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Registered
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: AZ
Posts: 91
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Front end wanders on the Fwy
Here in AZ we have a lot of new freeways. The grooves that are cut into the concrete seem to make the front end tend to wander. Is this just the road or is something else going on with my cars front end.
Car History: Last year I installed turbo tie rods, steering rack spacers, and new wheel bearings and rotors. The tires are also 1 year old. I had the front end aligned by Stuttgart Porsche Automotive. Do I need to look at the bushings to be replaced? Any suggestions? The Wander. 
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02-03-2005, 09:08 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Ruther Glen, VA
Posts: 135
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Is it a floating feeling? If so maybe struts. If not my experience grooves cut into the road can cause the tires to track them. Does this happen with any of your other cars?
__________________
76 914 2.0 (critical condition) 73 914 1.7 (new project) 04 Pontiac Aztek (parts hauler) |
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02-03-2005, 09:43 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Jacksonville, FL., USA
Posts: 583
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If the front end wandering is only minor on those longitudinally groved freeways, I wouldn't worry about it too much. However, I would check my front toe, just to make sure that it is a little negative, not positive.
You should be able to detect whether the toe is neg. or pos. by eyeball by the use of a longish straight edge placed against the outside of the tires. Phil |
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02-03-2005, 12:23 PM
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In the shop at Pelican
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 10,459
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Could be your tires....
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02-03-2005, 04:49 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Dec 1969
Location: chula vista ca usa
Posts: 5,700
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You can refer to my tech article on home alignment and do a quick check to see if something has knocked the front end or rear end out of wack. Since a 914 has alignment at both ends either can cause wandering on highways. I would take a close look at the rear suspension console to see if anything is amiss or loose or breaking too. Good luck
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02-03-2005, 05:52 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Temecula (so/cal)
Posts: 22
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My car has a slightly different problem. Its always had steering wheel shake at speed. Its been in storage for years so this was along time ago. I took the car into a tire shop and had them look at it. They sold me some new Michelins and balanced the wheels. Still I had the shake. I then took the car to an alignment shop. They too said all was fine. I had the car in a local foreign auto repair shop and the guy that ran the place told me that he had heard that the wheels I had were known for not being exactly round or balanced (or something to that effect) What I have are the 4 spoke aluminum mags that were popular on some 914s back in the day. Perhaps the casting methods of the day werent that good. Ive never tried to change them out. I doubt this is your problem but I thought Id throw in my 2cents as my problem was sorta related and perhaps one of you had heard about these wheels and could confirm my suspicions. I think I'll start another string
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02-05-2005, 12:29 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Jacksonville, FL., USA
Posts: 583
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If you have early Pedrini wheels and your car is a late 72 or newer, therein is the problem. (Early Pedrini wheels are not hub centric and therefore can be mounted in an out of round position, causing wheel shake at about 60 mph).
Although, if this is the problem, I can't understand why an alignment shop couldn't have detected it. It should be obvious when mountiing the front wheels. Do you have Pedrini wheels? Phil |
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02-05-2005, 02:18 PM
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