Hey, would like to ask you guys, if you can help me. My car feels like its all over the road on a bumpy one, and even if its a little one, steering especially-like lincoln town car. Is there anything that could be done? Thank you.

 

You need to start diagnosing the problem. Start by bouncing each corner to test the struts. Should return in one bounce, no more. Jack up the front end and test for play in wheel bearings and steering joints.

 

Not to seem stupid, but how to check play in wheel bearings and joints?Thank you.

 

Grip the bottom of the tyre and work it back and forth. (side to side I mean) Should be no play at all. If there is, you have worn wheel bearings. Grab the side and try the same. If you feel play there, you have worn steering balljoints probably or it could be play in the rack.

 

Thanks a lot! One more question, if there is play in the rack-can I do anything?

 

side to side play may indicate play in the tie-rod ends......up and down play is more likely to be wheel bearing play...

 

up and down as in forward to back?

 

Yep, thats the one He just meant when you grip it on the top and bottom.

 

GOOD LORD I am totally lost now. How do you determine this stuff?

Moving tire into tire well and out of tire well shows wore wheel beerings?

Moving tire backwards, towards rear of car and fowards, toward front of car means balljoints/tie-rods?

 

No, both times you move it the same way(one hand from you, another towards you), just grab it differently.

 

SO, just to make sure this is what everyone means right::

With the wheel off the ground, grab the tire with hands opposite each other. If the axle is pointing at your navel, push one hand away and pull the other toward you, then reverse the motion. If you feel play, the bearings are shot.

 

Depends where you put the hands, if they are on horisontal sides(left&right), its balljoint, if they are on vertical sides(top&bottom) thats bearing.

 

I think I'm going to have a shop replace my bearings as according to other ORG posts you need some kind of super 10 ton machine to press the bearing into the hub (if I understand how it all goes together correctly).

Since I'm paying them to replace the bearings is there anything else I should get them to replace while they're at it?

 

just have them shake down the front end to verify before you go spending money.... tie-rod play is more common than bearing play on a lot of vehicles, so make sure they check first.

other than that......if its not broke (or on its way out) than dont waste your money.

 

Balljoint=tie rod?

 

And if its either a bearing or tierod/balljoint can it be done/tighten by myself(done the clutch and lots of other stuff) or better to take to the shop?

P.S. If tie/rod plays it should be replaced or can be tighten?

 

the end of a tie-rod is a ball-joint type fitting.....but is not normally referred to as a "ball-joint"... most cars have an inner and outer tie-rod and the outer tie rod end is the part that has the "ball-joint" on the end....

the ball-joints and tie-rods can not be tightened...... and perceptible movement in the joint itself is what you are looking for.... its easiest to see this if you can get the car on a rack...

when you goto the shop, ask them to show you......and if they arent willing to show you, then you probably should take it somewhere else

by the way, outer tie-rod ends are VERY easy to replace.... you would just have to get the car re-aligned after you put it on.... (to be completely honest im not sure how the maximas front end is set-up, im just giving you general information).... after i pick up my 97 i30t tonight i will tell you for sure if no one else chimes in....

 

Getting a bushing set and replacing all the bushings will help me anyhow? Thanks for all the help!

 

if you have worn bushings on the lca (lower control arm) you can have the "wandering" condition as this allows the camber and toe in to change as the suspension moves. my car drove perfect on flat ground, but when i accelerated, the car pulled to the right (my right side bushings were bad) and when i eased up on the throttle, the car went straight. on a bump or dip, i didn't know where the car would go.

 

Dennis,

How did your car turnout? What was fixed if you had it done? As my 03 SE had the same symptom you describe and I've had new tires put in, wheel balance and alignment and still does it, plus now the steering vibrates on the highway now.

 

Here is the real deal... looseness in steering is usually a symptom of suspension looseness, especially tie rod ends and load bearing ball joints. All of our suspension bushings on the 4th gen are rubber which will dry-rot (especially in the NE) without any doubt, in under 10 years. To correct looseness these are the steps to take from least expensive to most expensive: 1) New heavy duty bumpstops, 2) Polyurethane Energy Suspension Bushings, 3) Stiffer springs, 4) replace tie rods/tie rod ends, 5) New Tokico or Koni shock absorbers (or custom kit like D2Sport or Ksport), 6) In advanced rust cases, new control arms may be necessary... hope this helps someone.

 

If your wheel bearings are bad, you will have some noise emanating from them. Don't waste your time and money replacing the wheel bearings if they are fine. The bushings on the lower control arm are the most likely culprit for front end looseness and will have some noise when going over bumps. The upper strut mount tends to break as well, but shouldn't cause big problems. Of course the tie rods, rack and ball joints need to be checked. The easiest thing to do is to take it to the alignment shop and they will go through the front end before alignment and you can fix what is wrong then. It may just be an alignment problem. In any case, don't fix it if it isn't broken. You'll just end up spending more money.

Rene