TexasTieaga

I'm not really sure what's wrong with my car. A couple of weeks ago I noticed my passenger side front wheel making a grinding noise when I backed up and to the left. I checked the fender wells and everything was ok. Then shortly after that it started jerking at any speed over 40 when I turn slightly to the right like in a lane change and then sometimes after it jerked it starts dancing rapidly from right to left and the steering wheel feels like someone has their hand on my wheel pulling back and forth. And then when I let off the gas it jerks to the left and the steering gets real light. I replaced the brake pads and examined the calipers and all is ok. The shim on the front passenger did shift and start to whittle away at the outer edge of the rotor though. I'm ordering new ones though. It might be the alignment but I've done nothing to knock it out of alignment. Plus that side still grinds every now and then only now it rolls back easy instead of me having to force it backwards and to the left. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem or maybe a friendly mechanic can help with diagnosis. It might be a bad strut but all 4 corners still show resistance when I try to bounce them. Please help because she's turning into a scary car to drive. Very unpredictable during freeway lane changes.

Caligula

I saw this and was like..

" Find another girlfriend "

TexasTieaga

Hahaha! I've there before. That also gets a thumbsdown

silver187666

vibrating over 40 sounds like a bent room. thats where id start

~Mike~

iTrader: (2)

Sounds dumb, but make sure ur lugs are tight. I've seen countless ppl lose a wheel because they simply "torqued" the lugs by hand. Can't really notice 1 or 2 of them is loose unless the car is either in the air or rolling tho

cobalt523

iTrader: (6)

hahahahaha i was gonna say if u got a jerk in your car kick him out! hahaha but anyway that could be fucked up tie rod ends

TexasTieaga

Well I always torque the wheels down to spec with a torque wrench. I don't like using air wrenches for fear of over torquing which can lead to warped rotors and broken studs. I've had to replace an entire hub and since the ribs were stripped in the hub I had to chisel the back of the stud out just to get the wheel off. Not fun.

And it's not vibrating. It roles fine, but it jerks hard when I change lanes. And what's a room?

Well that's an easy and cheap fix. Idky I didn't think of that. I'll check that out as well. Keep the suggestions comin guys I appreciate it.

Come on guys... Just a few more things for me to check out. I'm off tomorrow and need something to do before my godmother interrupts my tv/ps3 play askin if I have to work, then insisting I take her to the store, work in the garden, trim tree branches, scrub the floor for her, wash her 08 Vue (she washes it more than I do my Balt and that's once a week), or some other tedious chore. I'd rather rip my car apart and put it back together lol! I could work on my 87 Starion but since it doesn't run she won't see the importance of that so she'll still ask me to do chores. Help a brotha out haha!

joshc.

Check your tie rods, your control arms for cracking or worn bushings, also a blown shock can cause this so even if it is showing resistance you have a stronger spring pressure causing resistance. Stock struts aren't valved to deal with the increased spring pressure and can wear quickly due to decreased travel. At the dealer I've seen struts that you couldn't tell were blown until off the car or without looking at them(leaking).

tru2nrtt777

iTrader: (1)

I am betting on tierod ends or LCA bushings.

TexasTieaga

Thax for all the info guys. I've already checked the bushings and tie rods and everything was fine but in the process I noticed one of the bolts for the wheel hub was half way out so I got the torque specs and torqued it back and found the other 2 were loose too so I torqued them. The car gods are lookin out for me lol! I still gotta test drive it to make sure all is good. Then since I DO need to upgrade my struts and shocks I'll look for some at a reasonable price.

joshc.

If the hub had enough play in it then that might have been your fix right there.

TexasTieaga

That's what I'm hoping for. The freakin wheel moved when I retorqued the bolt :-O

Just came back from the test drive. That did the trick I'm glad I discovered it before it became an even more dangerous and expensive situation. Thanx for all the help though guys.