twitchtwice

iTrader: (12)

So I'm pretty sure my ball joints are going back. after i dropped my car it was okay then out of no where i my car started loosing alignment (steering wheel is cocked to the left, but it pulls to the right). and the steering will pop on some bumps and sometimes when turning. i checked the steering column and rack and nothing is wrong there. are those symptoms for bad ball joints?

i checked around, would it be a good idea to get poly mounts? if so where should i buy them from. Thanks.

tuffluck

iTrader: (4)

could be a number of things. do your tires sit exactly perpendicular to the ground or are either of them tilted? what you are describing is precisely what i was experiencing recently and it turned out to be a loose camber bolt that shifted the a-arm out from it's normal position, killing the alignment, cocking the wheel, and causing all sorts of creaks and crackling noises when i turned and hit small bumps.

i was told about 10 different things until i finally decided to go and get an expert to look at it, so my strong recommendation is to not assume you know what the problem is until someone can tell for sure. because my problem was a free fix, and i was honestly ready to change the ball joints, replace the spindle, and even replace the a-arm bushings as well, which would have been a pain in the *** and expensive. as it turns out, i saved money and those parts are still in good shape. so, it's better to be certain than to guess here.

twitchtwice

iTrader: (12)

well see thats what i thought, so i took it for a realignment (have a lifetime alignment) and they redid it, and after a week or so it lost alignment again. i guess i could take it to them one more time and have them double check everything.

tuffluck

iTrader: (4)

who is aligning it? are you seeing the specs? what are the specs for left and right? you could have a crappy alignment tech, or the specs could be way off which would suggest something is bent or broke.

twitchtwice

iTrader: (12)

i dont know where the paper is but the front camber was around -.9 to -1.3. the guy does good work. he worked on my brothers 69 after my car as well as my dads 69 so i doubt he's not good.

jmilz28

iTrader: (13)

You need to check around and find somebody to give you a second opinion, should only cost you an hour of labor at most. Unless you've hit something, my guess is the rack/gear. Mine was doing EXACTLY what you describe and had my steering rack replaced and I had a new car again. The factory gear is the best and replacements start to suck. They leak and come loose, causing what you are describing.

If you think you need ball joints, it may be worthwhile to just replace the upper and lower a-arms, like UMI or BMR units. They come with new joints installed, you have to get an alignment anyway, and the labor to press them in offsets some of the hardware cost. This is how I justify upgrades, anyhow.

MAIN POINT: You really need to not guess/throw parts at this problem. Paying a GM dealer or performance alignment shop that you TRUST is your best bet. Don't assume that a shop is good at one thing because they were good at something else. The 1st gen's suspension ain't that similar to ours and you simply can't expect a shop that works on all years and makes to be as proficient as one that only works on one. That said, TRUST is the most important piece - and it's not always easy to determine that. A shop is a shop and there are good ones and bad ones.

twitchtwice

iTrader: (12)

o im not going to just throw parts at it. going to look into it more, i was just curious to see if it was balljoints and if so how much and what kind to get. its just hard to believe that the steering rack is going bad with only 39k miles on the car. the first thing i made them check was the steering rack, and they said that everything was fine so i thought maybe it was the balljoints.

jmilz28

iTrader: (13)

If you took it to a dealer and they said the rack was fine, it may be. I can tell you this, I worked at a Chevy dealer in service. Over a three year period, I personally handled dozens of f-bodies. I saw a large handful of bad racks and our front end guy said it was common. I can't remember a single ball joint needing to be replaced. Statistically, my bet is the rack, but your case may be different.

tuffluck

iTrader: (4)

i would get the full printout of the alignment specs for both sides. just because one side has a camber of -.9 to -1.3 does not tell us anything. we need camber, caster, and toe specs for both sides, because if one side is different than the other side that might tell you right there where your problem is.

joecar

How many miles are on your ball joints...?

JamRWS6

This would make sense on newer cars. But as these cars age, many are at the point of needing ball joint replacement. I replaced mine at 98K and it was time.

twitchtwice

iTrader: (12)

okay. well i have a lift so ill just put it up in the air and see if anything looks bent our out of place.


i can give you a rough estimate.
L/R camber is around -.9 to -1.3 (they were close to the same)
not really sure the camber does 5.5-5.7 sound close?
toe was like +.33 on both or around there i think
car has 39k miles

JamRWS6

+.3 toe? For most, unless you are trying to get the car to turn in better, this isn't going to work very well. This would also cause the car to wander and eat up tires too.

Mike454SS

iTrader: (4)

I don't want to sound offensive...but part of a good alignment, is the tech looking over the entire suspension and making sure none of it is worn or damaged in any way that would cause any problems with the alignment. Generally speaking, suspensions don't suddenly just "lose alignment" unless you hit pot holes like a crazy person, or have something that is worn, damaged or loose. I really think it's worth asking another place to look at the car. Explain whats been happening and ask them if it's fixable and then have them align it after the repair.

And for what it's worth...my car has 173K on it...on original ball joints and bushings. I'm replacing them this coming weekend, as every now and then when the car is up on a lift (like when I change the oil on my friends lift) I set it down on stands under the front control arms and check them (proper procedure is to support the car by the front lower control arms, then check for play, FSM wants you to check for play using a pry bar) and they've felt great every time I did that until the last time...there's a little bit of play in them now. I don't know how others experience has been, but 39K seems awfully young for balljoints to be worn/damaged to me seeing as mine made it to 170K just fine and just started to finally loosen up somewhere between 170 and 173.