Odd handling situation.

M

markup97

Lost in Translation
As some of you may have read, my half-breed has developed some odd handling. It just gets odder.

I would get on the throttle at 45+mph and it would Hard-Over (turn) to the right. If I released the throttle at above 45mph, it would Hard-Over (turn) to the left. Well, that was all controllable. Now, at any speed above 25mph, the car wants to oscillate (wag, wobble, fishtail), with the symptoms getting worse as the speed increases. Also, in a right-hand maneuver, the car wants to oscillate, but will straighten out when I correct it back to the left. In some straight-line driving, the car will start 'hunting'. I note no abnormal wear on any of my tires to point to any one corner being the culprit.

Any ideas guys?
 
Lvnmarks

Lvnmarks

quandoomniflunkusmoritati
Upper/lower rear control arm bushings getting sloppy? Had a mark with bad bushing in the lower rear control arm that had similar symptoms as you.

Any kind of clunking when going from reverse to forward to reverse again?
 
L

LeoC2

New member
I'd take a look at the motor mounts. An engine off the mounts (even partially) will affect handling as it twists and oscillates in place.
 
O

ONLYTONY

New member
RUST DIFF.jpgMy thoughts: All of the above, or, Loose lug nuts, broken shock, and if you have a moon roof, the brackets in the rear that hold it all together, normally drivers side. Everybody with a moon roof should check these, located in front of drivers rear wheel.
 
M

markup97

Lost in Translation
To add to this: I had the suspension checked out less than a month ago and it came back clean. I myself have had the car up and worked the suspension looking for worn bushings; all seem to be in good shape. All 4 corners have new wheel bearing packs installed as the fronts needed changed when I bought the car and I had the passenger rear fail shortly after the drive from Ohio to Florida (so I replaced both at the same time). Car is a flat-roof, so no worries about moon-roof bracketry.

Doing some more trouble shooting yesterday (Johnny law didn't feel too comfortable with me doing so and expressed his opinion in the form of flashing lights, but luckily no ticket), I was able to do some more refining. At speed, if I LIGHTLY applied the brakes, the oscillating would stop and the car would track straight. Once I let off the brake, the car would start again. If I pushed the car steeply into any turn, it would act normal, but slowly turning would result in oscillation. Hunting happens all the time except under hard braking.

Thank you all for the replies, as I was thinking of all of these (except the moon roof brackets, and I thank you for that info if it helps those with the moon roof) and will re-bush the entire suspension anyway. I am taking it in for the alignment check this weekend. I will report back when/if I find the cure.
 
tixer

tixer

Lincoln Evangelist
It may be worth noting that I had an experience once where one of the front eccentric bolts had loosened slightly, and therefore had the front suspension adjusting itself while driving..

It made driving on wet pavement particularly terrifying. Like I was hydroplaning all the time.. Still, something like this may explain why all the wear parts check out, but still allowing movement of the alignment.

It's also worth noting that the MOOG eccentric bolts seem to be the wrong size for these cars. The "plates" are a slightly smaller diameter. I presently have these on my car. They hold, but don't position in the same places as the OEM ones. I need to swap 'em out one of these days.
 
driller

driller

El Presidente
I'll say it again... Wheel bearings.

Just because they were replaced does not mean you can count them out.

Were the new bearings pressed all the way in? Are you sure?

What was the final torque for the rear axle hub nut? Did you use new nuts?
 
M

markup97

Lost in Translation
JP, you are correct on not ruling them out even though they are new bearings. I will re-check them when I get home. The bearings were completely seated as the snap rings engaged fully, but that could also be erroneous. As to nut torque, I went to 175 foot-pounds, but the nuts were re-used with Lock-Tite Red.

Once I have the alignment done (it appears to need it anyway) I will be able to rule out quite a bit as to what might be wrong (and in fact might cure it if it is the alignment bolts or something in the scope of work had failed). I will post when I get results.
 
M

markup97

Lost in Translation
We have a winner. JP was correct, it was a wheel bearing (one that I had replaced) that had come apart and took out the hub (it was wobbling in the bearing inner race) on the passenger rear spindle. Went to the tire shop and they were completely stunned the car even made it there. Their cost to repair: $750. My cost to repair: $38.00 for a complete rear spindle assembly. Needless to say, I bought the pair!
 
Lvnmarks

Lvnmarks

quandoomniflunkusmoritati
Nice score! Glad you found the culprit, I have a rattle in the front of my TC that I have been chasing to for two years.
 
tixer

tixer

Lincoln Evangelist
Nice work. I'm glad you got 'er tracked down, and with minimal damage to the car, or your wallet!
 
M

markup97

Lost in Translation
Unsure as to what caused the new bearing to fail. I'll take a closer look at it (and maybe completely disassemble the spindle assembly) when I get some more free time. To me, it looks like the inner bearing of the pair started to collapse/blow out, allowing the axle to rotate the hub/inner race around inside where the bearing rollers were supposed to be. That, in turn, started allowing the inner area of the hub to wobble on/in the now-loose inner race.
 
M

markup97

Lost in Translation
Me too! And now, with this topic, anyone else who might be experiencing something similar will have some direction to look in. The suggestions and the eventual outcome will help someone later. Thanks for replying everyone.
 
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