So I was on I205 north today, hit about 60mph and the car felt like it wanted to take off like a plane, I have noticed it before on US26 going 55. But this is starting to make me fairly uneasy. It will sway side to side like a boat(yes brand new KYB GR2s). My thought is either tie rods,sway bars and links. OR the Toyo observe stud-less snow tires with the extreme siping causing in the shimmy everywhere. Any ideas? I have a new ball joint on the pass side, it was replaced during a rather upsetting axle job(sorry rick:eek:). But i did not do the drivers side joint yet, the new joint is in the tool box.

Snow tires definitely make things feel very loose on dry asphalt on a warm day. I suggest you check the pressure in the tire and check for play in the tie rods and ball joints like you are thinking.

 

Have you had the rack serviced recently?

no, I was going to check that when I go to GD's place for some exhaust work. it's really odd I can turn the wheel about 1" either direction before it starts turning.

Definitely a issue with some serious play even the uv joints that connect the steering to the rack.

yay, working on the steering rack, blah. dont want to do that so lets hope its ok:rolleyes: I'll start with the basics, check tie rods,ball joints,PS, the rack and the joints you talked about. I've heard of those going out.

I had a similar issue with the steering feeling "loose" at higher speeds, and the steering wheel turning about 1" before any actual turning. It was the steering u-joint. I brought it to GD thinking it was the steering rack, and he tightened up the u-joint and all was well.

 

Might be another place to look.

what car?

 

there is a thread about an 04 - 05 i think that gets loose in snow? i can't remember.

how do you 'tighten up' the u-joint, looks like a sealed unit on a '98 legacy wagon

hmm, that I don't know. GD was under my car, and came out with it in his hand. I didn't see how he got it!

I'd say he probably replaced it with one he had laying in a pile of parts.

 

Check the condition of the bushings on the steering rack. If oil gets on them (from leaks) they will expand and turn soft then fall apart. This leaves the rack "floating" in the mount brackets rather than secured to the chassis of the car. This will cause wandering, and some pretty funky chatter/clunk noises when turning sometimes.

Miles on this car?

I'd say he probably replaced it with one he had laying in a pile of parts.

plie of parts.....Rick, no that cant be true

Check the condition of the bushings on the steering rack. If oil gets on them (from leaks) they will expand and turn soft then fall apart. This leaves the rack "floating" in the mount brackets rather than secured to the chassis of the car. This will cause wandering, and some pretty funky chatter/clunk noises when turning sometimes.

that makes sense, I will have to check that out.

what car?

 

there is a thread about an 04 - 05 i think that gets loose in snow? i can't remember.

 

97 Legacy Brighton EJ22 5MT.

I'd say he probably replaced it with one he had laying in a pile of parts.

 

Check the condition of the bushings on the steering rack. If oil gets on them (from leaks) they will expand and turn soft then fall apart. This leaves the rack "floating" in the mount brackets rather than secured to the chassis of the car. This will cause wandering, and some pretty funky chatter/clunk noises when turning sometimes.

 

 

YAY that answers all my questions. Lately steering input on blu has been more of a "suggestion" then a command.

 

I know he needs a rack, but that explains everything else.

yeah, i have my fingers crossed that I dont need a rack..

They are on ebay, under 100 with shipping.

 

I found a loose outer tierod end on mine. Simple fix (loose at the thread) but disturbing.

Is this one of those concrete highways will all the little grooves in it? I've had those cause quite noticeable weaving back and forth at speed, when there was actually nothing wrong with the vehicle's steering at all.... highway 287 north of Longmont is especially bad with certain tires and cars.

I think(hypothetically) that I figured it out....its the tires, they are super soft and there is a ton of of grooves for the winter traction. There is a reason why I think this, I had to go to OHSU to pick up my grandfather today and had my brother and my son in the car, along with a ton of medical supplies for my grandfather, with the added weight there was no drift so the tires IMO were planted to the ground more. I guess I'll just get some decent new street tires and see if that happens to work. Kinda want these Toyos to last a few seasons:lol: I didn't have this problem until I put these tires on, but I think I will still do new tie rods JIC and the other ball joint.

haha i still remember how my car felt when i went from 225/45/17 with re050a tires to 225/55/16 w409 snows. It was almost like I was driving with flat tires lol. It was VERY scary the first time I got on the highway with them.

yeah thats kinda how it feels. With the 14's that are on it probably doesnt help!! I'd like the find a cheap set of 15" steelies.

You could probably find some cheap 16" wrx rims too on nasioc. I got my 17" jdm legacy rims with 4 runflat re050a's for $600.

So I was on I205 north today, hit about 60mph and the car felt like it wanted to take off like a plane, I have noticed it before on US26 going 55. But this is starting to make me fairly uneasy. It will sway side to side like a boat(yes brand new KYB GR2s). My thought is either tie rods,sway bars and links. OR the Toyo observe stud-less snow tires with the extreme siping causing in the shimmy everywhere. Any ideas? I have a new ball joint on the pass side, it was replaced during a rather upsetting axle job(sorry rick:eek:). But i did not do the drivers side joint yet, the new joint is in the tool box.

 

I really want to do a serious but non lowering suspension myself, how are the KYBs ? but I digress.

Got new yokahama advan envigour and I pumped them up to 35.5 PSI front 32 back any how I had problems about the same time you did, the car was bobbing around like crazy on the highway.

The wind was gusting at about 40 kmh.

Lowering the tire pressure to stock cured it.

Stock load index on the "bridge stones" is 89 and the load index of the snows is 91.

So along comes warmer weather and now I have a tire running equivalent of 37.5 because of the extra load index maybe more because it has warmed up almost 10 degrees since I added the air.

It becomes a science experiment and there is way too much frequency.

Also I'm not sure if this means anything but I was driving on the 407 which is concrete.