Loose caboose

AJ'S 88NA

New Member
Jul 26, 2007
2,419
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Florida
Hey guys and gals.

I have noticed a problem in turns mostly with the rear end being loose. This problem came about when I had a rear tire go flat and the wife drove it not knowing, ruined the tire of course. When I had 2 new ones put on, noticed the stablizer link was disconnected, fixed that.

Now what I am experiencing is when I turn in, you can feel back loose if you turn in a little tighter will like grab and come around. Kind of hard to explain, very noticable in a double apex turn or decreasing radius turn, like has a mind of it's own. You can also feel it swaying a bit in winds, higher speeds, and ruts in the road.

This car has always been predicable at any speeds.

The struts & springs have been replaced not too many miles on them, only hae had to change the alinement 2 times in 21 years. Tire pressure is good also, sometimes feels like a low tire though.

Does this sound like a stablizer problem?

Could I have bent the stablizer bar if the link was loose?

Could I have tore the bushings?

Any suggestions or personal experiences would help.

Thanks
 

IJ.

Grumpy Old Man
Mar 30, 2005
38,728
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62
I come from a land down under
Check the spherical bearing and bushes in the rear upright AJ.

RA_006.gif
 

AJ'S 88NA

New Member
Jul 26, 2007
2,419
0
0
Florida
Thought I'd post back what I found.

The wife has been driving it for a while now, she stated that it seemed like the brakes were grabbing. So I figured I'd check them and the bearings to try to locate the problem.

Pulled the rear and checked the pads, half gone, not too bad, rotors looked good.

Went to the fronts, what do I find hanging, a dead possum. LOL. No the stabilizer link passenger side had come loose. Really pissed me off, I replaced them all maybe 10k ago and must have thought I had them tight but with the allen head stud and tight area with a wrench I must not have.

So basically it was a stablizer problem, both links front and rear on the passenger side had come loose. Glad it didn't cost anything to fix.
 

thedave925

Since 9/16/05
Nov 9, 2005
626
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East Bay, Cali
I was reading up on this as after i had new rear tires installed the back end wasn't as crisp following the front in turns.

Turns out the camber was way too much so shifting weight side to side was noticable, plus the tread height of new tires at full pressure always throws me off being tall and mushy soft giving that driving on sandy pavement kind of feeling.

I ground the camber openings to reattain 0* and flattened the tires a bit.