Hello all,

I just replaced nearly everything (minus the control arm) under the front right of my car. I replaced the strut, knuckle, ball joint, and the tie rods (and sleeve). When I jack the wheels all the way to the left and move the car (forward or backward), it kind of bucks. It moves, but not smoothly. I'm wondering what the problem could be. Just so you know, the wheel was bent (had a bit of an accident). When I spin the wheel, I noticed a bit of a wobble (ever so slight) on the outside of the tire. I don't think this is my current issue though as I'm moving very slowly and still notice the jerk/buck.

I was thinking that this could mean my passenger side tie rods need to be adjusted. Is there a proper way to get the adjustment right?

Thanks,

JF

 

Might just be the fact that the right is all new goods, and the left is all worn goods. If it were me, I'd replace ball joints and tie rod ends on left as well. Might also look into a new centerlink and idler arm. And definitely a wonderbar if you don't have one! Then a good alignment.

No matter what, these cars never steered well on tight turns like in a parkinglot - nature of the beast. I've replaced everything except A-arm bushings up front, and used all new poly bushings and still get a very slight clunk sound when doing turns at full lock. BUT - it's much much better with the addition of the wonderbar - every 3rd gen should have had one stock.

 

[quote=camaronewbie;4694104]Might just be the fact that the right is all new goods, and the left is all worn goods. If it were me, I'd replace ball joints and tie rod ends on left as well. Might also look into a new centerlink and idler arm. And definitely a wonderbar if you don't have one! Then a good alignment.[quote]
this^^^

 

[quote=itsMikey;4694111][quote=camaronewbie;4694104]Might just be the fact that the right is all new goods, and the left is all worn goods. If it were me, I'd replace ball joints and tie rod ends on left as well. Might also look into a new centerlink and idler arm. And definitely a wonderbar if you don't have one! Then a good alignment. Ok that's twice for the wonderbar. Can you clue me in to what the wonderbar is please?
Thanks!

 

Steering box brace. GM Bandaid for IROC's and their 16-inch wheels. Amusingly, it's become a performance part in the past few years. If you feel a difference after installation, it may well be that your car has already experienced damage and should be properly repaired.

JamesC

 

Thank you James! Never heard of one. Mine handles fine. Do you have a picture sir?

 

Here's the Spohn version:

http://www.spohn.net/shop/1982-1992-...onder-Bar.html

Here's a bit more on the Wonderbar and the wheel hop that Blue91 might be interested in:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...questions.html

JamesC

 

Thank you James! $50 plus shipping, that's not bad at all! Can you really feel the difference?

 

Doubtful if the steering box area is in good shape.

JamesC

 

I just replaced all the bushings on the front sway bar, everything else looks good.
I appreciate your advice! Thanks!

 

get a wonderbar... /end

 

All third gens do this with 16" wheels or better. A wonderbar is not going to fix this problem.

At full lock, the ackerman angles fail and the wheels do not match on turn radius so the car climbs on them pinching inward in radius and drops when driving backwards. Its an inherent defect in steering design of these cars. nothing you can do about it.

 

Did you count the turns when you unscrewed and replaced the tie rod ends? Having the toe way out would cause one wheel to drag the other around on a turn. Just get the front end aligned... so you know it's good. You mite also want to measure the balljoint length on both sides and compare. Your right side could be back.

 

Ah......no/end.

 

Wow, a lot of replies here. Thanks for the input. I actually put my car back up on the jack stands and got a good wheel from a friend of mine. (It's good to have friends with third gens...) After I put the good wheel on I noticed that the right tire was not as straight as it should be when the driver's side was dead on. A few turns on my tie rods and all is well. I still need an alignment because I'm pulling ever so slightly to the right. It looks like I might have a little too much outward camber on the top of my tire. I really lucked out on this one.

I don't think I'll worry about the wonder bar for the time being. I just replaced the sway bar link ends with the ones from energy suspension and it's already handling better.

After modifying my replacement fender, I should have this baby back on the road in no time.

Thanks again.

JF

 

There is a lot of great advice here. It's always nice to solve a mystery with help from people that have been there done that!