I might have a sway bar endlink issue, but not sure

[SHOoff89]

While doing the outer tie rods on my 91, I noticed something that I have not encountered before on any of my SHO's. The sway bar is pushing and pulling the wheel when the tie rod is removed from the knuckle. I can see the sway bar moving up and down when I turn the wheel, but I have never had this happen before. So my question is, is this normal? The passenger side did not do this, so I am trying to figure out which side is messed up and what else needs to be replaced. Could this be an endlink problem?

One thing I forgot to add, the tie rods were shot and the car was shaking like crazy when pointed straight, and only straight between 45 and 55 mph. I just took it out for a drive and it still shakes a bit, but no where near as bad. I am going to have it aligned tommorrow, and I am hoping that the shake will go away. But now I am wondering if it has something to do with this sway bar issue.

<small>[ March 13, 2004, 07:52 PM: Message edited by: SHOoff89 ]</small>

 

[MotoArts]

Sway bars, links or bushings will not have anything to do with driveline or suspension vibration(s). Causing clunks yes, vibrations no. My loaded '79 F150 4x4 did not have either front or rear bars from the factory. My '71 Mustang has only the stock front (for now).

Also, alignment will have absolutely nothing to do with causing vibration of any kind. Other worn components (wheel bearings, mounts, bushings, etc.) and bad tires will. My '94 steered terribly w/ Slicers and half worn Yokohama 550's. I replaced them (for winter) with the stock steelies and new cheapie SR tires from my Sable wagon (hubcaps = throwup ) and the steering improved DRAMATICALLY.

Pete

<small>[ March 13, 2004, 11:05 PM: Message edited by: MotoArts ]</small>

 

[AutoSHO]

The movement you describe sounds normal to me.

As for the shaking, it is a tire imbalance.

 

[SHOoff89]

Stupid question, but could the shake be CV related as well? The boots didn't look so hot when I was in there, and they look like they have been that way for a while. But, there is no clicking at all. And the car handles like complete crap right now as far as the steering goes.

AutoSHO, if this is normal, why would it only do it on one side? I thought I had the steering wheel straight, but I could be mistaken and that is the only reason I could see it doing this. It just seems weird to me because I have never had this happen before.

 

[projectSHO89]

Don't be surprised when the alignment shop calls you and gives you a list of all the wornout parts in the front end that have to be replaced before they can perform the alignment.

The swaybar to subframe bushings are shot. The swaybar should not move laterally. The only obvious result from these is likely to be noise when hitting bumps.

The shaking is an imbalance in the driveline. That would include the halfshafts (including the CV joint) or unbalanced wheels as possibilities.

The shop should also inspect your ball joints, wheel bearings, and inner tie rods before attempting the alignment. Be sure that the subframe bushings are in good shape and are secure, otherwise the entire subframe may shift causing the geometry of the front end to change.

Steve