Fordmods Logo

EL Fairmont Wondering on Road while Driving 

 

Page 1 of 1 [ 13 posts ] 

 
 Post subject: EL Fairmont Wondering on Road while Driving
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:23 am 
Stock as a Rock
Offline
User avatar

Age: 47

Posts: 119

Joined: 15th Nov 2004

Location: Bundaberg
QLD, Australia

My EL seems to wonder on th road a lot while driving. I have had new wheels and tyres, 3 different sets, a number of wheel alignments and also new shocks and it still wonders. I notice it as I very rearly drive the vehcile as I have a compnay car (Holden Combo Van I know it is a Holden) but it does not wonder like the Ford. Has anyone else had this problem and what have you done to fix it. By the way it is lowered with lovell springs and KYB shocks.
Top
 Profile  
 
 
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:54 am 
Moderator
Offline
User avatar

Age: 45

Posts: 4654

Joined: 5th Nov 2004

Ride: Drives Like Fun

Power: 318 rwkw

Location: Melbourne Interior: Cappucino Exterior: Sparkling Burgundy
VIC, Australia

When they do the alignment - does it drive good for a bit then revert back to 'wonder' mode ? Sounds like some of the front end bushes may be needing replacing - if it were lower control arm bushes, you would know about it straight away, so I doubt it would be them, but may be the ones up near rad *shrugs*

Have you had your brakes done ? If so, were the wheel bearings done also ? Not a likely cause - but nice to know what has been changed and what hasn't...at least so you can cross some things off the list.

Has the car ever been in a front end accident ? Maybe crossmember is out of whack ?

 

_________________

Vic Cruises & Events

Top
 Profile  
 
 
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 11:10 am 
Stock as a Rock
Offline
User avatar

Age: 47

Posts: 119

Joined: 15th Nov 2004

Location: Bundaberg
QLD, Australia

Has had the front rotors done and wheel bearings all round. I have had it since 98 it is a 96 and I have never had a front end hit and it looks like it is the same as before. When alignment is done it really does not seem to improve much maybe a little better then it is back to normal.
Top
 Profile  
 
 
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 12:52 pm 
Getting Side Ways
Offline

Age: 40

Posts: 649

Joined: 5th Nov 2004

Gallery: 3 images

Ride: EL Fairmont

Location: Geelong
VIC, Australia

yeah i have the same problem, got the wheels aligned last week and it was ok for a few days now its back to normal!

 

_________________

"In the absence of orders find something and kill it."

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

Top
 Profile  
 
 
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 2:32 pm 
Fordmods Junkie
Offline
User avatar

Age: 44

Posts: 5051

Joined: 5th Nov 2004

Ride: Kia Rio - 1.4L Auto

Power: 238 rwkw

Location: Westside
VIC, Australia

A little bit of info on the car would be good.

Like, what size rims? Do you have a camber/caster kit? How many KM? etc, etc.
Top
 Profile  
 
 
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 3:07 pm 
Stock as a Rock
Offline
User avatar

Age: 47

Posts: 119

Joined: 15th Nov 2004

Location: Bundaberg
QLD, Australia

arm79 wrote:
A little bit of info on the car would be good.

Like, what size rims? Do you have a camber/caster kit? How many KM? etc, etc.


16x8 Has camber kit fitted and only done 137000 Kms
Top
 Profile  
 
 
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 3:19 pm 
Fordmods Junkie
Offline
User avatar

Age: 44

Posts: 5051

Joined: 5th Nov 2004

Ride: Kia Rio - 1.4L Auto

Power: 238 rwkw

Location: Westside
VIC, Australia

What specs are they setting the camber kit to. I find that if mine is set to stock XR specs I have no real issue with wandering, just the odd pull across the road on rough surfaces. Setting to stock settings should not cause any wander or pull at all. Its designed to be rock steady on the road, with a trade off to cornering grip and feel.

As DC suggested, you may want to check your front end lower bushes and tie rod ends. Any clunks in the steering when stopped will indicate a rooted tie rod end that may case the car to wander on the road.

As for the bushes, jack up each side, and grab the bottom of the wheel and try and push is in and out. If it moves, watch the lower control arm bush for movement. If there is any, they are rooted and will definitely cause wandering. Usually accompanied by bad tire wear. You could also put a bar between the K-Frame and control arm and try leaver it around. Once again, if there is movement, there is your problem.

You could also check the camber bushes by pushing the wheel front to back and seeing of the bush in the k-frame has any slack. Once again, if there is movement, there is a problem.

If you cant solve it yourself, a $14 Pedders check will dig up all the problems. Just dont get them to fix it, it will cost a fortune. But at least will give you an idea of the problems.

Doing a wheel alignment wont fix problems with a loose front end. It will try to mask it, but the problem will always be there.
Top
 Profile  
 
 
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 3:35 pm 
Moderator
Offline
User avatar

Age: 45

Posts: 4654

Joined: 5th Nov 2004

Ride: Drives Like Fun

Power: 318 rwkw

Location: Melbourne Interior: Cappucino Exterior: Sparkling Burgundy
VIC, Australia

Good point - Pedders checks are very thorough (and no bull :P)...I was going to make mention of tie rod ends...but if they're shagged, any decent tyre joint doing the alignment would have picked up on it straight away.

Vote + 1 for Pedders check for diagnosis !

 

_________________

Vic Cruises & Events

Top
 Profile  
 
 
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:56 pm 
Tyre Shredder
Offline
User avatar

Age: 45

Posts: 386

Joined: 10th Nov 2004

Ride: 1969 XT Wagon

Location: Nowra
NSW, Australia

could be lower balljoints thats what mine was doing and chewing the inside of the passenger tyre
Top
 Profile  
 
 
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 3:13 am 
Smokin em up
Offline

Age: 45

Posts: 282

Joined: 3rd Jun 2006

Ride: Falcon EF

Location: Adelaide
SA, Australia

did it wander with the stockie rims and tyres on it ?if no you may be experiencing what we call the tramlining effect caused by lower profile tyres,if not try some stockies on it,i am a wheel aligner and get this problem all to often and all the problem usually is is s**t tyres,good luck
Top
 Profile  
 
 
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 9:23 am 
Stock as a Rock
Offline
User avatar

Age: 47

Posts: 119

Joined: 15th Nov 2004

Location: Bundaberg
QLD, Australia

mista_lroy wrote:
did it wander with the stockie rims and tyres on it ?if no you may be experiencing what we call the tramlining effect caused by lower profile tyres,if not try some stockies on it,i am a wheel aligner and get this problem all to often and all the problem usually is is s**t tyres,good luck


Yep I had the stock tires on it when I got the car in 1998 and Dad had one with the wheels and tyres I had and hes was fine. The wandering was the main reason why I had changed to the 16x8 but it did not seem to fix it. This has been a ongoing problem since I got the car. I do not drive it very often and it had 50k on the clock when I got it so when I drive it is only on Long runs, and I always seem to be fighting with it.
Top
 Profile  
 
 
Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 11:47 am 
Getting Side Ways
Offline
User avatar

Age: 50

Posts: 2705

Joined: 6th Nov 2004

Gallery: 11 images

Ride: 2009 FG XR6 Sedan

Location: Melbourne
VIC, Australia

I had problems with wheel alignments and tires wearing uneven, it also wandered depending on the road camber and conditions. I found the rack ends to be worn which caused all of my problems (toe changing on its own) Its probarbly best to as already said and have Pedders do a suspension check for you and go from there.
Top
 Profile  
 
 
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 12:07 am 
Tyre Shredder
Offline
User avatar

Posts: 326

Joined: 18th Feb 2007

Ride: ED GHIA V8

Location: ford town
NSW, Australia

hey i had a similar thing years ago, my car was very low and while driving straight the car would "wander left to right" . I then realised that some roads were sunken on the tyre lanes and raised in the middle (damage from heavy semi- trailers).

Next time ur car wanders see if the road is grooved like waves, the lower the car the more it wanders - well in my case anyway

It could also be your coupling connected to your steering box has torn or is loose.

 

_________________

Black ED Ghia
V8 with lpg
Full leather
waitng on sunroof..

Image

Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:
Sort by  
 Page 1 of 1  [ 13 posts ] 

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

 

 

It is currently Sat Apr 20, 2024 6:53 am All times are UTC + 11 hours

 

 

(c)2014 Total Web Solutions Australia - Australian Web Hosting and Domain Names