Ok, so this is the oddest thing I've ever had happen to me in my 14 years of car driving and ownership. MY 95 Legacy Brighton gets oscilations in the steering wheel when I hit big bumps with one side or the other, but not both, and most defenitly when I hit big bumps on the left side of the car. The steering wheel wiggles back and forth and after 2-3 seconds of smooth pavement it fades away. The car has 206,000 miles on it, with me owning it the last 56k or so. I replaced the rear struts two summers ago, and the fronts appeared to have been replaced once before, but who knows when. Is it a safe bet that I've got some BAD struts in the front, or could I have a problem in the steering somewhere? No clunks or noises, nor any loose play anywhere in the steering that I can find.

 

Thoughts?

 

Keith

This can be almost anything in the front end. You need to get under there and start rulling things out one at a time. Start with the tie rod ends, then the balljoints, then the struts. Also look at the bushings and the wheel bearings.

I am 90% sure this is not the rack. The rack starts to bind when it goes bad, or leak. Also racks are most obvious when they are cold.

 

nipper

what about the ball joints, sounds like what one might do if it were really bad. i'd carefully inspect the tie rods and ball joints since they pose significant risks if they fail.

 

i'd vote for strut related. do the strut top mounts look okay, yous seems too new for these to be a problem though. but i've seen a number of strut tops with deep/severe cracking in the top rubber. i've often wondered what they would do if it cracked "too much".

 

edit - nipper posting at the same time - i'm with nipper, not the rack itself.

edit - nipper posting at the same time - i'm with nipper, not the rack itself.

 

*looks over shoulder*

 

your following me again

between you and the little voices im not getting any rest ....

 

 

hehehehe

 

nipper

Even thought I said:

 

No clunks or noises, nor any loose play anywhere in the steering that I can find.

 

 

I guess I didn't call out ball joints, even though I consider them part of the steering.

 

Seriously though, I just did Ball joints last fall and everything was checked at inspection in April, and by me in June (after this all started) when I finally got around to putting my summer tires on. Also, please note that this has done the same thing with TWO different sets of compeltely different tires on, so we can rule out tires.

 

I'll double check the ball joints, but at $40 a piece they better not be bad 8 months later, and I'll take another look at the tie rod ends.

 

Here's a thought.... Could it be a bad steering rack bushing? One of the bushings that holds the rack in place?

It can be a loose rack, or any bushing in the front suspension.

 

 

nipper

if you replaced the ball joints i doub they're the issue i was thinking they were original.

 

i doubt it's the steering rack bushings, but they're easy to check and replace. the warn rack bushings i've seen cause drifting and delayed response to steering input. if you had that, you'd know exactly what i'm talking about, it's annoying! some aftermarket/stiffer bushings should work. i use aftermarket impreza/WRX steering rack bushings in my XT6.

Don't forget to check the "U" joints in the steering shaft and/or maybe a loose end of steering shaft.

 

My bet is a inner tie rod...........

Are you getting any vibrations at speed even on smooth tops,is the car dipping real hard as you go over a bump? I'm leaning towards struts and wondering if you're showing any uneven tire wear? John

If you bounce the front end by hand/foot does it bounce more than once or twice? Maybe the suspension needs a good shakedown for loose/worn components. Also, some the Legacies from ~96 had a recall for poor quality steel in the springs, so make sure those aren't broken either.

My bet is a inner tie rod...........

oh man, that's a good call, but annoying to fix. any way that he can test it? check it with the front end off the ground, ie unloaded?

oh man, that's a good call, but annoying to fix. any way that he can test it? check it with the front end off the ground, ie unloaded?

 

Same way you would a tie rod.

 

 

nipper

have to agree that it probably is not the rack.

it is also recommended that struts be replaced about every 50,000 miles (+/-).

 

you say you get "oscilations"...hmmm, sounds a LOT like tie rod ends to me. You need to check them over very carefully very soon - having one of those fail while driving is NOT fun.

Hitting bumps on one side of the car twists the anti-sway bar... while hitting a bump with both does not. You might try disconnecting that and see if anything changes.

Well, I've done the old bounce test in the past, but I did it again last night. The car stops as soon as my 270lbs rump roast stops bouncing it. I think it's safe to say it's not struts. Time to start really checking over all the tie rods. I think my problem in the past was doing it with both wheels in the air. This week I'll do one in the air at a time.

 

Keith