bishop1950

My 8 just feels squirrelly running over man hole covers , rough patches of road . In Nascar terms lose ! If I am in a curve read will go outward . I am talking speeds at 40 45 MPH range !
I am going to jack the rear end up ...what should I be looking for ???
I do the push down on car shock test and she sits right back up .
I looked at the bushings and all seem to be in place .

Thanks

wackemandstackem

Are you still on the stock suspension? If it is modified what has been done? Have you checked your tires condition, tire age, and air pressures? The tires are the most important suspension component, and often overlooked. Your alignment may need checked, just because it may drive straight doesn't mean alignment is correct. Are the front stab links intact, if one is busted it will be tail happy. You need tell us more, or we can't help.

bishop1950

I just jacked the rear up and checked all bushings. All seem to be intact , rear is tight . Put long bar under tires and lifted up shocks are tight . As far as I know suspension is stock ..
Ties are worn and and Air pressure is at 32 psi all the way around . Let me go check front links ..
Uneven tire wear on rear tells me need for a good alignment is in order . And NEW tires ..

bishop1950

I looked at front stabilizer links and they are intact . Bushing in place ..
Question .... should alignment be done by a special shop , or any good alignment shop can do it .
This is way over my head ... need to take it to somebody who really knows !!
She does need new tires !

wackemandstackem

How are the rears worn? outside edge? inner edge? cupped? chopped/feather?. Do you properly rotate the tires every other oil change.

Any shop with a modern alignment rack and a good tech is fine. I used to align cars on a nice Hunter rack when i was a mechanic. I have done alignments myself in my garage with accurate tools. Do a search for the stock alignment secs, print them, take the specs to a competent shop, get a four wheel adjustment, have the tech print the final results, and compare the results to the spec sheet, to make sure it was done correctly. The numbers should be close.

04Green

iTrader: (1)

yeah, start with alignment. the added benefit is that if anything is wrong, it will likely be discovered during the process.

just a fraction of a degree in a key area can make a big difference. please share location, year and miles, a local may be able to recommend a place.

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Mysterion

Another thing to check while you inspect the tires for wear pattern is look for any spongy or bulging areas in the tread area. If the car is wandering, it might also have tread separation on one or more tires, particularly if they are older and worn already.

bishop1950

Rear tires are showing more wear on the inside . Tires were never rotated by previous owner !
I am in Greensboro NC My 8 is a 04 GT MT 84000 miles ...
She just plain needs new tires !!!!

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Hi, I recently got some Potenza tires from Firestone.
I found the ones I wanted at the TireRack site, and showed them, they couldn't match the actual price of the tires, but they dropped the labor costs, and I came out about $75 cheaper.
I also got the lifetime alignment, around $180 I believe, it's a good deal imo, pays for itself after a couple of years, especially if you get a lot of potholes on your roads.