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strange vibrations...

4K views 36 replies 5 participants last post by  UnexplodedCow 
#1 ·
so, heres another problem, and hopefully its not huge
my car kinda vibrates alot in front, its sort of a wobble..doesnt do it when im accelerating hard, or when im at high speeds, but it does it when im coasting, but alot more when braking...am i about to kill myself in this thing, or is it just rotors?
 
#27 ·
....................a ball joint doesn't have a gasket. It's a rubber boot that keeps dirt out of the grease.

When replacing suspension parts, the new part should be VERY stiff. If you can easily rotate the joint with little resistance the thing is worn out. Think of all the work you just did to save less than $20.

I understand a lot of you guys are in school and just trying to get by, but when you are working on a part of your car that effects it's safety please consider this when using JY parts. Sometime they just aren't worth the risk.
 
#28 ·
UPDATE
We took the car for a test drive, everything seemed fine, new/used rotor, balljoint/control arm, brake pads only thing left is the inner tie rod..man that thigns about to fail, on our way back, i could feel it gradually getting worse, more and more vibration..its now parked until i can fix it..but here'sa bit of info for everyone!

The tie rods are cheap, as you guys have said, but here's just how cheap. i called Kragen..quoted as $19.99, Autozone same price..but NAPA had the exact same thing $13.99! Cant beat that! especially when my mechanic was going to charge me around $38-40 for the same part. just thought everyone should know! will update when i can, take care folks!
 
#29 ·
A tie rod at O'Reilly here in Houston is only $9.00.

What makes you think it's the tie rod? They wear out gradually. It's not really something you'll be able to feel on a short drive.

Go back and check your work. It sounds more like something is coming loose. Did you get everything tight, and replace the cotter pins where necessary? Did you replace any of the bushings, one of the old ones might have torn. Did you get it aligned?
 
#30 ·
I had a problem with the steering knuckle when I first put my car together. I took it to get an alignment, and the guy wouldn't because he said the control arm on the driver's side was bad, and it was pretty much new. I'd sourced it from my tempo, so it had about 15k on it, and was as tight as when new. So I took the car back home. It shook so badly I couldn't go over 35 without losing control. Turned out the hole the control arm ball joint slips into was horribly worn, and the joint just slopped around in the knuckle. So I changed the knuckle, and the car was much better. I haven't lost the alignment yet, either.
Oh, another thought. I don't use those silly bolts that are supposed to work for pinching the control arm into the knuckle. They always break on me if I just go over 45 lbs. of torque ( I know the proper torque is 40). I use some transmission to block bolts, with the pinch bolt nuts, and torque it to 55 lbs. no problem. Made the car feel a lot tighter. Sorry for the book. It's just a thought since I'd never seen the problem before, but apparently it can happen, and it's hard to check unless you're able to look directly at the hole in the knuckle, or else know the control arm ball joint is tight and new.
 
#31 ·
i know for a fact its the tie rod, it slips in and out of place where it connects to the steering box, it allows the entire wheel wobble back and forth, causing soem serious vibration on the road, and like you said, its something that has gradually gotton worse and worse:( not to mention, while i steer around turns, i can actually hear the tie rod making that sickening cluncking sound it makes when i slides in and out of the steering box.
for a second opinion i took it to the ford dealership downtown, and they basically told me that since i have a steering system that isnt mean for manual steering, i have likely put alot of stress on an already worn tie rod..time for a replacment, and if i got my power steering pump hooked up again, it would likely keep this from being a common problem, where if i dont get it hooked up, or change my power steering system to a manual, if run into this problem more often then normal.

so to resolve this im going to purchase the tie tod, and have my service tech install it. i just dotn have the tools or the time to really deal with another project like that. but after road testing and feeling how the car was before and after, i can tell a huge difference in the ride with the new balljoint, rotor, hub, bearings and brakes. even witht the tie rod problem on the drivers side..the car feels so much smoother..im really gunna love it when its all done!:)
 
#32 ·
Actually, the dealership isn't quite correct. More stress is put on a tie rod WITH power steering, especially in a parking lot when the car is sitting still, and the steering wheel is turned. That's one of the most stressful things on the whole steering system. Secondly, not to be a jerk, it's not a steering box, it's a rack and pinion setup. Thirdly, not having the power steering pump won't stress the tie rods any more, probably less actually, since the ratio is higher on the power steering racks, making it even tougher without the pump to turn the wheel vs. a manual rack. And finally, the only thing I'm aware of that can be screwed up from not having the pump operating is over stressing the internals of the rack (primarily due to pressure buildup in the fluid valve body), and possibly the steering shaft coupler, although they are the same for manual and power steering models. Good luck on replacing the inner tie rod.
 
#33 ·
well, leave it to the dealership to give me not so correct info..its the "upsale find any way to make money" theory likely. good to know about the sitting with the wheels turned bit..and even better to know the difference in power and manual steering. im no expert, as you can tell since i called the rack in pinion setup simply a steering box for lack of a better term. lol my bad. either way, there's no chance im doing the tie rod myself..but i will take to heart what you said versus my mechanic..his exact words were "your tie rod is bad becuase you do not have power steering" now i know hes full of it, and probably the reason my tie rod is in bad shape is simply from wear and tear, and having been thru more then one owner and probably never maintained..crap, my car is almost 18 years old, and has alot of original parts.
either way, i know how people are, and everyone is just out trying to make a buck, he saw something he could make money off of..and so he recomended i pay him hook it all up again.(including all the stuff i repalced..what he didnt know is im not an idiot just cause im not a mechanic hehe) If its true that not having power steering doesnt make a diff..i'll wait til i have the time to hook it up again myself, rather then pay someone an extra 70 dollars labor to do something that isnt in any means an emergency. anyways, thanks again for the help ..and no worries you didnt sound like a jerk, better to clarify, cos honestly, i didnt know i had a rack and pinion setup specifically, theres alot of things i dont know still esp technical terms, so thanks again, man. take it easy.
 
#34 ·
There you go UCow, eating the dealer's lunch! How you expect them to eat when they can't replace everything on 89EGT's car that he doesn't need for three times the price?
 
#35 ·
I hate dealers. Passionately.

And don't feel bad about the tie rod. when I first got my escort on the road, its tie rods were rusty and dry, inner and outter. I didn't have any money to buy two new whole tie rods and ends, so I found a couple used ones sitting in the back 40 of my dad's storage cube van, had a good one on my '91 tempo rack (car I'd flipped), passenger side on it had snapped when the tire hit a tree trunk. The rack was fine after extensive testing, so with the engine out, I swapped the tempo power steering unit in, bought a new inner passenger rod, and put on the use outters. I'm still driving on them 2 years later. The ends are pretty much worn out, though, as is the driver's inner rod (original part on a 255k mile tempo).
 
#36 ·
wow man. im learning alot, for sure.
for now, ive parked my car, i miss it, trust me, im dumping twice the gas money into my gurl's 92 Dakota..damn thing drinks gas like us my father drank beer lol.
i would keep driving it, but the vibration on the driver's side is so bad, i just dont want to risk any problems..im also sort of thinking it may be time to inspect everything myself on that side too, now knowing better what to look for in say failing ball joints, and the like. it REALLY rattles when i apply the brakes..does that seem logical for such a problem? like i said, when i jacked the car up and found my tie rod was loose, it seemed to move about a half inch in and out of the rack and pinion. bleh.

its definatly a project car, but i still feel its value. we own unique cars, especially when you see so many imports everywhere, and only a very few scorts. (and im sure you'll agree that its a nice feeling to totally spank one of them dime-a-dozen cars with a car the other driver laughs at at the stop light)

well, again, thanks for all your help, knowledge is a beautifull thing!
 
#37 ·
I can feel the pain from here. Where I live, trucks are popular beasts. People enjoy lowering them, putting huge subs and other nonsense in them, and trying to look pimp. And they wonder why I hate trucks even more.
Just do a full suspension rundown, check all joints, and pivot points and bushings. Also, what I've experienced from my car is that the rear suspension will heavily influence any irregularities in the ride. Check for wobbly rear wheels, particularly the left rear, as the wheel bearing tends to loosen up (seen this happen on every escort and tempo to date). The right side is generally ok due to right hand threads. Why Ford didn't use left hand threads on the left side is beyond me.

Today our cars are indeed unique, but it wasn't that way when I was a kid. I remember my dad having at least 3 in the back yard at all times. I used to see them everywhere in Michigan. But they were considered disposable, even though they're tough. I'd like to see a modern car in an accident with an old escort to see which one comes out on top. Granted, safety is supposed to be better, but I doubt that due to being in a simple rollover in a WRX....stupid ceiling beam caved in on my head, whereas my tempo hits trees, drain pipes, and other such pap hurling end over and at 70, and dropping into a ten foot deep ditch...and I have less injuries. The car was beat up the same amount.
I'll never buy a new car.
 
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