lexforlife

iTrader: (7)

Mods ,if you could leave here in the general section for a few i think many can benefit from this

okay guys , i finally changed my lower control arms on friday this week. all i can say is the front end is as tight the day she was born in 99

all front end shimmy , vibration ,tramlining, steering wheel kickback,wandering ,etc etc is 100% gone. the steering feels much lighter and precise. even cold tire shake is 99% gone .within 2miles its smooth as glass.. i wanted to wait a few days to post after doing the install myself to make sure the results were real for sometimes you get a distorted feel from the car being raised off the ground and shocks needing to resettle.


for all those who have this problem this is the fix.. if you have the dredded on and off shimmy/shake not a constant but kinda here today gone tomm thing then this will cure it and put a big fat on your face .. if you have a constant shimmy/vibration then you have balancing issues,bent wheel or bad tire


items i have changed which made the diff

1) lower ball joints , you should have seen at alittle over 60k of pure south florida driving how bad the joints were

2)castor arms , since you cannot adjust castor these arms have a rubber bushing within them and the insides tear allowing for unwanted movement winthin arm throwing off your toe setting while driving which adds to the bad tramlining scnerio

3)outer tie rod ends , these go bad around the same time ball joints are bad because of the energy transferred to this joint by the bad lower ball joint , you know its loose when you drive at around 60 and let go of steering wheel and watch the wheel shift left an right kinda following the crest of the road

40 lower control arms is a must do , you guys should have seen how bad the rubber around the inner sleeve and outer sleeves were torn away from the sleeves. they were bad and this allows for alot of movement within the arm which shifts your camber and toe settings while in motion which imo is the largest contributer to the on and off shimmy , this also adds to the accelerated tire wear problem for your camber is off while in motion. the amount of load/stress placed on this one arm is huge , it takes lateral forces(front to back and side to side) and seeing that we lower the car more it puts more stress on this bushing so it amplifies and accelerates its wear factor



installing of all these items should be done once for they are all interconnected and then one final alignment can be done. the install can be a diy if you have air tools , if no air tools still doable with breaker bars and lots of cursing


so to those who want to fix this dredded shimmy and loosness in the front end , its time to rebuild the front end but in the end you will have the new car feel again

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

Congrats Ed i know from talking to you at your home that this was the last item on your list to fix Sounds like thats it for the front end... I don't think there's anything else to replace.... As soon as i finish the rear brakes I'm going to start on the front end.... there' no sense on getting a alignment and then replacing the rods and ball joints and then another alignment It would be a slow process but how long should i wait to get a alignment... I don't want the tires to start wearing unevenly? Anyway, Talk to you soon.... and it sounds like FI may be coming your way.... Good Luck

Tony

corkycal

iTrader: (8)

ed,

good post and very informative is there anything else to replace? i agree, all the rubber materials tend to breakdown after 60k.

vaki2

If you don't mind how much did it cost you to get all parts and from where?
I have been thinking of doing this also, just installed my new compressor and itching to use it
I need to put on new struts and springs so it may a good time to get all of it done at the same time.

Where you located in florida?

thanks for all the help

vaki2

rgarjr

iTrader: (1)

Any pics on the new parts?

lexforlife

iTrader: (7)

i am in pembroke pines , adrian knows where i am


the lower control arms are 170 each from steve they retail for almost 270 each

the ball joints are around 70 each

tie rod ends around 50 each and castor arms around 60 each


i am telling you guys it will make you fall in love with the gs again .. i ook forward to driving again , i have always loved the way my car looks and handles but when crusing i hated the loosnesss and on and off shimmey problems

lexforlife

iTrader: (7)

calvin

thats all i can see as premature wear items , the upper a arms are just a balljoint so if boot is not torn or joint excessively loose then thats fine , the bushing within a arm does not seem to take alot of stress , next would be steering rack ,,and if thats not leaking then it should be fine

lexforlife

iTrader: (7)

yeah tony that was the last thing i needed to complete the overhaul of the front end , i hope all the guys out here that have 60+ on their gs and also have done lowering and bracing take my advice and do this overhaul , it is a bit pricey but hey whats worth more your happiness or ????

and yes tony FI will be sourced one way or another seeing the bomb luxury motr dropped on me stating they are doing the 430 instead

GS wanted

iTrader: (9)

planning this with the new brakes and wheels. thanks for the pricing info.

CinFulxgs

This is what I have right now. Goes away after about 10-15 miles... thought it was the tires...

chuckb

I've noticed my car rides better, the longer I drive it. I know the tires get flat spots after sitting all night and I can feel it for first 2-5 miles. I only have 28k miles......

I even do the NASCAR style left to right swirve to warm up tires.....

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

That must be what i have after the car sits overnight or even a day or to... The car will shimmy and then go away after about 10-15 miles.. Its that cold tire shake... Even with the 20's and it did with the stock 17's also... Very weird... but now i know how to fix it Thanks to Ed.

Tony

CinFulxgs

My car sits for a week or sometimes two...

DetMich1

In a week or two , you will definitely develop flat spots on the tires that will give you transient rough handling. For older cars, don't forget to check other bushings, ie: the steering rack mounting bushings, engine and tranny mount bushings. These are also made of rubber and will break down with age especially if exposed to corrosive chemicals such as oil or radiator coolant. The rear wheels also have upper and lower control arm bushings. The lowers are far more susceptible to wear problems than the uppers due to the stresses caused by suspension geometry.

Indio

iTrader: (1)

The NASCAR style swerve you refer to is not to warm up tires but to clean debris from them after caution laps before resuming race speeds.