a little suspension trouble...

The Beer Barron

Registered User
well, I got two problems... maybe you guys could help me.

First one:

In my 90 SC when I turn around a sharp corner I get a loud clunk (bang) from the right side front by the wheel. If I don't turn real sharp, I don't have a problem... wierd huh?

Second one:

In my 94 LX I have a vibration from the front left wheel. An an utrla slow speed if I hit the brakes fast the wheel will slightly move from front to back and back to front. So at a higher speed the wheel vibrates back and forth. any ideas or experiences?

Thanks guys!

The Barron

P.S. The hazards of having several cars... more repair bills than normal ;)
 
i would take your t-bird to some place that does free alignment or suspension checks. i bet the mechanic will find something bad when he shakes down that wheel. hard to say what until you feel where exactly the movement is coming from.
 
Problem #1

I have had this problem on my old 90 Cougar which I ended up selling,and also on my current ride, the 95 SC.

The popping noise is comming from your ball joint. Get it replaced soon. It will only get worse. On the Cougar it got to the point where it was very difficult to stear.

As far as the cost goes, I am not sure. I never priced it. I had the ones done on the TBird while still under warranty.
 
cool. I'll do the ball joint. It seems to be easier to turn the wheel left then to turn right. So the ball joint must be the problem...

Still scratching my head on the LX tho.

thanks,

The Barron
 
Sorry guys , but i don't think it's the BALL joint, with the mechanic experience that I have(not very much), I think it's the CV joint.
 
The popping noise is comming from your ball joint. Get it replaced soon. It will only get worse.

aint that the truth!!!! i had a popping in my steering along with kind of a screeching noise, and my lower right side ball joint broke out of the boot.
 
i would say the clicking is the tie rod end, also known as the ball joint, they cost around 150 just for parts, however the local shop by me only charges $25 labor per side, i would say the foward to rear movement of the wheel would be the torque strut bearings which only cost me $66 for the shop to do, then $31 for a wheel alignment, in order to tell, jack it up, and look at your torque strut bushings, you should be able to tell if there bad by looking at them, then make sure the car is stably the way you jack it up and move the top of the wheel and bottom of the wheel back and forth, if your ball joint is going out you should be able to hear the "click" and see the looseness
 
****, I always thought the tie rod ends and ball joints were different. Guess you learn something every day :rolleyes:!?!? As far as price, I paid $26 at Advanced for a replacement lower ball joint (TRW unit). I priced a greasable joint at AutoZone for like ~$36. I paid $50 labor to have it put on.

Torque strut bearings?

Camaro03, I hope that message was meant to be funny (kinda hard to tell a person's tone over a computer)?

Beer Baron, does the wheel only move back and forth while you are braking? If so, could be a warped brake rotor(s)!?!?

Jack the front of your car up and support it with jack stands. Get a crowbar or very large screwdriver (BIG). Put in between the wheel and the tire and pull up. There should be no movement of the joints or audible "click"! Also, grab the wheel at the 9 and 3 o'clock postions and try to move it back and forth, shouln't move.
 
A tie rod end has a small ball joint in it, but it is NOT the same part that is commonly referred to as a ball joint. A tie rod is part of the steering linkage, a ball joint is a piece that connects the spindle to the control arm.


cheers
Ed N.
 
the ball joint and tie rod end arent the same, sorry about that, ive been working 13 hour shifts, however there is a torque strut bushing, look in the haynes manual in ch 10 in it, its a bar that goes from the bottom of the tie rod to the frame,
 
I just got the clunk fixed in my 90 T-bird and it didn't cost a damn thing in parts. I took the mechanic all of 5 minutes to locate the problem. The entire under carrige was loose. Right control arm also. He tightened it all up and its good as gold now.

I think back now and wonder....how the hell did all those bolts get loose, and what if I never got it checked out? I hat buying used vehicles....I wish they still made the SC, I'd buy a new one.
 
Ok not tooting my own horn here but I am ASE certified in steering and suspension. This is what I would recommend.

1st jack up your vehicles, then put some jack stands under the frame of the vehicle, preferrably the K frame but the frame rails will suffice. Next I would shake down the suspension. It's easier with two people because while one person wiggles the front tire the other can look to see which parts are jacking up and down or left to right. These will be your worn out parts. My experience has shown me that on these MN12 cars typically the upper ball joints go bad at around 100K as do the outer tie rods. The lower ball joints seem to go some where around 120-150K, and please do not overlook your sway bar links. Those links are hard to detect and will make a racket, opull on them back and forth whild the car is up in the air and if there is any play at all they are bad. If your lower ball joints are bad I would also recommend replacing the rearward strut bar bushings. WHile you have the car in the air look to see if your struts ar leaking oil, if so they are also bad. I would look very closely at the upper ball joint (around $50 each) and the outer tie rods (Around $20 each) and the sway bar links (around $30 each). If I were a betting man this is what is bad but all front ends are not created equal due to driving conditions so the only real way is to shake the front end down. Shake wheel top to bottom and side to side. Look for any parts that are loose. I hope I was of help.

BTW - tie rods are different than ball joints, they do both utilize a ball socket style joint but they are definitely not the same.
 
1500?!!

1500 on just your front end? !! What did u replace?

Peace, Dillon

Was looking at a 300ZX the other day.....
 
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