Ok so i just bought a 86 trans am with 85,000 miles and it drifts to left or right. Or it jerks to left or right when bumpy. My friend said it might have something to do with the suspension or alignment. I was wondering if anyone else had this problem? Or if they know whats wrong? It's worse at higher speeds, and also when its bumpy. Plus if i take a sharp turn it feels like the rear like slides over wierd like, like in jerky motions, not smooth. I'll be going down highway perfectly straight, then the car just starts drifting to the right or left, depends on which way road tilts kinda and bumps. My friend said it could be from bad suspension and the rear is kicking out or something??? i woould really like help on this. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
thanks, mike

 

very carefully look under your car at both front and rear suspensions oyu are either missing some bushings or the panhard rod is unbolted or a mount is broken. when you find your exact cause fix it then get a full alignment done.

 

Has it ever been in a wreck?

 

You've likely got some worn suspension pieces and not just a single cause of your problems. If you're not familiar with the pieces/parts of the undercarriage, I'd recommend taking it to an alignment shop, describe the problem and ask for a full inspection. Have them tell you what they find so you can decide whether to replace the worn parts yourself or have them do it for you. They may charge a small fee, but be up front with them: tell them you don't want them to do any work until you OK it.

Most of your suspension pieces are easy to replace yourself and all of the tools needed can be 'rented' from AZ or the equivalent. If I were a novice, I may allow a shop to do ball joints, but I wouldn't be afraid to tackle most everything else myself.

 

Ok thank you, I plan on taking it in this week or weekend sometime. I'll talk to my friend about working on the suspension. He works on cars sometimes. And no I don't think i's ever been in a accident, everything looks original from factory, checked vin never reported anything.

 

sounds like the panhard bar to me...heres a test.

go out to your car and push the side of the car right above the tire...does it rock back and forth easily?? thats the panhard bar if it does

 

better yet, sit in car, and start to move backwards-- whille looking back, at rear wheel. -apply brakes, and see if you see any movement of the wheel/tire going to one side. Try this a few times back and forth. [ BUT] DO it on the grass, not pavment.

 

the shop said that something was bent, i forgot what it was but a bearing comes attached to this piece if they get it from a junkyard?? and they had to have hit a rock underneath or a deer they said. cause it bent steel, and then something else is loose and s strut is messed up and maybe someother stuff. Like a rod was rubbing on tire i guess. they said it would cost about 1,000 dollars. does that sound right?

 

Help us out a little here. Try to be a tad more specific in your description of what is wrong....

 

sorry about my ramble, but i got it all figured out now. It will cost 500 dollars to repair, which is a good deal cause all the other qoutes were way up. It is a bent knuckle, need new iddler arm, and lower ball joints, alinment, front brakes. after their done i'm going put on new front struts. Anybody have any sugestions ?? i don't want it to be super stiff, but i want it to handle nicley.

 

It's best to install the new struts prior to having it aligned. The install can slightly affect the alignment. See if the shop will install the struts for you along with the other work. Shouldn't be too much extra as they'll almost be there with the ball joints.

Parts for the below would run you around $150+ if you did it yourself then $50 for an alignment. Ball joints, can however, be a pain especially for the novice. Sometimes it's worth it to have a shop do it.

 

Ya, my friend said that it would be really hard for me to do everything my self and he didn't have all his tools at his house. They already finished it, too late to get them to put struts on before alignment. Going to go pick up tomorrow.