Handling Problem

[dman]

I am wondering if anyone else has encountered this. If I drive my car at 30+ mph into a sweeping left turn the car will dive slightly roughly 1/3 into the turn. It's not uncontrolable and does not happen when I turn to the right. It is also not noticable under hard cornering. Somone suggested a loose swing arm but I am wondering if my suspension needs tuning for better weight transfer. Any other thoughts would be very helpful.

[jabb]

Check for loose components in the Front and rear suspension.

Check tierod ends. Check Struts.... check overall condition of
bushings.... check for play in the ball joints. If all the components
check out ok look at having the alignment checked.....

[DSPTurtle]

Sounds like a sway bar issue to me...

Does anyone else experience a vibration through the steering wheel that increase and decreases in intensity. It is almost like a shake that follows the curve of a sine wave. Very odd...I thought it was tire balancing but it comes and goes such that it does it for a week and then it is rock solid the following week. Maybe Vroomhilda is possessed?

[Zeke]

Sounds like a shimmy, or alignment/tie rod issue. Check ball joints and other suspension points. Also, if your tires are more than half done, or not even across the tread, they may also contribute to the problem.

[HMeeder]

Oh, yeah... that shimmy/vibration that won't quite go away. I have replaced/repaired nearly every component in the front end, but hadn't really considered the sway bar. Hmmmm

I had read somewhere that a touch of toe-out contributes to good turn-in (sounds a bit like the 'dive-in' that you mentioned.) If you notice that the car wanders a bit on the straights and needs a bit of extra attention to keep it tracking down the middle of the freeway lane, it may be alignment.

[Jim Smolka]

If there is a little tow out in the rear, things can get very interesting... Check the rear suspension points for cracks or bad rear bushings.

Since the front end has been rebuilt, check to see if the ball joints are properly seated in the A-arm (they are notched)

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

If the front suspension has been rebuilt, check that the parts rotate smoothly. New bushings can sometimes bind up pretty thoroughly on you...

--DD

[John Rogers]

There was an article in Panarama several years ago about another 914 that did this and everything on the front end had been replaced to no avail. Seem the hole in the bottom of the strut that the ball joint fitted into had become 'D' shaped on one side and even though the pinch bolt was tight it allowed the strut to move on the ball joint. There was a picture of the bottom of the strut and a new strut was the only fix. Pull the ball joint off and check the holes in the bottom of the strut to make sure thay are truly round. Good luck.

[dman]

John you win! Got the car up on stands this weekend and found two things. The bolt that tightens on the post of the right ball joint was stripped so I tapped it out and added a nut on the out side. That tightened the front up. I also checked the rear swing arms and found the right one had a very small amount of play. This was due to the nut on the inside being loose. Took the car out on Sunday for a long drive and the dive was gone.

Thanks for the help!