jamesm113 Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 My legacy wagon isn't the most stable car with a mild (15-20mph) crosswind at highway speeds. It can be uncomfortable and the GF was complaining about it when she was driving it. What could cause this? Couple notes: * Bought car used with 124K in Oct 11. Replaced tires with evenly worn Michelin X Radials from my old car. * Got 2 flat tires 5 miles into a 1k road trip, one of which could not be repaired, had 4 new tires (Kumho Eco Solus KR22 P185/70R14) installed on 12/30/10 at 127,200K. Asked for an alignment check, but the tire shop told me inner tie rods & CV axles were shot, so there was no point in an alignment * CV axles (A1 cardone), Inner tie rods (Moog) and boots replaced & 4 wheel alignment done at 127,500K on 2/12/11 FL FRCamber -.1 -.4Caster 3.1 2.7Toe -.03 -.01SAI 13.9 14.4IA 13.9 14.0FrontCross Camber 0.4Cross caster 0.4Cross SAI -0.5Total Toe -.04 RL RRCamber -0.8 -0.2Toe 0.0 .01RearCross Camber -0.6Total Toe .01Thrust Angle 0 * After another road trip, I noticed rain grove wander with the tires (don't have rain groves in my area), especially in Las Vegas. I also noticed that on I 15 in Utah, where the speed limit was 80mph, crosswinds made driving 80 fairly uncomfortable. At 130K, tire shop rotated tires, inspected suspension & steering, told me everything is nice and tight, alignment was fine, and tires balanced. They told me the rain groove wander was due to over inflation, and would go away after a couple weeks of driving at normal tire pressure. Here are the alignment results: FL FRCamber -.2 -.4Caster 3.4 2.8Toe .03 .06SAI 14.3 14.6IA 14.1 14.1FrontCross Camber 0.0Cross caster 0.6Cross SAI -0.4Total Toe .09 RL RRCamber -0.6 -0.7Toe -.14 .09RearCross Camber 0.1Total Toe -0.05Thrust Angle -0.12 * At 134.7K, while on a camping trip, on a dirt road, one of the front passenger A-arm mount bolts vibrated out. Mount failed. Me being an idiot, drove 40 miles home. Installed new mount (& time sert professionally installed as the threaded hole on the frame was ruined). My guess is the previous owner's mechanic didn't torque the bolt correctly when replacing the axle. They have left me lots of other fun easter eggs.. * At 134.9K, had tires rotated and a 2 wheel alignment done, as FL toe was .42 degrees. Here are the after results: FL FRCamber -.2 -.4Caster 3.2 2.1Toe .01 .01SAI 6.9 14.6IA 6.8 14.1FrontCross Camber 0.2Cross caster 1.1Cross SAI -7.6Total Toe .02 RL RRCamber -0.5 -0.7Toe -.08 .04RearCross Camber 0.3Total Toe -0.04Thrust Angle -0.06 Hope I provided enough information. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniberp Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Apparently something got pretty bent on the front left. Seems like you could actually see than much bend. Loss of 6 degrees SAI over 20 inches means about 1" displacement. Don't know if that can be bent back. I have no idea if this is causing your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesm113 Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Yea, I noticed that, too. What would likely be bent? The strut? Wheel hub? However, I've had the crosswind problems before the SAI loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesm113 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 Bump? Anyone have any tips or clues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniberp Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Either the control arm or the crossmember, to which the rack, sway bar and control arms are mounted, may be bent. Since there are no 90-right angles, it's hard to see what damage there may have been. What bolt fell out? If the rear of the control arm was loose, maybe the front mount got bent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesm113 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 The rear of the passenger control arm was loose. See attachment. Does FL mean driver's side or passenger side? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95legwagon Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 i dont mean to state the obvious but i didnt see where you posted about this being broke (see thumbnail) is this something you overlooked by any chance? i saw where the bolt came out but did you see this was snapped? that is definitly capable of causing some problems lol -jarrid oh and fl is front left meaning driver side. always remember left is driver side and right is pass. side. like you were looking from the driver seat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red92 Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 always remember left is driver side and right is pass. side. like you were looking from the driver seat. ... except that isn't always true. That's why they use left and right, instead of driver and passenger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesm113 Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 i dont mean to state the obvious but i didnt see where you posted about this being broke (see thumbnail) is this something you overlooked by any chance? i saw where the bolt came out but did you see this was snapped? that is definitly capable of causing some problems lol -jarrid I did get that fixed. Had to get a time sert installed where the bolt fell out and had to replace the mount ... except that isn't always true. That's why they use left and right, instead of driver and passenger. Ahh, this is why i get confused! Anyway, the crosswind issues existed before the damage to the A arm. I don't think the poor SAI angle made it any better or worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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