1G Swerving at WOT!!

[boostdawd]

Got a flat tire at 2am last night. My home was only about 7 miles away so I babysit the car home. Never exceeding 20mph to prevent damage, to my wheels. I know the tire was going to be no good anymore. Anyways, I got a new tire same size as others 235/45/17 and drives well.

I'm running into issues when I do wot pulls. This thing feels like a boat in the ocean. It swerves like crazy and jerks the wheel out of my hand to the right. Before I lift my car and check for loose/damaged parts what would u guys suspect as the culprit?

 

[Gottiboy]

Play in the control arms will allow the wheels to toe in or out under accel, or braking. This effectively steers the car.

toe is split between the two front tires no matter what side is out of spec. bad lower control arm bushings causes a big change in caster, yes it does change the toe, but caster is what makes vehicles pull. fwd vehicles have no factory caster adjustment, but by moving the strut forward and backwards in the strut tower you can change the caster. the passenger side needs about a 1/2 degree to a full degree more than the driver side to make the car drive straight. the way streets are made to run off rain water is why we set the caster that way to make the car drive straight on a road that naturally goes to the right.

 

[Gottiboy]

I believe I may have also. What would u guys recommend. Should I replace both control arms as a set with the bushings and ball joint already in for 100-150 pair? Or should I get energy suspension bushings and moog ball joints. I have acess to a press so I'll be doing this myself.

get the good bushings but MOOG ball joints suck. get the napa premium ball joints. they are a little more exspensive but will last a lot longer.

 

[donniekak]

It doesn't just move forward and backward. It rotates when the bushings are bad. When the bushings or the area they mount to are shot you can grab the wheel and turn it several degrees with the steering wheel locked.

 

[dustyboner]

If the intermediate shaft isnt securely bolted to the motor it will cause torque steer. Manufacturers ad them is to get rid of torque steer by allow for the use of equal lenth drive shafts.

 

[ThunderChild]

I still want to know if the issue only presented after the flat, or if it was a pre-existing condition?

Possibly something destroyed the already worn control arm bushings, and the intermediate shafts added to it, but you've got a few things to look into.

 

[boostdawd]

Car used to drive straight as an arrow before the flat. The intermediate shaft was still bolted on but loose. I have tightened one of the bolts and the other broke off. Part of it got stuck in the block so i cannot use another bolt at the moment. Shaft is tight though. I have ordered energy suspension bushings and ball joints. Should get here next week.

 

[boostdawd]

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Installed energy suspension bushings and new ball joints. Car still pulls and swerves around when WOT. Thoughts?

 

[ThunderChild]

Transfer case or VC, pull em and inspect both. It's probably busted or something in the rear diff. My money is on the t-case or VC tho.

 

[donniekak]

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Do you have the little plate that ties both sides of the k member together?

 

[boostdawd]

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Do you have the little plate that ties both sides of the k member together?

I sure do. The ball joints and bushings do make everything feel "tighter". My rack and pinion has been leaking fluid. I've noticed alot of play in my steering wheel. I may end up getting a reman one online. I'm sure this may have something to do with it as the steering is not stiff. Could I be wrong or something I'm overlooking?

 

[ThunderChild]

Once again...was the steering issue there before the tire going flat, or did you notice the steering rack after the tire incident?

I keep seeing all these new issues popping up that weren't mentioned before you posted about the tire going flat.

 

[boostdawd]

Every now and then I would have to add power steering fluid. This was before the flat. I thought it was a small oil leak on my driveway but when I replaced the bushings I see clearly it was from the rack. The play in the steering wheel I never felt before the flat.

 

[boostdawd]

Thanks for your help and support tametalon92. What other things would u recommend looking at? Should I take it for an alignment and see what they say? I don't really trust anyone to work on my car besides me

 

[gsxeclipse102]

If the rack is bad it would swerve around all the time not just wot. Like i previously mentioned it sounds like an axle going bad. Ive seen axles go bad on 2 yr old cars(hondas). They look brand new and the car drives smooth. Once you go full throttle though the car shakes violently and swerved back and forth.

 

[Dstarperformance01]

Is there any play in steering wheel before it gets tight or starts to move the front wheels? If the wheels don't start turning when you move the steering wheel then it can be the inner tie rod,outter tie rods or the whole rack. With that mileage it is very possible the whole rack is bad. Where is the residue at on the rack? If it's at the inner tie rod boots then I would say rack is shot.

I said this earlier in the thread!!

 

[boostdawd]

I said this earlier in the thread!!

Haha. U did! Strangely enough today the wobbling is more apparent now even when cruising. Also as I'm coming to a stop I hear a whining noise like a stuck brake caliper. I have a few things to check out.

 

[donniekak]

Put it up on jack stands and check for play in the wheels.

 

[boostdawd]

Put it up on jack stands and check for play in the wheels.

Will do this evening.

 

[ThunderChild]

Sounds like quite the laundry list of stuff to go over.

If the rack has play and is leaking, its best to replace/rebuild it, then you can check everything. If you end up having play in the wheel bearings, which is a good possibility on the wheel that had a flat, thats pretty cut-n-dry.

If theres no play in the wheels and they rotate smooth, id go back to looking at the t-case or VC. Haven't encountered the situation, but if you have a rear lsd then it seems possible the VC could have been damaged while driving the car the 7 miles to your house on an essentially flat tire, but that could also do a wheel bearing in.

Check and let us know

 

[boostdawd]

Got the car up on stands. No freeplay on my wheels. I checked for in and out play and all is well. While I had my car up on all 4 I decided to spin the wheels by hand. The front 2 don't rotate when in gear. For example if i spin the driver front the passenger one should spin right. Only the rear ones move forward together. I turned the car on and very carefully let go of the clutch while in 1st gear. Only the rear tires spin. Even with the car in gear the 2 front don't move at all. Could there be something wrong with my transmission?

 

[ThunderChild]

Sounds like axles or a broken front drive/front diff. Are the front axles spinning with the wheels? Do you hear any clunking/metallic sounds from inside the trans casing?

I don't recall if you have a welded diff or not, but have you ever had the trans apart? If the front drive input is brokenot, and you had a welded center diff, it would cause the issue you're having.

Either way, you need to pull the axles at minimum, probably the t-case and maybe trans as well. Something is probably busted.

 

[boostdawd]

This trans does have a welded differential. The front axles do not spin. I only hear a small clunk when I put it in gear. I have never had this trans apart. I hate the welded diff for daily driving. Transfer case checks out ok. I think your right and may be something inside the trans. I drained the fluid to check for metal flakes. The oil was metallic looking but nothing too extreme. No chunks or chips.

 

[ThunderChild]

I mean do the axles spin when you rotate the tires by hand (I assume they do), and if so, is there any resistance or clunking felt?

Certainly sounds like something inside the trans. When my first trans much the original Center diff it didn't have alot of shavings or chunks, they all got caught up in the different housing and corners of the trans case.

Might as well pull it out and inspect it, gotta be something inside transferring power strangely.

 

[boostdawd]

I filled up the trans with fluid and slowly started leaking from the transfer case connection. I dropped the t-case and there is a lot of in and out side to side play from the shaft coming from the trans. I did see a ton of metal shavings and what appears to be a small hole under the bottom of the shaft. I do believe this transmission is done. What would be the best way to repair it or any recomendations on who to send it to?

 

[boostdawd]

Thanks for sticking with me tametalon. You've been a lot of help. I was hoping it was something small but with dsms u never know. Luckily I have an extra trans while I get this one fixed.