I have an '85 Z28 and I've noticed that when I come to a slight bump in the road or to uneven ground the car will pull violently and strong to one side or the other. It will not do it on smooth pavement and I know it's not the brakes because they're brand new and it wont pull when applying the brakes. What could I do to correct this problem and maybe make the steering tighter and more responsive. I thought you all would know. Any help please!

 

Same thing happens to me, and I thought it was just my car?

 

Yeah, what in the world causes that? Maybe a strut tower brace or sway bar or anything like that would help it? I checked the air pressure also and it was fine. ????

 

I have a high performance suppension, new tires and I don't get it? When I drive on a certain spot on the highway near my house the car pulls violently to the right, only on the eneven road

 

I just asked someone from a different forum and they told me to get all new bushings and then get a front end alignment and that should cure the problem. He also mentioned the tie-rod ends if the bushings and alignment don't fix it. Let's find out!

 

I had the same problem. I replaced literally everything in the front end (it was all shot anyway and needed replacing). No help. I thought I'd change out the steering coupler. When I went to replace it, I noticed I could turn the intermediate shaft about 30* by hand. No resistance at all. My steering gearbox was fried. I got a refurb from AutoZone for like $160, IIRC, and it's been great since.

 

How can I find out which shaft is the intermeiate shaft? And what's the steering coupler? I will try to work it by hand. Was the steering gear box easy to install?

 

If you pop the hood and have someone turn the steering wheel, the shaft in the engine compartment which transmits the torsional force to the gearbox is the intermediate shaft. The steering coupler joins the intermediate shaft to the gearbox -- it sites right at the gearbox input.

The gearbox is held onto the frame by three bolts, I believe. There's one more tying the coupler to the gearbox input, two hydraulic lines and one nut securing the pitman arm. It's an easy swap. Of course, I no longer have AIR tubes off the exhaust manifolds, so that may have made it easier. The only thing about it is it's kind of heavy, but it is a one-man swap. You'll need a pitman arm puller. I got it for $10 from AutoZone. I returned it after I was finished. To pull the pitman arm, I used a 2 foot breaker bar with about five more feet of PVC tube slid over the breaker bar to provide a decent amount of leverage.

Of course, when you're finished, an alignment is always a good idea. I need one now, too, because I curbed out @ 40MPH; slicing a tire and destroying my alignment.

 

Welcome to owning a thridgen guys. Havent drove a thirdgen or a fourthgen that doesnt do it. Wide tires and wide track width cause the car to hunt when you go over grooves in the road. Semi trucks leave those deep ruts in the pavement which will about pull the steering wheel out of my hands. I have a totally rebuilt suspension front and rear with an aftermarket 13" steering wheel, the wheel makes it a bit worse i think. Now that I have directional tires the problem is acutally worse. when I am on flat new pavement my car goes perfectly straight, but when I go over grooves left by trucks my car wanders a bit. It is normal guys, nothing to worry about.

 

exaclty what he said, the grooves in the road will make the car jerk to the right or left. Both my car and my roomates 4th gen do the exact same thing on the same road home.

 

1MeanZ, mine as well. I (maybe) misunderstood and thought the question. Could still be the gearbox. I rebuild my entire suspension with what I would call "mid-grade" aftermarket parts (ES, KYB, Moog, etc...) and the car runs perfectly on flat, even ground, but it does want to follow trenches in the asphalt. The particular issue of the steering jumping all around over speed bumps, for instance, was something that was fixed with the gearbox. It's an easy test: mine was so bad I could turn the shaft by hand. Yikes!

 

Thanks alot

 

I'm all over the road when its rough. Which is 99% of the roads here. I think they purposely try to do the worse job they possibly can on the roads.

 

I want to check into the gearbox and bushings because I agree that most of my roads are terrible. It's more than annoying when trying to relax and drive. Now going over those bumps I have to sit up, grab the wheel with both hands and make sure I dont buy a curb or the car next to me. I usually pull thru on good days! I didn't notice this problem with my '94 Z28 or a '92 Z28 that I drove, just with this '85, but I'm sorta glad to hear that I'm not the only one with this haunting problem.

 

Yes it is good to know we share this problem. It only happens to me on a small stretch of uneven highway and my tires are wide so I can see this happening.

 

Check your alignment, most likely the toe adjustment. If its @zero or more toe out, set it toed in about 1/8 total (both wheels). Toe out makes a car twitchy over bumps and dips. Great for corner turn in at a autocross but not good for everyday driving.
Also if your has been lowered alot, you may have affected its bump steer characteristics in a bad way. You need to find a shop that can setup the bump steer on the car to get rid of the problem. Baer Brakes makes a bump steer kit (P/N 3301008) for 3rd gens.

 

Does Midas do that and know about that part?

 

I doubt it. You need to find a performance oriented front end shop. The parts can be ordered direct from Baer. www.Baer.com
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