Really bad handling!

[kidlex01]

2001 GA SE 2.4L

I just had my rack replced 2 months ago, my car is lowered i have kyb struts b+g lowering springs, front and rear strut braces.

MY car was handling so nice after i got the rack replaced. My driver side strut mount didnt fail but 2 of the bolts were broken i extracted the one and put a new one in and i re threaded the other one and torqued them all down it was fine, i just had that replaced last week , i thought would solve the problem with the handling issue but it hasnt, i have new sway bars i am getting installed on wednesday but i know that those arent going to solve the issue.

My car has over steer and understeer, the wheels dont want to stay where the steering wheel is they king of like to go with the curves and bumps in the road when you hit the brakes the car will pull really hard to one side. Basically the car doesnt handled precious anymore it feels like the rack again but it doesnt make all the noises it did before, but when the car is parked and you turn the steering wheel you can hear a scaping or grinding in the steering column, also you dont get a very smooth ride anymore it feels like the wheels arent balanced and you get a light up and down motion. The wheels are balanced i had two shops check them. Im wondering is maybe when i drove around for a few weeks with the strut mount if it threw the alignment out really bad, but i have never really got a clear answer on how you could tell if the alignment was out alot...

Im going to have the shop look at it when they put the sway bars in.

But does anyone else have any ideas on what it could be.

Thanks

[rixGAphx]

Originally posted by kidlex01
My car has oversteer and understeer, the wheels don't want to stay where the steering wheel is.
They kind of like to go with the curves and bumps in the road.
When you hit the brakes, the car will pull really hard to one side.

But does anyone else have any ideas on what it could be.You can have 'oversteer' under some conditions (say, power-on) and understeer during other conditions (say, slowing thru a turn), bu you can't have bothat the same time.

Instead, you may have 'vague' steering, or steering that seems to change about half-way thru a turn.
This tends to indicate a broken something, allowing a major component to shift under the lateral force of a curve.
A broken control arm bushing (or bolts that mount the bushings) would do this.

I would also look at bad tierod ends, since they will allow the tires to change from 'normal' toe-in to a toe-out condition.
Especially with wide, low tires while braking, and most especially when one of the tires is following a line in the asphalt.

Hope this helps,
-Rick

[Nighthawk243]

In addition to the tie-rod ends, check your brakes too to make sure they're alright. Maybe your one side is uneven compared to the other (not only in pads, but in pressure or other things)

(Check this last though if (and I mean a big IF) Rick's suggestion fails.)

[ENGGUY]

How are the front and rear shocks?
A car with out them is pretty unmanagable.

[kidlex01]

Originally posted by rixGAphx
You can have 'oversteer' under some conditions (say, power-on) and understeer during other conditions (say, slowing thru a turn), bu you can't have bothat the same time.

Instead, you may have 'vague' steering, or steering that seems to change about half-way thru a turn.
This tends to indicate a broken something, allowing a major component to shift under the lateral force of a curve.
A broken control arm bushing (or bolts that mount the bushings) would do this.

I would also look at bad tierod ends, since they will allow the tires to change from 'normal' toe-in to a toe-out condition.
Especially with wide, low tires while braking, and most especially when one of the tires is following a line in the asphalt.

Hope this helps,
-Rick
I have changed the endlinks and that was a major difference and i imagine it is time to change all of the other bushings i will get the shop to look at everything, i wish i could do it myself but i dont have the time to start anything right now and i cannot leave somthing as important as the steering to chance... Especially not when i have my son with me, if i crash thats fine but if he was with me and somthing happened i wouldnt know what to do.

[kidlex01]

Originally posted by ENGGUY
How are the front and rear shocks?
A car with out them is pretty unmanagable.

Front and rear shocks are still brand new, they were only put on a few months ago and i dont drive my car hard on the crappy roads here i wait till i hit smooth pavement and i go 5 k under the normal speed on the roads i piss alot of people off but at least my car doesnt look like i have 500 lbs in the trunk like most of the vehicles around here, you should see the cab drivers cars they are all low riders they are trashed i will take pictures of all the Sh***y cabs here and post them for you guys to see.

[Spoiled]

Hi, although my car is stock, I feel like I can relate to your problem somewhat, although I don't hear any unusual noises.

My alignment was corrected, however feel no difference.
All tires replaced with quality ones a couple years ago, I'm not a high mileage driver.
Brakes were done about a year ago.
I get the same feeling both before and after the above.

My steering is usually pretty precise, but when driving over small bumps, or worn tire grooves in the road, my steering feels quite loose and wanders/jumps to the side, almost feels like it skips. Very scary in the winter time, still occurs even with 4 winter tires, those are also only a couple years old.

Perhaps it's just a "characteristic" of the car, so far nothing has made a difference for me.

How's your car handling now, did you find the problem?