4doorteggy

i have a 94 eg hatch with an ls swap and i just got an alignment the other day but the front end still feels very loose like its floating...i was told that the outer tie rods were bad and im about to replace those. I was just wondering if it could be anything other than the outer tie rods like a control arm bushing?

Corksil

it could be any number of bushings under the front. if you smashed into something hard (like slamming into a curb, even) then you could have crushed a rubber bushing. they may also be old and deteriorating.

the best way to diagnose this problem is by jacking a wheel off the ground (jack on the frame, not the control arm or moving part) and then grab the wheel while it is off the ground and shake it from side to side vigorously. if there is any play in the wheel then somehting is worn. I hit a rock and my car felt loose, so I did this and found play in the wheel. when i torqued it back and forth, there was a clunking noise and the wheel shifted... turns out that the tie rod ball joint was soiled, and the ball was slipping in and out of the joint about 1/8th inch.

I also replaced all the oem rubbers with poly ones - lower control arm, sway bar, upper control arm... fun stuff. my steering feels loose but that's because i haven't yet aligned my car after working on all of this.

loose could also be bad tires...

S_F

Or bad steering rack. I just replaced the whole thing and steering is so much tighter now that even the wife can tell.

4doorteggy

good advice thanks...the tires are brand new but i will try what you said

4doorteggy

i was also thinking that might be the cause...the car was power steering equiped but i took it out...can i put an eg manual rack on it to replace the power one?

h2def

i did the whole bushing kit on my car BIG change.and yea you can put the manual rack in but i think u have to use the brace for the manual rack

S_F

Which kit did you use? What did it contain? How much was it? How much work was it? Can you describe the difference in drivability?
Thanks

h2def

i usedthe energy suspension master kit.it had all controll arm bushings upper and lower,sway bar end links,strutt ,and rack bushings.it cost about 140.00 i got it from summit racing.its not a rough job just time.it just made it alot stiffer all the was around and a noticeable difference in handleing.i also replaced the rear trailing arm bushings those are sold 4 around 40.00

4doorteggy

dang thats a good deal im defiantly going to get that after i replace the outer tie rods could you press the bushings out or did you have to burn them out?

b18cKoupe

outer tie rods are the easiest by far so it's a good place to start. Sounds to me more like a lca bushing which are cheap to buy just a little bit labor intensive to install.

For your steering rack there is a factory adjustment to account for wear, look in the helm manual for your car. I bought the special wrench to do it on my high mileage eg and it helped alot. Very easy and can make a big difference along with the rack bushings if they are worn out. The actual gears in the rack should last damn near forever. Check the lca bushings first though as they are a common cause of that straight line wandering feel.

4doorteggy

^ ill have to check that out... hopefully within the next few weeks ill have coil overs, outer tie rods and a complete poly bushing kit and then im hoping after an alignment everything will be good again...thanks for the advice guys

h2def

i used a torch to burn the rubber out and a sazall to cut out the sleave of the bushing after finding out my boss has a press which would make it alot quicker if you have one you could use.. that kit does front and rear...glad to help