Loyale sags on drivers side...

[MR_Loyale]

About 10 days ago I had Les Schwab replace the driver side cv axle on my Loyale sedan. It was returned to me with torque steer to the right. I created a thread about this earlier. I took it back to them to fix their mistake this past Saturday (6/15). After having it for about two hours, I get it back and they tell me that the steering had a "notch" worn into it and when they straightened the steering wheel for the alignment in the original work it made the steering gear go "off the notch". So they moved it back to the notch but my steering wheel would be slightly tilted. I told them that didn't bother me as long as it didn't pull to the right.

 

I took the car home, the torque steer was pretty much gone. However I noticed after it being on the freeway the steering seemd to vibrate at certain speeds and "float" on the road.  The vibration I figured was my tires which could be old enough to be out of round, I had this happen to me before so it seemed plausible. The floating I figured must be that too.  I figured nwe tires were in my future, though I swear these ones look new.

 

So tonight I was looking at my car and noticed that the driver side seemd to sit lower than the passenger side. Do you see where I am going with this?  So I measure the difference. It appears to be about 1 to 1.5 inches.

 

At this point I see two possibilities. 1) My shock coincidentally just happened to collapse near the time of the Les Schwab work. 2) The fat bald little crooked tech at Les Schwab "adjusted" the shock to make it lower or put in a shorter shock so the weight distribution would shift to the driver side and reduce the torque steer to the right.. I suspect this because my top strut nuts have yellow lines painted on the threads and nuts to indicate if they have been manipulated. The passenger side still has them, the driver side does not.

 

 

I was thinking these front shocks were the ones with the adjustable base so i jacked up the driver side, took off the wheel and looked but could not find any notches. Is there something I need to take off to see these notches? I figure if I can look at both sides and compare, I will have a better idea.

 

I tried pressing on the driver and passenger side to test the shocks and they both seemed to respond in the same manner. No bouncing, they move down and back up. I would have thought had the shock collapsed there would be no downward movement. I can take pics tomorrow.

Edited June 20, 2013 by MR_Loyale

[SmashedGlass]

If you're driving a Loyale ('90+), none of your struts should be adjustable unless they've been swapped with mid-80's units. On the fronts, look for two bolts under the lower spring perch; these are turned to raise or lower the perch. I don't think that's your problem though. Blown shocks don't make for sag, blown springs do. Also, look for any damage underneath the front end, say, near the radius rod mount on that side

 

The adjustables look like so: http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z146/1992Roo/Safariwagon-III/2012_0407AA.jpg. 

[MR_Loyale]

Am I looking for a crack in the spring where it seperated? Or does it just lose it's ability to push over time?

[SmashedGlass]

It's possible one could've actually broken, I suppose, and it would be obvious when you look at it. And yes, springs can weaken over time; that sides spring would have all of the coils closer together than the other side (check when parked on level ground).

[rdweninger]

What happened to the bent control arm that was in the picture you posted last week?

[MR_Loyale]

What happened to the bent control arm that was in the picture you posted last week?

 

Nothing. It is still there.

[MR_Loyale]

I should be able to pull both struts and compare, right? If something is bad on one side, I replace both?

 

I am unsure of when I compress the springs to remove them. Does the entire strut assembly come out with the spring and then I remove the spring after I have the asembly off the car? This is how Scotty Kilmer did it in his video, but that was a Honda.

Edited June 20, 2013 by MR_Loyale

[SmashedGlass]

Yes, that is how you do the struts. But, if you still have a bent control arm in there, you need to fix that and work through anything else that got banged up, first.

[MR_Loyale]

Update -

 

Last night I had the car on jackstands on both sides and I tried the tire wiggle test. Everything was tight. I have no idea how this is possible as all the tie rod end, balljoints and bushings are original to the car from 1993. I expected to find something loose in the suspension but I did not. Then I began slowly moving one wheel from one extreme to the other listening to the steering wheel turn. I was shocked when I realized the Les Schwab guy was telling the truth - there IS a clunk, notch whatever you wish to call it. Moving the wheel starting from one extreme you get a smooth movement in the steering until a certain point and then a clunk and then smoothness. Is this normal? Should the steering rack be replaced? I don't feel this when driving or even moving the wheel from inside the car.

 

My plan last nght was to start replacing things starting with the struts due to the sag. They looked easy enough to remove, until I got into it. Seems the brake lines on the front run through a bracket that is welded to the strut. In order to remove the strut, I'd have to remove the brake lines which would mean opening up another possible can of worms.  I realized this after I removed the clip securing the brake line to the strut. So I then put the clip back on and thought about what to do.

 

There is a principle in logic known as Occam's Razor. Basically it says that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. I looked at my tires. They had lots of tread and would certainly pass the penny test. The problem is they were four years old. Now I am sure some of you are thinking I am crazy in the head - suspecting four year old tires that look like almost new.  But these tires had small hairline cracks I could see, cosmetic yes, but to me an indication that they are deteriorating. I have seen tires like this shake my little Loyale so much at highway speeds that you'd think the balljoints had fallen out. Besides the guy at Les Schwab had rotated the tires when the original torque steer cropped up - something I had neglected to do since I bought those tires from them in 2009.

 

So this is where I decided to start and today purchased brand new tires. I took it for a test drive and I have to say my little Loyale is back to normal.  Thank you all for your suggestions and offers of help.  I still have some sag on my drivers side and will probably want to replace the struts in the future, but at this tme they are not critical.

Edited June 22, 2013 by MR_Loyale

[idosubaru]

subaru steering rack failures are almost unheard of.  they sometimes leak out the output shaft seals but that's even rare. possible, but rare.

 

the steering rack ujoints can get rusty and bind, that might be popping.  it's between the steering wheel and steering rack inside the engine bay, under the master cylinder.

 

the steering rack bushings also get tired and will create enough slop for the rack to shift under loading...maybe creating that thunk.  they can also cause a slight delay in steering....turn left...and you feel a very brief lull as the rack shifts, squishes the old tired loose bushing...and then catches. 

[MR_Loyale]

subaru steering rack failures are almost unheard of.  they sometimes leak out the output shaft seals but that's even rare. possible, but rare.

 

the steering rack ujoints can get rusty and bind, that might be popping.  it's between the steering wheel and steering rack inside the engine bay, under the master cylinder.

 

the steering rack bushings also get tired and will create enough slop for the rack to shift under loading...maybe creating that thunk.  they can also cause a slight delay in steering....turn left...and you feel a very brief lull as the rack shifts, squishes the old tired loose bushing...and then catches. 

 

I will check those out. Thanks.