Lets play a game: What did I break this time?

[Random]

Ok, coming out of a gas station yesterday, I heard a loud clunk from the front passenger side tire. Considering I had virtually the entire front suspension on the car replaced 3 months ago, I couldnt figure out what broke. at first I thought tie rod, but not it. my current theory in possibly a motor mount. heres the symptoms. help me figure out what this is:

1. when sitting still, everthing is fine. when i rev the engine, nothing happens.
2. Under acceleration, the car pulls to the left. seriously pulls to the left.
3. while going a constant speed, the steering wheel is turned about 30 degrees to the right.
4. under hard braking, the wheel straightens out as if nothing is wrong.
5. alignment is perfectly fine. even when driving, the wheel is still turned 30 degrees to the right, but the car tracks perfectly straight.
6. I drove 1300 miles with the car like that, because, well, I had no choice.
7. no squeaking, grinding is evident when turning, the wheel turns with no added effort than before.

So, what did I break? mind you, the entire front suspension was replaced 3 months ago. could a motor mount be the culprit? or maybe something in the steering box itself?

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Betcha broke the RH strut rod mounting point in the subframe. There's a TSB on it somewhere (I can't find my DVD at the moment), but basically you'll need to weld in a washer on the subframe.

 

[Random]

ya, but the struts, along with the springs and all the mounting hardware was replaced 3 months ago. wouldnt the mechanic have noticed if something like that was going bad?

 

[Mr Anonymous]

The strut rod isn't part of the strut -- it's the radius arm that connects between the spindle and the subframe (a/k/a a tension strut).

 

[Random]

what does it look like? I want to go out and check to see if somethings broken.

 

[Mr Anonymous]

I found the TSB (#95-3-4), which has pictures. Click THIS LINK.

 

[Random]

Ok, I just looked at that on both sides. both seem to be fine with no movement at all. The end connected to the subframe looks to be in good shape. any other suggestions?

 

[Slo-Sho]

Get under the car and inspect the RF SFB.

 

[Random]

were exactly is it?

 

[Slo-Sho]

Passenger side right front of the subframe where the bushing connects it to the body. If it's broken you WON'T be able to miss it as the subframe will be hanging at 3 points.

 

[Random]

nope, nothing noticeable hanging down. I have noticed that the front right of the car lifts a lot ore under hard acceleration. anything else?

 

[metalman]

my left pulling problem

I had the same problem with my 94. I found that I broke the rear motor support and passenger side rear cradle bushing. This caused mine to pull to the left and it also caused the engine to rock back so far that it broke the ICM. Thats what happens sometimes when you grab a hard second.hahahaha

 

[DHMag]

wheel bearing ?