mickey13

I'm doing my ball joints. Probably going to order from FCP Euro.

have a bit of play in my passenger side so going to just do both. Any suggestions?

PJmak

Soak with wd40 and smash with hammer from the side they'll loosen up faster that way

mickey13

Tomorrow morning. Will hit with the liquid wrench tonight.

KJI3jflarryfe93

good idea check your *****

cm60k

Ahhhhhh, is it necessary..

raw1879

Lemforder the best

DRBC43AMG

^+1

mickey13

still have some vibration and now notice a bit of play left and right that wasnt there before, only had a bit of play up and down. change one thing and something else breaks? lol

have a 9am appointment at the alignment shop tomorrow, thinking tie rods, opinions?

if so i will do it myself lol i think they hate me there.

mickey13

was able to get under car and everything looks good (no play in drag joints and LCA bushings look like they are intact-not split or bulging). still had vibration @ 50MPH. wheels were checked for balance (wheels and tires [michelins] are brand new) and alignment done after replacing lower ball joints.

173k miles on the clock. also have passenger side front brake binding a bit. never replaced brake lines when i changed pads, so i will change those, bleed and also replace steering shock.

do you guys recommend myle or stabulis? there is about a $10 difference between them on FCP euro.

if that does not solve, i will start looking at upper control arms and bearings.

PJmak

Did you check for bent wheels??

Not everyone knows how to balance wheels, you'd be surprised.


Id drive for a bit after having wheels balanced then go and have them re balanced. Theres more science to wheel balancing than one might think.

Watch this video, its more than the title says. Very informative

mickey13

the wheels i bought are new. had tires mounted and balanced. drove for about 20 miles, took them back and had them rebalanced. 1 wheel was off by .5 oz. the shop uses road force balance so hoping the tech did it right.

great video though. i might head back for a rebalance after i put a bit more miles on the wheels and change out a few more components.

DRBC43AMG

Thanks for a VERY interesting and instructive video

eFifty5AMG

Does it do it with & without the spacers? Have you tried swapping the tires around to see if anything changes?

mickey13

thats a great question and something i should look at. thanks for the tip, my wheels will fit without spacers so definitely something to look at in the next day or two.

its easy to take for granted that a problem (vibration) could reappear after a fix (ball joints) and the addition of another variable (spacers)

benzslo

It's dumb to not use OEM in my opinion. If your wheels and tires are fine then it's likely your control arm bushings and don't overlook idler arm bushing.
And you have to take out any spacers and your aftermarket wheels need to be the right size hub and all that and proper lugs etc. See first sentence.

mickey13

thanks, this will be my next step after replacing brake lines, steering damper and testing without spacers.

DRBC43AMG

New brake lines, are you going ss?

mickey13

i read somewhere that ss lines aren't good for daily driving. something about only being good for the track and needing to be changed right away or something like that. sorry if i dont remember exactly.

DRBC43AMG

Guess that's total I have them since 2 years and never a problem. Improves and gives a firmer pedal. Softish spongy pedel is a normal trait of our cars and ss lines improve greatly. Choose only high quality lines like Goodrich for exemple.

mickey13

nice. maybe i'll give them a shot next time. probably an old article i read.

eFifty5AMG

I'm thinking about getting some SS lines as well. Stoptech or Goodridge?

siegel242

I put the Goodridge on my car three years and 40K miles ago, no issues.

mickey13

replaced the steering damper and it reduced vibration a bit, but it is still there.

so far: new ball joints, new wheels, new tires, new steering damper.
in the morning i will pull off the front spacers and see if they are causing the issue.

im considering: idler arm bushing, LCA bushings, drag link, upper ball joints, possibly wheel bearings


ARRGHHH!!

eFifty5AMG

Imo the spacers will just exacerbate the issue. My guess is LCA bushings. I'd do the upper control arms too; they're easy to replace. Definitely do the idler arm bushing & complete tie rod assembly.. Then alignment. Try to get them all done at the same time. Just don't do it like me & get an alignment after every new part

mickey13

ive got the lifetime alignment at firestone, its pretty decent, had 3 done this month alone lol.

but yeah

"LCA bushings. I'd do the upper control arms too; they're easy to replace. Definitely do the idler arm bushing & complete tie rod assembly"

would basically be the whole front suspension. im really starting to think it is the bearings though. ive got 172k on the clock and i think they are a 150k replacement item i think.

anyway, ive been watching some youtube videos and think i'll be able to diagnose it myself. one of the guys at the last shop i had it at said he thought it was my drivers side bearing. we went over the drag link and LCA bushings together. it all looks OK even though probably not a bad idea to change it anyway if i want a new car feel.

back in january the car really felt great, i'd say steering felt like a 2016 model. it is far from that smooth feeling now, so something has definitely given out. i guess im just going to keep replacing parts until im happy with it or everything has been replaced.