Just got my SHO.. Couple problems..

[SHO_Me_Da_$$]

Okay the first problem is that when I apply the brakes the car basically bucks.. even if I apply them pretty gradually. The brakes feel like they have plenty of stopping power.. So I dont know what to think.
The second problem is that when I turn sharply while moving I get a *clunk clunk* in the front end and the steering wheel becomes hard to turn for a second.. I was thinkin CV joints? ...

Other than that.. this is a sweet car. Economical, roomy, fast, it seems perfect to me

 

[David Mueller]

The problem with the brakes may or may not be the brakes because of what you said about the noises when turning. Is the car making the clunking noise when you hit a bump as well? The problem you are describing could also probably be caused by a worn inner tie rod. The best way to determine that is to jack up the front of the car and with the tire on check the movement of the tire. You should not be able to tire hardly at all.

Let us know what kind of movement you get, if any. Also while you are down there you can look for things like worn pads, rotor, and you can see it any of the axle or steering joints look to be worn as well.

Good luck.

Dave

 

[PROPHET]

Look for loose or missing nuts, also check out www.shotimes.com click on maintenance scroll down to suspension and click on the different suspension parts as it will read the symptoms to every particular suspension part, then you can compare with the problem youre having.

I highly recommend reading everything in that site.

 

[SHO_Me_Da_$$]

Thanks I will check out all that today..

 

[SHO_Me_Da_$$]

Okay I jacked the car up.. and there is a very small amount of play.. like probably less than an 1/8 of an inch. Is ANY play normal.. is it possible I just need to lubricate the tie rod ends?

 

[PROPHET]

Did you remove the wheels to check if the sway bar end links are tight you might as well **** everything while youre there, don't forget to always use jackstands.

 

[SHO#7]

Any chance of bad subframe bushings. I know that I would get a hard clunk approaching a stop... And also some play on the turns. In either case, good luck.

 

[David Mueller]

I neglected to mention that you should check for play in two ways...from the 3/9 o'clock positions and from the 12/6 o'clock positions. Depending on which way is giving you play will help determine the problem. Also, you might want to take off the wheel (as others have mentioned) and look for anything that looks worn, missing or not tight.

If the tie rod ends have been replaced before then depending on the model installed you may or may not have any lubrication *******. I know on my SHO the tie rods are self lubricated (self contained) where as some of the replacment ones require routine greasing.

If there is ANY play in the 12/6 positions then it would indicate a faulty wheel bearing....if there is ANY play in the 3/9 positions then it would indicate a faulty tie rod end.

Dave

 

[Electricat]

You mentioned the possibility of bad CV joints.....when they go bad, they tend to make more of a *pop pop* noise, not really a *clunk*. Obviously it is hard to diagnose strange sounds over the internet though!

Just guessing, but my money would be on bad sway bar end links....they will make the sound you describe, and tend to be a problem spot on the SHO.

BTW, what year/colour/tranny is this car? Just curious

 

[SHO_Me_Da_$$]

BTW, what year/colour/tranny is this car? Just curious

Its a '91 Mocha on Mocha, MTX of course

 

[David Mueller]

Have you had a chance to check the play in the wheels and inspect the suspension/driveline/steering?

I am almost certain that you probably have a faulty tie rod.

 

[SHO_Me_Da_$$]

I have not yet had a chance to pull off the wheels, but I will definately do that tomorrow. Im almost certain that the play was limited to '9-3' movement rather than up and down. Also how can I tell if the subframe bushings are bad.. . Would bad SFB's make my car shimmy a lot under heavy braking?

 

[David Mueller]

Bad SFB's are like any rubber bushing, you should be able to see if they are cracked, dry, falling apart (thats the worst) or just not looking very solid anymore. Generally most people replace them anyway with Aluminum ones for increased frame stiffness and much improved steering resonse. If you are interested there is a group buy going on for the cup style Al SFB in the Classified section of the forum.

The shaking problem is probably caused by the bad tie rods. I would say at this point that you probably have a bad tie rod end, but to make sure I would take it to a tire and alingment store to have it double checked. When replacing tie rods it is not a bad idea to replace the entire inner and outer tie rod assembly on both sides, but that would depend on resources.

Dave