Acceleration Problem

K

Kasper

Registered
The title may a bit misleading, but that is the only thing I could think of. Here is the problem. Hard acceleration results in a feeling of almost loss of control. From 0 to about 65 MPH, the problem is there, but if I floor it at 65 the car will hold true until it comes out of 3rd. As soon as the OD engages it is almost as if the car will lose control. The steering starts to wobble, and the rear end feels like it wants to fish tail, very scary. I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this before and if so what was the solution. My gut tells me it is a suspension issue, but not one I have tackled in the past. Any and all help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Side note: Anyone have a line on a Lincoln LS with a manual shift? I have been searching for one for a while. Unfortunately there were only 2331 of them produced, and they stopped production in 02. I really would like to have one.
 
Thanks for the reply. It is a 94 model. She has 168000 on the clock. The only upgrades that were done is 2 Piston Cobra calipers on all 4 corners as well as 13" rotors in the front. Those have been on the car for well over 3 years though. It is possible that the bearings are worn, but would it cause the problem I am experiencing?
 
I had this same problem at higher speeds, turned out one of my rear spindle bolts came loose and the nut was completely off! At higher speeds I would accelerate and the pressure would cause the right rear wheel to turn sideways ever so slightly and cause the rear of the car to sway back and forth.

Rear wheel bearings will definitally cause this problem. Just jack the back of the car up and check the "play" by grabbing the top and bottom of the tire and try to wobble it up and down, then check side to side. You should have NO play. If they bearings are bad enough to cause your symptoms, you'll definitally know! While its up, check the sway bar to make sure its not broken and check to make sure ALL the spindle bolts to the rear suspension are tight.
 
Thanks for the information. I finally had a chance to go out and look at the vehicle, sure enough it was just as you described. On the passenger side the front nut was completely gone. Of course Ford could not get me a nut, and I did not feel like tromping through the bone yard, so a friend of mine found me a grade 8 nut and lock washer and it seems to be working just fine. The grade 8 is a bit overkill, but it should have no problem holding. It is nice to get back in the car and be able to use the accelerator the way it was designed to be used. I actually had to drive civil when I got in the car for fear of losing control! Now all I need to do is replace the driver side outside door handle. If it's not one thing, it's another.

Thanks again
 
You can get Lug nuts from Advance Auto, just take one in and they should be able to match it up.
 
Kasper said:
sure enough it was just as you described. On the passenger side the front nut was completely gone.

friend of mine found me a grade 8 nut and lock washer and it seems to be working just fine.

Thanks again
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Glad I could hit it on the head, it was definitally a wierd problem to diagnose. It was like the rear end would sway back and forth when I'd throttle it!

Same one for me, the front passenger bottom spindle nut. I actually had to grind the bolt off because the threads were toast from it "floating" around in there. I did the same, Grade 8 bolt and crush nut/washer.

Roadboss said:
You can get Lug nuts from Advance Auto, just take one in and they should be able to match it up.
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?

driller said:
Charlie, spindle nuts - not lug nuts!
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Lol! :D
 
J said:
Glad I could hit it on the head, it was definitally a wierd problem to diagnose
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Holy good catch batman!

especially considering the conditions the original poster described.

"under hard accleration, when the car shifts into OD"...

that's well above 80MPH..

when the mark 8 shifts twice at wot you are either right at or above triple digits speeds.
my car with 307s made the WOT 2-3 shift at 105MPH.


just think of the catastrophic post you prevented with your info.

someone buy J a donut dammit he earned it!
 
Just a reminder, those that have taken those nuts and bolts loose should replace them. They are only good for a couple of uses and then they no longer stay tight. Back in my QA days we used to record the running torque on those type of nuts. Once they decreased by 15% they had to be replaced. I've had my own come loose on me before also. Just cheap insurance over the loss of the car or life.
 
XLRVIII said:
Holy good catch batman!

just think of the catastrophic post you prevented with your info.

someone buy J a donut dammit he earned it!
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LMAO, still waiting! :D

You know, the good thing about the way the factory put in the bolts is that they could NOT fall out due to the axle in the spindle. When I found my problem, I could move my right rear wheel approximately 2-3 inches back and forth! No wonder it was so bad, the cars alignment would change with the load on the throttle and the rear end would steer itself back/forth!

Glad I could help.....I only learned this from experience!
 
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