Ashoe36

Last night I decided to do some canyon driving and noticed when I was going highway speeds I had a weird sway in my rear suspension. The car just didn’t feel planted. When I would let off the gas after a corner it would feel as if the rear end was swaying. I saw one thread about this when researching but the only answer was alignment and I just got an alignment done about a month ago.

First I thought it could be wheel bearing, so I checked and there was a little bit of play on the front right, I plan to fix that but that doesn’t really explain the rear end sway.

Are there any suggestions as to what could cause this?

travlee

iTrader: (8)

you have the alignment sheet? possible worn out shocks, something is rear suspension broken or damaged.... hard to say

Ashoe36

I may have it, I’ll have to look when I get off work.

Ashoe36

travlee

iTrader: (8)

Alignment dang near perfect. Check sway bar endlinks

Ashoe36

will do, what should I be looking for? Im not the best at diagnosing problems lol. Appreciate your help.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

This will get ya in the right area to inspect

Ashoe36

[QUOTE=travlee;11102335]This will get ya in the right area to inspect

Awesome, what should I be checking for in terms of the end links? How do I know if they are bad?

Ashoe36

awesome, what should I be checking for in terms of the end links? How do I know if they are bad?

Ashoe36

Right rear upper control arm bushing, demolished, could this be my issue?

Left rear rubber piece at the bottom of the spring, just cracked, not sure if this would have an impact but is this worth replacing?

MicVelo

While Trav is correct in thinking sway bars, take a step back and do some basic troubleshooting.

First thing: Tires. Condition? Inflation? Wear? So much depends on your tires yet are easily overlooked. Could be as simple as underinflation on one tire (or all).

Next: How many miles on the car and have the shocks ever been changed? If you're on factory shocks and over 50k miles, you're due, not just because of the mileage but the age. Shocks as old as 15-20 years will leak over time, no care if you only have 20k miles on them.

Next: Sway bar bushings at end links as well as the center supports. Like the shocks, age is the enemy (cue Heel Til I Die.... inside joke).

Next: Suspension bushings. Any/all that are worn will easily contribute to the condition you're feeling.

I put all the bushings and suspension components last as your alignment is pretty decent and consistent so I'm guessing the problem isn't suspension. But would advise to look it all over or if you're not sure what the look for, bring it in to a tire/alignment shop and have them have a look.

i8acobra

iTrader: (6)

Probably worn/old tires or incorrect tire pressure. The "sway" when letting off the throttle is called lift throttle oversteer.

Heel Til I Die

iTrader: (2)

You rang?

MicVelo

Not sure if I should say, "Dude, that's cold!" or "Touche'!"

Either way, you didn't let me down.

Ashoe36

my rears are fairly worn but not bald, I didn’t even think to check if they are all inflated to the right amount. I will check that. Do you think the upper control arm would be worth replacing?

Ashoe36

it wasn’t over steer and it was after the corners on the short straights that I was letting off the throttle. It felt more as if the tires stayed where they were but the chassis was swaying.

icer5160

iTrader: (4)

I would target the rear struts/shocks. Although mine had less than 50K mi on them and no signs of weeping/leaking. They were totally worn out, I'm guessing due to age and the car just sitting for extended periods of time. I can easily compress the strut rods all the way down by hand (should not be possible on a good set). I had the infamous rear-end hop issue over bumps & uneven freeway pavement because of this. I could see where this might feel like the rear-end is swaying/slalom.

Also have a look at the ball joints and maybe even the subframe bushings. If you jack the entire rear end up (using proper safety measures) and just start pulling/tugging on things you may be able to identify the source. But as stated before, I suspect the struts, the OEM struts are all pretty much shot by now just from age.
Cheers!
-Icer