I have been slowly replacing all my major suspension parts in my 1993 JDM VTEC and i have original shocks on it, the car has 270,000 miles on it, did a full JDM swap so mechanically its perfect, but the quality of the driving part is terrible. I have replaced both front and rear upper control arms, P/S rack, outer tie rod ends front, axles, still have yet to replace front and rear lower ball joints. My car has had this swerving and drifting problem for a while and replacing both front and rear upper control arms did not help it from swerving at all. I am going to replace the front and rear lower ball joints, and the shocks and struts, but which of the two would most likely cause my car to swerve so bad? Pay checks every two weeks so i need to fix the swerve first. Shocks are clearly completely shot. Ball joints seem to be half way okay, every thing feels tight when i rock the wheels back and forth. Tho i know gettting all new shocks would make my ride way smoother, would it stop the swerving??? Please and thanks!

 

you got a front wheel alignment right?

 

Get those shocks outta there and get a lifetime alignment at firestone if its affordable. I had a similar problem with my car pulling from side to side and tracking horribly on uneven surfaces (currently at 240k). It all went away after a set of new tires + alignment. I also previously had tightened down my tie rods which helped with the loose steering I was having.

 

check if your brake caliper pins are sticking. blown shock(s) shouldn't create too much swerving even though it would contribute to it.

Agreed on alignment/tires as posted above, that's a good base to start for what you said you've taken care of already.

 

Alignment is the first thing I would do. Or get the new shocks then go do the alignment. Any time you touch something on the suspension or steering you need to get an alignment. The fact that he replaced his rack tells me that he may not have the correct toe settings which would contribute to swerving and an unstable car. (I replaced the boots on a prelude 2 days ago, and it was unstable as I was taking it to go get an alignment lol)

 

I tried to get an alll wheel alignment and everywhere I took it they wouldn't do it cuz my rear tie rods and front and rear lower ball joints are shot. I tried adjusting my tie rods to align it myself but it goes right back out of align. Now, I just want to know if i should replace my shocks first or lower ball joints.thanks

 

Replace the ball joints and tie rod ends and get an alignment. Also, depending on how the tire wear is, I would get new tires. If you have a bad alignment and have driven for a while on the same tires, the tires would be wearing improperly due to a tow or pitch problem. In this case an alignment alone will not help. Get on a road that is banked to the opposite way the car pulls and if goes a little more straight without touching the wheel it's an alignment issue. If it was a shock issue the car would pull just the same on a banked road.

 

okay cool. and i have two good tires in the back that were new a couple months ago, they are wearing pretty evenly, at least to the naked eye, and the front ones i just got about two weeks ago and they were a used set, pretty good shape tho. i just got them to get me through a few more weeks. But the car will jerk to the right and left randomly and consistantly. So your saying i should replace the lower ball joints and rear tie rods before i replace the shocks correct? thanks for the help

 

well a random side to side pull is normally a front end problem. are you sure your rack is tighten down? i have seen cars come in for that having the same problem...i would double check every thing when you check your ball joints jack your tire off the ground and stick a pry bar under the tire. you should be able to lift the tire up some at that point. there should be no movement in the ball joint as far as play. same goes for the tie rods life it off ground and push and pull the tire from side to side to check for inner and outer tie rods.

 

Sounds to me like you're gonna need to do a complete overhaul. I'd start with balljoints, then tie rods, then shocks and tires to finish it off if you don't do it all at once. I suggest a lifetime alignment if you end up doing it in various steps because you should align it after every time your suspension is touched. Firestone's cost is $180 for lifetime, as opposed to $60-70 every time you wrench on something including any further mods you you do

 

its only 139.99 where i live for a lifetime lol i work at firestone in texas

 

thanks a bunch, its been alot of help

 

The tie rods connect the steering rack to the hubs, if they are worn out, your going to have a wandering car. Ball joints can have a similar effect, but you're more likely to hear a clunk when going over bumps.

 

Same problem here with this swerving issue.

Replaced:

Front Wheel Bearings
Front Struts
Front Lower Ball joints
Front Upper camber arms
Front Sway bar endlinks and bushings
Rear Trailing Arm bushings
Rear Compensator arms
Rear upper Camber Arms
Tie rod ends
Inner tie rods
Both Axles
Power steering flush
Car aligned
Rack and pinion adjusted 14mm 40mm

You tell me what else I have to replace cause I am at a loss...??????? F***

 

Check tire pressure, rotate, and get your tires balanced.(assuming you've replaced what you said you did and did do correctly)

 

if your car was aligned properly more than likely its a tire pull issue

 

Any luck with the issue?

 

Rotated my rear tires (new) to the front and finally got a camber/level magnet and did an alignment myself, since shops do not really care about doing an alignment perfect. Rear driver side camber out... Car rides like new after all those parts, most replaced a few times already.

Adjusted the steering rack 4 times to loosen the steering to my likings.

Finally finished problem gone!

 

since you pulled this thread from the dead, to the original poster... first thing jumps up in my mind - is this a 4WS car. Alignment HAS to be perfect or you will get a floating feeling when driving.