Sulaco

As the title implies. I'm stumped.

It's only barely noticeable on the interstate at higher speeds, 60-80mph. I'll tap the throttle to pass the *******g prius in front of me and if I hold the wheel straight, I'll feel the whole car pull slightly to the right. When I release the throttle, it lines up straight again. New tires, have checked all pressures.

?????

Ausmbtech

Most likely a worn rear control arm. Remove the rear wheels and check the bushes on the upper forward facing control arm (#80 on the pic) for wear.

They are cheap and easy to replace. Do both sides if they're worn.

Sulaco

thanks for the quick and precise response. haven't gotten around to fixing it, since I've been broke and driving the car daily. got my 98 out of the paint shop so I can tear down the 99. is this something I can swap myself? I don't have a hydraulic press or spring compressor... just normal tools (wrenches, jack, etc)

Worth the wait

nevermind

Good luck with fix!

Sulaco

....??

DRBC43AMG

I believe Ausmbtech means change the whole arm (both sides). True they are not expensive, at least in Europe...

Ausmbtech

Yep, I meant the whole arm. I probably wasn't clear enough about that.
You just need spanners, sockets and maybe double spline torx bits, no special tools though.

Sulaco

thanks, I can totally handle that, then. O2 sensor is out on my 98 C43 so I can't get my registration updated until I fix it. the damn thing is STUCK on there and I broke my breaker wrench and stretched out my o2 sensor socket.

so when I park the 99 to fix this problem I need to have it back on the road that day. glad to hear I won't be out of commission for too long

Sulaco

Well, no luck so far.

Worn tires on the car, so I parked it and we started commuting in the 98 C43. This week I finally got around to firing up the 99 and taking it to the shop to inspect the suspension and find out what's going on. They got it up on the lift and couldn't find anything wrong with it. They invited me back there to inspect it myself but everything looked fine. I noticed that I can't actually see the top part of the upper rear control arms because it's blocked by the spring plate. But I pulled and shoved on everything as hard as I could trying to find something that was weak and couldn't find anything.

Admittedly, I'm not well versed with suspension and steering components, and it was a Ford dealership's Quick Lane shop (father in law runs the body shop at the dealer, so he sent me there because it would've been a free repair if I order the part). Their techs couldn't see anything wrong with it, though.

But the problem seems to be getting worse and has now affected braking (though it might have all along, but I never braked hard enough to notice). When I brake, the car pulls left. But now when I accelerate at all (more noticeable at interstate speeds) the rear of the car starts to jerk back and forth and dance around at random. It's quite alarming.

ECTurboGSX

Do they have an alignment rack at the Ford dealer? Maybe get on there and see what the rear toe numbers are. Do what you can to compress the suspension and see how much that value changes. Are you getting any feedback in the steering wheel (a jerk or anything)?

Sulaco

the steering wheel remains firm and still, though the car is lunging and pulling back and forth but only under acceleration and braking. at cruise, it's all normal.

desired_speeds

does the steering wheel vibrate when you brake? at speed on a flat road if you let go of your steering wheel does it pull? possible its the rear lower control arm bushings. also check your rear subframe bushings

Sulaco

I have noticed that if I aim my rear view mirror at the rear left wheel and accelerate, I can see the forward lip of the wheel turn outward away from the car. as far as I know, it's not supposed to do that...

ECTurboGSX

It would be crazy for you to have it be that visible and no one be able to see it on the lift. No offense to the Quick Lube guys, but I would get an actual service tech to take a look at it. If you jack the back end up (chock the front wheels), can you grab the tire and get it to move? I would jack on the diff housing but then get jackstands on the rear jack pads so that you aren't loading the diff when you try to move stuff around. Something is definitely wrong on the rear end.

desired_speeds

The toe angle should change when the rear squats, however it shouldn't change drastically to cause a pull. I would have someone else drive when you sit in the back and look out the window and compare the amount of movement on both sides.

Sulaco

I have a reputable guy, but I'm not sure he can do alignments... I guess I could ask him to at least inspect down there? How could I really inspect this stuff on my own without a lift?

ECTurboGSX

Get jackstands under the rear jack points (Jack on the diff housing, chock the front wheels). Grab the wheel at 3 & 9 o'clock and tug on it and see if you can feel any play. You could pull the wheel off and get a flash light and look around for cracked bushings. Depends how involved you want to get, but I like to pull the spring out and disconnect the sway bar when messing with suspension stuff so that I can articulate the suspension up and down to check the movements.

Also, check your tire for any out of the ordinary wear. It would seem that with that kind of play in the rear, you would probably have some scuffing along the outer edges.

Sulaco

We got a new car a while back and now the C43's have been parked for a bit. Now I can finally get to wrenching.

I still haven't figured this one out. I'm pretty sure I have worn lower control arm bushings in the rear left, likely damaged in the accident when the car nearly flipped.

Could they cause this and could I replace them at home?

Tony_AMG

Still, bro!. jk but happens to me as well. I'm looking into it this week soon, I bought motor mounts since it needs them and had four wheels re mounted and balanced and 4 wheel alingment passed to sport specs.. that took care of the steering vibration, but however still get a pull to the right. So ill have to look under again.

Sulaco

my indie just figured it out: the crash bent my rear left subframe, bent it up higher

KJI3jflarryfe93

did left side subframe crumble from crash?
did he see a lot off difference where it bent compared to the right undamaged side?