91gtcoupe said:
i have realized for some time now that there is a problem something in my front suspension. every time i go in and get an alignment and get my tires balanced and rotated it only takes a little while until my steering wheel starts wobbling again. the faster i go the worse it gets. also, there seems to be quite a bit of play in my steering wheel but maybe that's normal. i can hear a popping noise at low speeds when turning hard from the front end which i hear is the balljoint going bad. i opened up my haynes manual and it said that i couldn't replace the balljoint without getting a whole new control arm. is this true? also, could my tie rod ends be suspect here? and should i replace both the innner and outer tire rod ends? i replaced the steering rack a while back and i noticed that the steering rack bushings could be in better shape. i'm just about to start college so i'm extremly limited in what i can spend so what could i do for relatively cheap that could solve most of my problems?
im surprised the shop hasnt caught the culprit when working on your car. steering wheel wobble can be wheel outta balance, tie rods worn, play in the rack and pinion. jack up a front wheel and grab the tire at 3 and 9 o'clock. try to turn the wheel and feel if there is any slop (like if the wheel youre holding moves and the other is not (mine did this- the rack had tons of slop-toast). could also be worn tie rods. do for both front wheels.
if you grab the wheel at 6 and 12 o'clock (use jack stands and all that-dont want to have a hand get crushed). do the same thing (push and pull on the wheel/tire). if there is slop, its likely a balljoint.
for the ball joint, you can press it out. autozone loans the tool-works great. you can even do it with the control arm on the car. it'll take you no time. air gun for using the tool is really helpful. i liked the tool so much i bought one (not there-its 100 something bucks- got mine for 30 on sale). they press in and out pretty easy. most people i think , recommend going woth Moog ball joints or i would think energy suspensions or PST stuff is probably decent (though i have no experience with their joints, only urethane bushings). you should be able to get Moog in town, vs prob mail order for others.
good luck. post or pm if you have any questions or R/R.
if doing the checks i recommend doesnt find anything obvious, get other replies. im certainly no expert, just know what i have done and what has happened to me. BTW, if your thinking tie rods are at fault, youre money ahead to just geta reman'd rack from parts store for 100 bucks rather than putting new tie rods on the rack, only to have the rack crap out a short time later. the rack should come with new inner and outer tie rods. BTW, my rack came with the wrong bushings. i read others have had this happen too. just so you know...good luck
