Hey guys and gals,

I wasn't sure where to post this, but I opted for this forum rather than the modifications forum bc I think its more of a wear & tear issue than the mods.

Charlie has 53k miles on him (in three years of western PA roads) and the steering and general feel of the suspension is feeling looser than I'd like. I've replaced the springs with Hsport springs at the beginning of summer. My sway bar has been on there for about two years. The tires are worn in but not worn out. No other mods to the suspension that I can think of off the top of my head.

Now, I'm not sure if a new set of shocks would help out or if I need to replace the bushings or go so far as to replace the control arms, etc. Any ideas?

 

could be an outer tie rod. the best way to check is to lift the front of the car and grab the tire by the sides. then turn it left to right. make small smooth movements. feel for excessive free play. a bad tie rod could result in toe-out and cause the tires to wear more on the inside edges. but that kind of wear is also caused by negative camber from lowering the ride height. let me know what you find out

 

I think if anything I've got outer wear on the tires, not inner. But I'll jack it up tonight and see what I can find. Thanks for the tip.

The weird thing is that the "looseness" just started a few weeks ago - about two months or so after the springs. So thats why I'm ruling out the mods.

 

I would check out the front control arm bushings. Sounds like that might be the problem.

 

How big a job is it to change those bushings? I'm having a similar problem right now, seems to be looser on the passenger side than drivers side when I have the front jacked up, kind of makes a clunking noise too when I shake the wheel.

 

Not sure on the actually shop rate, but I have heard it is not cheap to be done at the dealer. You can get it done at an independent shop, just ask around.

Here is a link to a thread that has some great info in it.

 

Thanks for the help.