jimbo slice

I've been working on a 94 Del Sol S that has had just about every suspension component changed due to mileage and wear and tear. This car is stock ride height with stock 14" alloy rims.

So far I have replaced all 4 tires, all 4 shocks, all 4 lower control arms, lower front ball joints and I've done an alignment. I did do these in steps over the course of a month. Tires, Shocks, then control arms, then ball joints and finally the alignment with another wheel balance for good measure.

The car has a wobble/wonder characteristic that comes and goes. Becomes more evident at highway speeds but isn't a steady feeling. This problem has been persistent through out the process. What's odd is the first 20 miles after any one of the mentioned services the car would not experience the wobble/wonder. It would track straight and feel like a stock car should. Three seperated occasions this has happened.

Other than rear trailing arm bushings and front upper control arms/ball joints there is little else I can replace. Both upper control arms and rear trailing arm bushings are visually sound, neither are causing any wheel movement other than what's intended..

In my mind, if the upper ball joint or control arm bushings were shot I should be able to see movement with the big pry bar under the tire method..Right ? If the rear trailing arm bushings were shot, I should be able to see rubber torn and be able to move the trailing arm excessively, right?

I'm nearly at my wits end on this car. Any advice or pointers would be appreciated.

Reyes

iTrader: (1)

Rear trailing arms will show signs of cracking. that would be very easy to see.

What kind of tires are you using? Are they directional? Have you checked that tire pressures are correct?

Depending on the road conditions a "sporty" tire can tend to track left to right a little bit with changing surfaces. poor ball joints would be the next step.

what the car aligned to factory specs?

jimbo slice

Tires are non directional, and are a standard replacement tire for the car.
No sporty design or profile. Tire psi @ 32 all around. Wheel alignment specs set to factory. Again, there is no modding of this car. Only regular maintenance and general repair.

Correct in that the trailing arm bushing DO NOT look ripped. After having replaced all that I mentioned, there is absolutely no unintended suspension travel or movement. Tie rod ends are not loose, lower ball joints are new. Upper ball joints are not showing signs of wear or excessive play...

I think my biggest issue is that for the first 30-60 minutes after the repairs the car is a cream puff. Nice smooth ride with no wonder or vibration. Then after that time it's back to the same old non-sense.

I appreciate the reply Reyes.

rvn2svn

Do you have any play in the steering shaft / steering shaft joint? Are the bushings around the rack good? Could possibly have a bit of internal play in the rack? Was the car ever in an accident?

The only time I've ever had an intermittent "wobble" feel was when one of my outer CV joints was starting to go bad. The wheel would wobble on low speed hard accel and would sometimes cause a "floating" feel.

Good luck man, intermittent drivability issues like this are hair-pulling affairs.

jimbo slice

Thanks for replying.

The steering wheel did have some slop, but I vanished with the new ball joint install. Now it's as firm as can be. I guessed there would be rack bushing deterioration but not the case.

I can tell the car has been painted, but there are no signs of frame damage or repair. Even on the alignment rack there wasn't much off other than toe. If the car had frame damage, wouldn't it have shown up on the alignment readout?

Car has new CV axles from local auto parts store, as the originals were clicking when turning.

You are right, this is hair pulling.. And I've been bald for a few years now