Todd951968

I am having problems diagnosing a steering/suspension problem and could use some thoughts or advice. The car has brand new tires, new rotors, brakes, wheel alignment checked twice. We also checked the steering rack and suspension parts for loose or warn parts and nothing seems bad. I did replace the struts with used (low mile) koni M474s.

The symptom is that on left turns (when the front left suspesion is unloaded) I get a wobbly or loose feeling in the steering wheel. It feels as though something is not bolted down and there is a shake with resistance in the wheel. Right turns and going straight , as well as "weighted "left turns are all fine.

I've had camber, castor , all the alignment checked. We turned the strut shaft 90 degrees and 180 degrees to see if the problem was a bent shaft.

IS there anything else that could be causing this? I think we are leaning towards taking off the struts and putting on the old ones to see if the problem goes away but its hard to see a bad strut doing this. If there was massive wheel hop then maybe. We are grasping at straws and I don't want to go ordering a bunch of parts like steering racks, pumps, etc. if I don't need them. I already have a set of M030 sways that are waiting to be mounted once we figure the current problem out.

Does anyone have and ideas on what is causing this?

PorscheDude1

Give the castor blocks a good inspection.

Stephenwz968

Have you checked the wheel bearings?

Todd951968

yes, the wheel bearings were OK. The right side rear control arm bushing was a little worn but not bad.

PorscheDude1

One other place to check is the strut mounts.

Todd951968

The strut mounts seemed OK but I'll have the mechanic check. Do you know if 944S2 (M474 konis) will mount up to the 968 strut mounts? I added the struts and springs but kept the 968 mounts. Could this be the problem?

Stephenwz968

They mate up, that's what I have on my cab.

968workaholic

My guess would be a ball joint going bad or the front bushing on the control arm. That is assuming you check the more obvious things that were already mentioned. Good Luck

Todd951968

It turned out to the be castor blocks. The right side was cracked all the way around and the left was very mushy. Changing them not only resolved the left-turn vibration, it also fixed the slight steering shake I used to get on the highways.

I installed M030 sways too and with the upgraded castor blocks the car handles great.

Todd951968

It turned out to the be castor blocks. The right side was cracked all the way around and the left was very mushy. Changing them not only resolved the left-turn vibration, it also fixed the slight steering shake I used to get on the highways.

I installed M030 sways too and with the upgraded castor blocks the car handles great.

PorscheDude1

Glad you got it sorted.

Always nice when someone updates a thread with a resolution to their problem.
Makes it easier fir when the next guy does a search.