Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

my soobs out of control!


Recommended Posts

when im exceding speeds of 60mph my soob starts to swerve and jump around. was running without a swaybar for about 2 months. put it on and its a little better but just not how my last one was. and i am running turbo suspension on front drivers side. its a loyale. has anyone ever encountered this problem?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well im not sure if the suspensions are the same or not. but came from same style engine car. ill look into the ball joints. it came with the different suspension thats how i got it so cheap... or how GD got it so cheap and i got it from him :banana:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Take a look underneath for anything obvious -- like a bent radius rod that's holding one front wheel an inch or two farther back than the other side. That completely screws up the alignment. I know it sounds like common sense to check that first.......but its possible to overlook it :dead:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

short of the suspension (strut) differences, yeah, check the ball joints, also tierod ends...jack the car up enough to get the tire clear of the ground, grab it and try to wiggle - side to side and top to bottom - if you have movement you have problems

top to bottom will usually mean a ball joint - side to side is tierod end - usually, not always...

if possible have a helper - one wiggles the wheel, the other is looking for where the movement occurs...

 

check both sides!

 

my personal thought is if you are changing ball joint or tierod end on one side, might as well do the other at the same time - if one is failing the other wont be far behind and you will be changing it soon anyway. New parts on one side will stress old parts on the other side and they will fail much more quickly - best to keep things equal.

 

also, another simple "doh! why didnt i think of that?" item - check your tire pressure. a low tire will cause handling issues...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I switched to 185-70 r13 tires from the 175-70s that came on my car.. and noticed a great deal of the above 60mph instability vanished. I had experienced it, and could not believe the car might be actually THAT sensitive to wind.. but it made it go away for me.

 

The question is, are we perceiving the same thing? I think I know what you are talking about, and I think I have come to the conclusion that the skinnier tires (175s) allowed my sedan to be blown about by the tiniest breath of wind (okay 10mph or so, but thats not much.) Of course, you should make sure that your steering and suspension are in good repair.. the HTKYSA book has a good breakdown on how to check it all out for yourself, or you could just take it to a mechanic and ask for a front end alignment, and see what they say. Don't necessarily take their WORD for it, but see what they say. :rolleyes: Or you could just try picking up a pair of used 185-70r13s sometime (i guess not during winter? i dont know snow) and see if that makes a difference.. then go all four.. buying used tires makes it a cheaper thing to go back on, you arent 250-300 bucks into a set of tires to find out you dont like it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another thing that can cause that is the radius rod bushings. They get old, cracked and loose.

 

a very good suggestion for checking into.

 

daeron - i run the stock 175's on my wagon and dont notice the cross winds nearly as much in it as i do in the coupe we have (also with 175's) the wagon has 244K on the clock, the coupe only 136K - the coupe is VERY touchy with a cross wind - always a treat to drive! :grin:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

soobgoob: is your car a sedan? apparently, the body style may have an impact on this, according to heartless.

 

Im sure all of my body rust doesn't help my aerodynamic situation much... small010.jpg

 

the other side looks about the same. :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No - his is a wagon. Rust free left coast edition:)

 

It's probably suspension related. Have to take a look at the front bushings and such. The body only has about 150k on it....

 

GD

 

I still vote that the 185 tires would help. I had a very similar issue, and i simply could not believe it was as simple as wind.. but it sure went away with wider tires. not that there arent a whole slew of places in the suspension that this kinda crap might come up.. :rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...