steering/ suspension acting strange

Racincc85 · #1 06-13-2004, 10:49 PM

whenever i step on my brake pedal, my steering wheel turns about two inches to the left, and if i step hard enough i hear a clunking coming from the left front wheel. When i accelerate from a stop, if i hit the gas hard enough i hear the clunk again from the same spot and it feels as if there is slack or something moving around on the left front wheel assembly. Also, when i go over a speed bump with the wheels straight, there is a horrible cluck from the same wheel and what feels like something is moving around/not secure. the strunt on the wheel only has 20k on it, and the ball joint/ cv joint about 6k. The problem appeared about 1k after the ball and cv joints were replaced. I jacked the car up and checked for play in the ball joint and there was nothing. the tire is firmly bolted to the hub as well. What could be causing this? thanks!!!! ( i think it might be time for a new car soon lol)

also, i was thinking of going to the junkyard to get a strut tower brace for my car ( a 1990 buick lesabre). do these things really improve handling and are they worth it?

public · #2 06-14-2004, 04:12 AM

Quick, quit driving this car. You have a broken or severely worn suspension componient. Most are very cheap. You may only need to replace a king pin. But it sounds like you have a bad A frame bushing or bolt. The next noise you hear could be the entire assembly tearing out from under your car. I cannot think of anything expensive that would cause the symptoms you describe.

Racincc85 · #3 06-14-2004, 06:31 AM

thanks for the help. What is a king pin and where is it located? Is the A frame bolt the bolt that bolts the control arm to the frame?

MagicRat · #4 06-15-2004, 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racincc85

thanks for the help. What is a king pin and where is it located? Is the A frame bolt the bolt that bolts the control arm to the frame?

I think you mean ball joint, not king pin. There is one per wheel, because they have MacPherson struts . The rears last just about forever on those cars so long as they're greased regularly, but the front ones are only good for about 100 K miles or so.
And yes it is a very important safety issue to change those.
Otherwise, those cars have a front sub frame bolted to the body, 2 bolts in front of the front wheels and 4 bolts behind. When the rubber bushings around the bolts wear out, you get the clunking you describe.

INF3RN0666 · #5 06-15-2004, 10:11 PM

Umm, I don't know how you guys consider a braking problem to be a suspension problem :S. I'm not expert but I'd take a look at your brakes first if the steering is shifting left. You might actually have more than one problem but distinctly saying that the steering problem is related to the suspension, I'd take the car to a trusted expert!

Just in case, take off the wheel where the sound is comming from. Do a visual inspection first. If a rotor is "peeling", rough, bumpy, or just plain ugly, you might have to replace it or grind it. Look at your calipers, check for any unusual aspect to it. Look at your pads next and check for uneven wear, breaks, cracks, or roughness.

Then turn your attention to suspension parts and see if your joints are badly damaged. Sometimes you can't tell just by looking but by testing. I remember my mom's cavalier had this same clunking noise. I'll have to ask my dad what was replaced on the car first before giving you some random answer. To test if your suspension is at fault, do the following.

Go to an empty space that's out of sight.
Put the car in drive and turn the wheel all the way to the right
Slowly start accelerating while keep the wheel in that position.
If you hear any strange noises, then one of the joints is bad.
Do the same thing over but turn the wheel left all the way.

public · #6 06-17-2004, 08:58 PM

INF3RN0666 it sounds like you have little engineering background. He reports that the noise happens when he brakes. The A frame is loose somewhere. Most likely are the Ball joint ,Mounting bushings or the King Pin (attaches the torsion bar and the A frame). Could be a really bad tie rod end though not likely. The car pulls to the side because when this happens the alignment is way off. The only brake componient that could make a clunking sound would be a loose caliper and the caliper would be ripped off the car and he would loose braking on the front end.

BeEfCaKe · #7 06-18-2004, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by public

INF3RN0666 it sounds like you have little engineering background. He reports that the noise happens when he brakes. The A frame is loose somewhere. Most likely are the Ball joint ,Mounting bushings or the King Pin (attaches the torsion bar and the A frame). Could be a really bad tie rod end though not likely. The car pulls to the side because when this happens the alignment is way off. The only brake componient that could make a clunking sound would be a loose caliper and the caliper would be ripped off the car and he would loose braking on the front end.

INF3RN0666 · #8 06-20-2004, 12:07 AM

To tell you the truth, I only know things from experience. I never said that there's a brake problem for sure, and you can look at my post to verify that. But I have driven a car with horrible brakes (that eventually failed) and they made a THUMP if you applied them hard. That was because the clip on the pad caught on to a torn rotor skin. I don't know if "rotor skin" is proper terminology but I'll try to explain it. If you look at new rotors, they have a shiny, smooth surface where the brake pads make contact. On my rotors, a pieace had chipped out to make a dent of 1 mm deep. Since the brake pads were worn, applying the brakes too hard would cause the clip on the pad to hook onto this dent and make a THUMP that echoed all the way inside the car.

public · #9 06-20-2004, 02:03 AM

That clip was not making a single thump. even a low speeds the brake rotors are spinning pretty fast. You could get a tat,tat,tat sounat best. A good solid thump made by the brakes can only come from a loose caliper. It moves a fraction of an inch before hitting the slide and makes a very loud thump, like a sledge hammer hitting. Sounds like "your" bad breaks were really bad. Glad you lived through it. If you ever get a chance try an older car with 4 wheel drum brakes, now thats a party. You push down on the pedal and hold on tight.

83-944 · #10 06-20-2004, 07:15 AM

Public is right. 4x Drum brakes make for a whole lot of driving excitement. In a not so fun way.

Hemi99 · #11 06-22-2004, 03:24 PM

Bypass anything brake related for now and focus on suspension since that is the problem. If the car dives right or left when braking, it is not a braking system component, it is a suspension problem. I agree in checking the ball joint and the control arms. More than likely it is a bad ball joint on that side of the car the noise is coming from. It sounds like you have some skee-balls bouncing around under the hood when you go over a bump, through a turn, or when braking, it is your ball joint or a strut or strut mount. From your description though, it sounds like a ball joint.

rootdown · #12 09-23-2004, 03:46 PM

Kudos to Public on the analysis. By the way, where did you get that groovy picture by your name?

public · #13 09-23-2004, 07:49 PM

You did not say what piece was broken, I suggested a couple of possibilities.
As for the picture.....
I am the proud owner of an Electra Bicycle. That is from their new catalog. She is the model for "Jester" model. If you like high quality-retro style bikes these are your people.
http://www.electrabike.com

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