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Post by gmcchamp99 on Aug 11, 2010 13:46:19 GMT -5
My 77 is starting to shake on the highway. I was wondering how to go about this diagnosis. I was wondering if it could be the tie rod ends or perhaps sway bar bushings. A good alignment wouldnt hurt but where should i start? Shes hard to keep in a strait line while braking. With my foot on the brake, she pulls to the left. When i go above 50MPH and accelerate, the right wheel feels like is wobbling but still driving the same strait line if that makes any sense.
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Post by hipogranada on Aug 11, 2010 23:03:49 GMT -5
Could be tires. If a belt shifts in a tire it'll cause all kinds of vibration and pulling. Try swapping the tires front to back, see if there's a difference.
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Post by robic58 on Aug 12, 2010 12:33:56 GMT -5
Could be a stuck/dragging caliper on the right front.. it'll cause shudder , increasing with speed, and the hotter that brake gets.
When you actually brake the only operable one is the left front, and it pulls to the left..
I presume, you have made sure your steering shaft "rag"joint(thick flexible fibre gasket) is good and not fully deteriorated.
Please post your findings, when you have it solved. We can all learn. Cheers, Ralph
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Post by gmcchamp99 on Aug 14, 2010 2:09:18 GMT -5
Ok. So i crawled under the car today to see if there was anything visually worn or broken. The Rag joint in the engine compartment looks good, no deteriation or flaking. The tie rod ends seem to have movement in the or "Play" and the rub seals between the lower balljoints on both sides have since "dissapeared" because they are no longer there. The car doesnt always shake badly, it only seems like its on really hot days. and once i hit 55mph on the hot day, it will shake till about 70mph, then it seems to even out. dunno if that further helps the diagnosis but all help is appreciated.
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Post by robic58 on Aug 14, 2010 21:02:32 GMT -5
Well at least now you know it's not the rag joint.. if it were me i'd next check the tires by moving the rear tires/wheels to the front, and the front on the back.. In the case of one of your front tires having a broken belt, out of round, or off balance, when you put it in the back, it will create a lesser vibration that you'll feel in your seat, but not in the steering.. if that does not identify the problem, I would then move to the front brakes, jack up the front and see if one wheel is harder to rotate than the other,or the drag is uneven thru a full revolution.Better do this after having driven the car a while and having used the brakes to warm them up .
It's normal to have a wee bit of play in the tie rods, but there should be no play in the ball joints. Check steering play by grabbing road wheel at 9óclock and 3 oçlock, moving in a push /pull manner.. for ball joint, same process but with the hands at 6 oçlock and 12 oçlock. Here you should not be able to move anything unless you're Superman. By rub seals, I take it you mean the rubber grease seals. Not good , but not necessarily hazardous.
Pls post what you find,it helps us all.
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Post by gmcchamp99 on Aug 15, 2010 18:34:12 GMT -5
ok, well tomorrow ill going to pull her into the garage because its raining here. Ill def check all of those ideas you have proposed. I might be lead to believe its the tires. They are about 15 Yrs old, and not dry rotted by any means but the bad part is the car sat in the same spot in a garage for like 8 years without movement. maybe they developed flat spots in them?
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Post by hipogranada on Aug 16, 2010 18:54:29 GMT -5
If those tires are that old, whether they show dry rot or not, I'm betting that's the problem. Fresh rubber might make you think you're driving a different car.
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Post by gmcchamp99 on Aug 17, 2010 19:23:33 GMT -5
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Post by hipogranada on Aug 17, 2010 22:55:04 GMT -5
The idler arm looks funny to me, I'm thinking it's worn - it looks cocked on the pivot. You could get some weirdness from that, but I'm thinking you'll feel sloppy steering more than vibration.
Couple of the pics show the sway bar links. The bushings on them are dry-rotted but that shouldn't cause the kind of vibration you mention.
The no-dollar trial balloon would have to be swapping the wheels/tires front to back. If you feel a difference, or you feel a shake in the seat instead of the steering wheel, that's likely the deal.
You mentioned that the car sat on these tires for a long time. I've flat-spotted tires enough to about shake me right out of the car sitting for far less time than you mentioned. Age is a factor with tires, too... for example, Discount Tire Co. won't mount a tire that's more than five years old - liability issues for them. The mfg date is in the DOT code on the sidewall.
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Post by gmcchamp99 on Aug 17, 2010 23:12:57 GMT -5
When i drive her for about 30 to 45 minutes after a good day of stop and go, she gets sloppy. After that shes hard to maintain a strait line with and she gets what most people call bump steer because the steering wheel wont move at all the but the car will coast from line to line ( Left and Right ) but like i said, ill have never of moved the steering wheel. Where the idler arm is the rubber/plastic bushings on there look to be worn way out. I'm going to do downtown and get new bushings and replace them. But Next monday is payday, ill go onto tirerack.com and see what a good deal i can find. The local Firestone wants $490 for their cheapest set. They can keep them, ill go and find a better deal elsewhere.
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Post by gmcchamp99 on Aug 17, 2010 23:14:29 GMT -5
oh and i forgot to mention, i took those pictures after i lifted the car off the ground on the drivers side. So the tire was off and the car was jacked up high enough to get the tire off. Dont know if that would make the idler arm look "Cocked"
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Post by hipogranada on Aug 18, 2010 7:04:24 GMT -5
It's the Pitman arm on the driver's side. I should have noticed that as well as the castle nut and cotter pin. I'm not sure if you're confusing the sway bar links and rubber bushings with the tie rod ends - not the same thing.
The more you describe the symptoms, the more it really sounds like tires to me. At any rate, a 15 year old tire really isn't safe for highway speeds, so you're pretty much due for a set.
Try Discount Tire as well if you're shopping online.
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Post by gmcchamp99 on Aug 18, 2010 15:17:21 GMT -5
No, i know the difference between the sway bar links and tie rod ends. I though you said that the idler arm look cocked, not the pitman arm though from your previous post. None the less, i will be hunting down a new set of meats for the car. And reguardless, those front end components look beat and im sure after 33 yrs, the car could use those tires and new components.
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Post by hipogranada on Aug 19, 2010 18:32:17 GMT -5
I did say idler arm, but I was mistaken. I should have looked more closely at the photo. The Pitman arm is at the end of the steering column shaft. You turn the wheel, it turns left or right, and its counterpart on the other side of the car is the idler arm.
The tie rods, with the drag link, connect the left and right front wheels. There's an inner tie rod end and an outer on each side. The inner connects to the drag link, the outer's attached at the spindle. You turn the wheel, the Pitman arm and idler arm are connected to the drag link and thus to each wheel, which is what makes the wheels both move the same direction when you turn.
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