THAT COULD BE CAUSING THE WOBBLE?
"I noticed that when I go from Drive to reverse or reverse to drive too quickly there is a loud and felt "clank" in the rear right of the vehicle. Mechanic suggested that the axle is "seating itself" on that side caused by the new suspension pieces and that it should wear stop in a couple days. I don't understand that, but I will try it. It didn't do it yesterday, but I have taken it easy on the transitions. I will update this thread if the problem persists."
I can't tell you what the "clank" is, but I can tell you that the part about the axle "seating itself" is B.S.
I can't tell you what the "clank" is, but I can tell you that the part about the axle "seating itself" is B.S.
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