I was making a U turn today and my car started groaning and the steering wheel started "bobbing". You know how a hot wheels car feels after you push it down too hard and the axle is bent and you roll it again and it's bobbing and shaking? It felt like that. I tried a couple more U-turns and same thing but as soon as you let up on the turn it feels like a million bucks again. The front end was rebuilt not long ago & steering column feels tight.

What could be causing this? I have a book about modding 3rd gens and I remember it mentioning that they had very weak steering box mounting. I don''t know anything about steering boxes (or the steering system in general really) but could that be it?

I'm not talking about the standard lame 3rd gen tight turn performance which they're notorious of, I'm talking about violent shaking.

 

The following is from How to Tune and Modify your 1982-1998 Camaro by Jason Scott:

"The problem stems from high forces transmitted from the steering box to the chassis, especially under low-speed cornering, such as when maneuvering around a shopping mall parking lot. Fat performance tires present a great deal of resistance at low speeds, which imparts considerable stress into the steering system, and ultimately attempts to rip the steering box from its mounting surface--especially during "full-lock" turns, where steering torque is greatest. Over time, these forces weaken the chassis surface around the steering box and can result in torn metal.

"Whether the chassis is weakened or torn at the steering box, the result is the same--steering actions are delayed while the chassis flexes, leading to unresponsive and erratic steering. Ironically, though the damage stems from low-speed steering, the resulting problem is far more serious at high speeds than low ones.

"It is possible to repair the damaged area, though the best solution is to avoid the problem in the first place by installing a brace [Wonderbar] that reinforces the steering box mounting area."

JamesC

 

That's it, that's the book I was thinking of. But now I'm realizing - since mine's an IROC-Z, doesn't it have a "wonderbar"? I'm going to jack the car up tomorrow if I can and try to spot... something... if I can with my chassis-illiterate eyes.

In the mean time, anyone know of any other possible causes / things I should look for?

 

Are you running wider tires or possibly different offset/backspace rims on the front? Possible on full lock the tires and/or rims could be contacting the sway bar and pushing back as your trying to turn. Also holding the car at full lock turn should try to be avoided because of the stress and puts on everything. Turn all the way and back off a bit once you start moving