slvr98camaro

iTrader: (1)

its kinda hard to explain, but it just doesnt feel like my car is connected to the road

i do have a tiny bit of play in the steering wheel, but it seems that i constantly have to move it back and fourth to keep going straight, sometimes i think the people driving behind me think im driving drunk..

if i go on a long straight away and hold the steering wheel straight, my car will go perfectly straight, so i know the alignment is ok, but something just seems off.

when i got my car inspected, i was told that i have a bad tie rod end (that was about 4 months ago) and it was a friend who inspected it.. same person drove my car about a month ago and he asked if i replaced it because he couldnt feel it in my steering... so now im wondering if it got worse, and now im able to feel it?

he is going to take me car out for a drive soon, but i would still like some input on what can cause this.. im not getting any clunks or anything like that

i know im not making any sense, but the problem is kinda hard to explain.. but ill try and put it this way.. sometimes when im driving (especially around turns) i get kinda freaked out because it almost feels like my steering wheel got disconnected and its just gonna go straight

play in the steering wheel has been the same since i got my car (40,000 miles ago)

also, my end link just fell off a few days ago, and i replaced it, but im hearing a knocking type noise in the back when i hit bumps/pot holes.. anyone know what that could be? I just replaced my pass. side brake light but i didnt get a chance to look and see if the spare tire is loose, but i put it pretty damn tight and its def. coming from the back, and not the trans mount or the exhaust hitting something

thanks guys!

ajsfirehawk

iTrader: (4)

Tie rod ends being worn out will make your steering sloppy. I did have them replaced in my Firehawk after only 50K miles and now it goes exactly where you point it. The steering is almost instant. But what I think you need to do is get a buddy, get the car up on jackstands and have your buddy work the steering back and forth while you trace mechanical motion from the steering shaft all the way through the steering system. I'm not talking about rotating the steering lock to lock, I'm talking about a quarter turn one direction and then a quarter turn the other. Repeat repeat repeat and watch from the steering shaft all the way through the system to see if you are losing motion anywhere. That would be indicative of a worn out bushing or bearing. Sounds like you have problems in the back too. Should not be any correlation between a brake light and your rear suspension. Have you done any mods to the rear end?

slvr98camaro

iTrader: (1)

thanks for replying.

hopefully there will be a non cold nice day soon so i can try that out eith the steering

im sorry if i said something wrong, but in order for me to change the brake light, i had to move the spare tire out of the way to take the housing out, and i was thinking maybe it came loose and was rattling around when i hit bumps

my rear suspension is 100% stock (with 135,000 miles on it) except for the end link that i just put on.. the only thing i can think of is when the old one fell off, i somehow did some damage to the car?

the only thing i have ever done with the rear end was change the pinion seal

ajsfirehawk

iTrader: (4)

You didn't say anything wrong at all. 135K is fair amount of miles. I would bet your bushings in the sway bar, the lower control arms (LCAs) and panhard rod are reamed out. I'm not clear on what you mean when you say the end link fell off the rear. End links on the sway bar? Just for grins, when you get the rear end up in the air, grab the rear wheel on each side, one at a time on each side (facing the wheel) tug on them, and see if you can make them wobble in and out or left and right.

dgmiller

iTrader: (1)

At 135 K I would replace the tie rod ends on both sides. I'm suprised they lasted this long. That should tighten up the stearing respose and make you feel more in control. I would also look at your shocks. Worn out shocks will allow the car to float and it will feel very disconnected and at highway speeds it my feel like you are floating when ever you go over the top of any rise in the road.

I hope you replaced both of the sway bar links You definately don't want a tight one on one side and one that has worn out bushings on the other. Be sure and look at the buhings where the bar is attached to the axle they sould be tight. No movement when you tug on the bar with you hand. You can get a good improvement in the functioning of the sway bars by changing to either Energy Suspension or Prothane replacements. Autozone cares most ES parts in stock for Camaros.

Axfar as the clunk in the rear look at the spare and the jack mouting, if any parts is moving around it will make noise. If that doesn't solce it check for loose parts in the rear including the u-joints, rear shock mounts and the torque arm mounts and bushings in addition to the parts mentioned before.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

My money is on shocks. Certainly new tie-rods, ball joints and bushings wouldn't be a bad idea but the fact that when he gets to long, straight and presumably smooth road the car tracks ok would lead me to feel even more strongly about the shocks being completely toasted.

Some of the big issues with fried shocks: Wandering around/lack of stability that gets worse with speed, a floaty feel like driving a waterbed on wheels, and bad impact harshness.

slvr98camaro

iTrader: (1)

thanks guys

and yeah, the endlink on the sway bar fell off, the bolt rusted through, so all i had left was the bushing at the top, i only replaced the one that was bad, but i plan on doing the other one also.

i have been wanting to get new shocks also. there is something wrong with my drivers side shock, when i hit a hard enough bump, i can hear a knocking noise. I was told it was an "upper strut mount" but since camaros dont have struts, im thinking it is the shock mount? or maybe the shock is bad? its been like that since i bought the car. it rarely does it, so i never did anything about it.

when i did replace the endlink, i also tightened the torque arm, the bolts were pretty loose since i guess i didnt tighten them enough after i put my transmission back in.. that was actually what i thought was making the "twisting" feeling in my rear end when i would start from a stop, but thats when i discovered the endlink was gone

the clunk sounds like it is coming from the passenger side of the car and that happens to be the side the endlink was bad.. so do you think that could have messed something up?

slvr98camaro

iTrader: (1)

yeah, when im driving on the highway it sometimes scares me when i go over 60mph feels like my car is hovering in the air

JD_AMG

Yep that sounds like shocks. Do yourself a favor and don't waste your money on some cheap over the counter autozone crap. Go for at least some strano spec bilstiens.
http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=20&ModelID=7
And if you are really looking for tight, awesome handling get yourself some of these:
http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=20&ModelID=7
I would not own another fbody without them.

slvr98camaro

iTrader: (1)

thanks.. after looking at the blistiens, i saw they were pretty expensive, but they seemed really cheap at that website you posted.. i was seeing them for almost $600 elsewhere.

should i do springs also? not sure about the front, but the back ones are pretty rusted

JD_AMG

If you go with any kind of lowering spring and want to still maintain a good (non-choppy and jarring) ride with controlled handling you'll have to fork over more money for shocks made to suit those springs (the bilstiens are intended for stock springs only).
The konis I already posted can take care of that for you, and I am extremely happy with them paired with the strano springs.

oldNslow89TA

iTrader: (1)

http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=12&ModelID=4 LOOKS LIKE A GREAT KIT!

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Thanks for the link... and yes I sell the SLP stuff. But it's not a GREAT KIT imho. Depends on what the customer's goals are, I offer it because in certain instances it's a good setup for a person's needs, but other times it's not what is right. I don't love the shocks or the springs in that setup, but it's far better than a lot of things some folks cobble together.

slvr98camaro

iTrader: (1)

hey, i noticed you are in my general area

how far away are you from lernerville? i live in pittsburgh, and its about a 40min drive for me.. if im not doing anything some weekend, maybe i can come up to your store

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Not far, 50-60 miles. As long as you don't expect some really cool race shop you are more than welcome to come on up. Not much to look at except some trophies and if you want my Camaro.

slvr98camaro

iTrader: (1)

do you guys think that unbalanced tires may have caused this problem? I dont remember when this problem started, but i rotated my tires a while ago, and i also accidentally hit a curb, and broke a belt in my tire, putting a tiny bulge in it

anyways, i got my snow tires put on, and my car seems a lot more stable now.. something i could NEVER say before when i just put those tires on, it always gave me a ton of body roll, and it felt like my car wanted to flip over, everything seems so much better now

the road noise is a lot less, even though i have studded tires on now, and also my weird shaking problem that was very noticeable around 2krpm in 2nd gear is gone

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

No. Unbalanced tires cause shakes and vibrations, as do broken belts. You do need to replace you screwed up tire because it's not safe.

Snow tires are a softer and more vague, I can't see how that'd make the car feel better unless it's just because the softer tire squishes around more and the car generates less suspension movement (the tire is also a spring, the more it flexes the less the wheels actually move up and down).

slvr98camaro

iTrader: (1)

yeah, thats what im saying, every time i have ever put those tires on, it took a bit of getting used to from the mount of body roll.. but this time, my car actually seemed better.

i will probably just buy the tire from tirerack.. those tires have at the very most 15k miles on them, so i should be good with just buying one.. i think.

while i was driving today, i did notice that im still having the "floating" problem, i think it was because i have been driving slower as usual due to the cold weather, and potentially icy roads around here.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

The floating is the shocks.... And as I suspected the tires/conditions aren't giving you an accurate read.

slvr98camaro

iTrader: (1)

hey guys, i have a bit of an update about the clunking noise i was hearing.. i had 150lb of sand in the back hatch for winter, and i took it out today, and the clunking noise happens a lot less now

so do you guys think that could be caused by the shock also?

im going to get new shocks, but i just got under my car and tried to find something that could be causing the noise, and i couldnt find anything at all, could it be the shock bottoming out?

thanks