Ghettobird52

So Ive owned this car for 5 years now and ive never done any suspension work. The first 3 years of me owning the car it was my DD and it got driven alot. I was able to take it on good 2hr drives to areas around my city (Bay area, fresno/visalia, Sac) with no problems. I mean yeah the car was pretty bouncing and didnt like potholes/bumps and it was a bad drive, but not anything near as it is now. Now after sitting for 2-1/2 years, at city speeds it drives fine, but once i hop on the freeway it feels really unsafe. Ive only driven it on the freeway for about 5mins or less a handful of times, and in that time its very shaky at 60-65mph, feels really unstable and off. It was un touched suspension steering before hand but now its just GONE! Ive been driving this thing alot for the passed 2-1/2 months and did alot of engine bay maintenance still no suspension/steering work. I was already advised i should rebuild my steering which is definitely on the list (center link,tie rods, idler arm, ect) but how can i get my freeway speeds a little more 'stable' feeling? it just feels so crazy in there!@!!!!

Any Information or Advice is greatly appreciated!!! Thanks guys

JonM

tires prolly took a set from sitting for so long without moving. in other words a flat spot.

if they are unknown tires check depth of treads they just might be shot as well. older tires that have seen a lot of use will develop flat spots pretty easy and may or may not even out on use.

other than that check the hardware connecting everything up.

Ghettobird52

Its funny you say that because thats exactly what i thought! But they are almost in brand new condition. Heres the breakdown; right before i stopped driving it (October 2011) i put 4 brand new "Doral" tires on it. They are cheapos i know i got them for 90$ a pop for stock size rims. Any who they are in excellent shape tread wise but how could i check for 'flat spots'? Thanks!!!

GCrites80s

So it has been 2 1/2 months. What I found after taking my car out of storage after 8 years is that they were flatspotted, but I aired them up to 45-50 pounds then had it towed to the shop so that they could get it running again. In those 2-3 months at 45psi the flatspotting went away. The tires are Dunlop SP8000s from 2000.

Ghettobird52

wrong it has been 2-1/2 years. For the past 2-3months ive been driving it regularly at 40PSI at all 4 corners.

StealthESW

Could still be flat spots. My car was stored for 12 years. I had a similar issue with my car. I ended up rebuilding the front end and replaced my shocks and struts, my car was much more stable after that. I also had to put new tires on, but I waited till I had the instabilitiy fixed.

If the tires are flatspotted, they could develop a seperation in the layers of rubber causing them to fail. Tires have a shelf life too, regerdless of how much they cost. Sometimes it's best to just change them anyway.

If you feel a vibration you could check wheel balance. If it feels like the car is floating then check the shocks and struts. Flat spots feel like you are running over a water hose every few feet or so and may sound like a thud thud thud, kinda thing. Hard to describe really you just have feel it.

Hope this helps.

GCrites80s

That's what I meant, you have been using the car for 2-3 months.

Ghettobird52

Thanks for the info! I wasnt removing flat spots from the possiblities i was just showing how long i was driving for. Yeah it definitely does NOT feel floaty ( although i know my shocks&struts are GONE), in city it feels like it did years ago, but now at highway speeds it justs feels very shaky/unstable. Kind of like what you describe as "running over a water hose" but not a thump thump kind of feel, just more or so that it is that unstable through out the drive. I noticed last night it only starts feeling unstable after 60-65mph?
Sorry about that! Yes been constantly for about 3months now.

hillntx

Take the car to a shop and have the front end checked. Most likely you have some worn out parts. Pull your wheels and check your shocks and struts, most likely they're old worn out as well.

Ghettobird52

Oh yeah i know my suspension/steering needs all new components. BUT i think i was drunk of my *** or on a really bad spot of the freeway the other day because ive driven it on the freeway a couple times now and haven taken it up to 90+ and it doesnt feel like that anymore. dunno maybe i just worn it in and its ok again. Like i said this past week or so has been completely daily driver and the first and multiple times now on the freeway since about 3years. When i first started driving it about 3months ago when i would attempt to do a U-turn in a street or a court i would hear moans and groans when turned all the way, but after driving it for a couple weeks here and there it went away? Maybe same thing here lol.