Possible Suspension Problems

[Travis944]

Hello all,

I bought a 1983 944 back in October 2010. The previous owner replaced the control arm bushings and sway bar bushings among many other things. The suspension has been replaced, although I'm not sure how long ago.

A few weeks ago I got a real bad...shimmy, I suppose you would call it, while making a sweeping left turn on my way home. The steering wheel shook violently, but after straightening out and turning back in smoothly, it went away. I wasn't able to recreate it, but was told it could be a possible wheel bearing issue. So after replacing the front wheel bearings, all seemed well.

Unfortunately it happened again the other night, but unlike the first time, I wasn't able to stop it by straightening the wheel and turning back in. I had to slow the car quite a bit in order to make it stop. But the shaking seemed to get worse under braking.

I checked the wheel bearings again by jacking the front end up and trying to rock the wheel vertically back and forth. No more play than when I first installed the new wheel bearings (which was considerably less than before I installed the new wheel bearings). I did a visual inspection and nothing looks broken or out of place. The lugs are all torqued and secured. No other loose bolts to report. I'm slightly stumped.

It only happens when making a sweeping left turn around 40-50 mph. I've done quite a bit of searching but haven't come across anything similar to my situation. Any ideas? Maybe a bad ball joint? Could a bad shock absorber cause something like this? Any suggestions/ideas/information are greatly appreciated.

Thanks all

[9FF]

If the po replaced the front dampers and didn't tighten the cap that holds it in the strut enough it can work loose and cause this problem.

[ERAU944]

This sounds just like what I experienced when a ball joint was going bad on my '84.

It's a cheap, simple replacement:

Jack the front of the car up and support it.
Drill out 3 rivets on each ball joint (6 total, 3/side).
Unbolt the ball joint from the spindle, hold the spindle/strut assy. out of the way and pull the ball joint out of the a-arm.
Install the new ball joint, and bolt it through the a-arm and to the spindle.
Reinstall the tires and lower the car.
Get an alignment.
Enjoy your car for another 70-80k miles.

FWIW the right strut was blown on my 951 and it felt just like the ball joint issue on my 944. If a strut is bad, the front end will 'bounce' on that side if you push down on it. Also, there may be a bunch of oil leaked from the strut in that case as well - the right fender well of my 951 was caked with strut oil.

Do a little checking into what it is, and let us know!

BTW, very clean car! I definitely love the euro rear bumper, and the lack of side mouldings!

[Travis944]

Thank you both. I didn't see any oil from the strut, but then again I wasn't looking for it either. I'll keep you posted

[Slam]

Agree with all the above. Bad struts seem to be the worst offenders when it comes to 944 shimmy. They're dead easy to replace and new struts make a world of difference. I'd say changing them is the biggest improvement you can make to the way the car handles short of upgrades. I recently replaced everything in the front end of my 944 and by far new struts made the most difference. Actually, one thing I really like about the early cars is the ease with which the front end can be serviced and how cheap the parts for this are.

[Travis944]

What brand did you go with Slam?

[Slam]

Sachs. Factory replacement. I've got KYBs in my other 944 and they're okay - I bought them 'cause they were on sale. Whatever you do, don't put in *****ty American struts. Gabriel and Monroe come to mind... I had Gabriels in and they didn't last 8 months. Serves me right for cheaping out.

[Travis944]

I'll keep it in mind, thanks for the info

[Guest765]

2nd on the Sachs they make quality stuff