steering "loose" help please

[OonDeanisS]

my car handles great on back-roads and on new stretches of highway, but on some uneven pavement, its really difficult to keep the car in a straight line. the curves in the road pull the car side to side VERY easily, and im not sure why? i swear people must look at me and think im drunk. I have hotchkis cc plates, eibach road racing springs, KYB adjustable struts/shocks, and 17x9 wheels with 245/45/17 tires. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[1989DropTop]

4 way alignment would help and probably inform you if you have some bad parts I.E. balljoints, tie rods, steering knuckle, ect....

 

[stykthyn]

Mine does the exact same thing. I have heard everything from adding negative camber to dropping down to a 235 size tire.

 

[MFE92]

Do a search here and on the corral for the term "tramlining". That's what you're experiencing and there's a lot of things that contribute to it.

 

[Adams91LX]

Also check into the condition of the steering rag joint... think about either replacing, or going to the MM solid shaft...

A worn rag joint will make your steering super sloppy, and take a lot of movement before the wheels actually move.

 

[OonDeanisS]

The wheels move instantly when I steer, there Is no lag, which is why the car swerves so much when the wheen gets pulled to either side by the road.

 

[Justin81]

I used to have the same problem. I had to keep both hands on the steering wheel on uneven pavement. I replaced my steering rack(the old one started puking fluid out of the bellow boots), tie rod ends, rag joint and replaced the rack bushings with urethane ones. After the alignment it steered like a new car. The only time I notice it pulling is on really uneven roads, but still isn't too bad. Having 255 wide front tires and the front end lowered 1" - 1.5" doesn't help any.

 

[Riverart]

I have the same issues. New rack and steering parts installed, new shocks and springs. Alignment was done. It gets difficult when the road gets uneven. I am thinking it may be the wider tires up front and the type of tires.

 

[89FoxBodyStang]

i have heard that installing camber plates on your strut towers will help resolve the problem, especially if you have a lowered suspension and it changes the geometry of your suspension. my car does the same thing, its fun to see me run over a bump on the freeway and turn the wheel an 1/8 of a turn and the car is still going straight down the road. also there's a spot going through ohio on I-75... oh man

 

[Sharad]

i have heard that installing camber plates on your strut towers will help resolve the problem, especially if you have a lowered suspension and it changes the geometry of your suspension. my car does the same thing, its fun to see me run over a bump on the freeway and turn the wheel an 1/8 of a turn and the car is still going straight down the road. also there's a spot going through ohio on I-75... oh man

Well, it's true that if your stock strut bushings are worn out (any fox with factory strut mount bushings would be worn out by now) the steering can get sloppy. So yes a good quality control arm, particularly one with a spherical bearing on the strut shaft, will dramatically improve the steering response.

However, wide front tires tend to tramline more than the narrow stockers. Kind of goes with the territory.

 

[OonDeanisS]

steering response is not the problem, if i turn it half an inch the car will turn, but its the dramatic pull to one side or the other (the car AND the wheel) that gets me. if i hold the steering wheel tight enough, i can stop it, but its no walk in the park.

 

[90lxwhite]

4 way alignment would help and probably inform you if you have some bad parts I.E. balljoints, tie rods, steering knuckle, ect....

can't really align the rear wheels on these cars although most shops will sell you the "4 wheel alignment." Once I saw a shop take a string and run it from the front tires to the rear to see if it was in line..