Steering feedback

[Paul Fraser]

Bought another boiler, *sigh*
This one is all over the road at higher speed, so suspect the shocks are toast.
Rolls quite badly too, although the antiroll bar bushes have been done recently.
It has a lowered front so can I still use the standard shocks or do I need sport shocks?
More importantly the steering wheel vibrates quite badly going over holes/uneven surfaces -- what bits can I check on the steering wheel/rack?
Thanks, 1984 944.

 

[sawood12]

You can use std shock on a lowered car. Sounds like there is definately something amis there. Could be shocks - the vibration when going over bumps . Best thing to do is to take it in to a specialist and have them take a look at it.

 

[cococola]

Paul,my previous 944 1983 model used to bobble all over the road and was quite scarey at higher speed.The wheels were cup 17"s and I was told to switch to the original 16"s (that I still had) This improved the overall handling of the car dramatically.
Strange though I have cups on my 1986 model and have had no problems??

 

[Paul Fraser]

It has cookie cutter wheels on it at the moment. Oh well, lovely day here tomorrow so I'll jack it up and have look.

 

[Peter Empson]

ORIGINAL: cococola

Strange though I have cups on my 1986 model and have had no problems??

I know this is a bit OT, but could it be your '86 has been fitted with the 968 castor mounts at some point? They made a big difference on my car.

If not I'd suspect the alignment (which is so critical with these cars). I can imagine that if its not 100% then wider/heavier wheels and tyres would accentuate it.

Paul, I agree with Scott's comments above.
Out of interest, how does the car sit, has the rear been lowered or is it sitting nose down? It might be worth returning to original length springs if it is. The shocks are bound to be past it sadly. When it's all done find some used turbo anti roll bars if its still rolls too much, they're a great cheap upgrade.

Just a thought, but it might be worth swapping over to some known good front wheels/tyres before spending too much, just in case they're adding to the problem.

Best regards,
Peter

 

[Paul Fraser]

Well, had a look underneath it:
The front nearside shock is dripping oil, so it is obviously toast.
Also, from observation and paperwork the rear offside shock was changed a year ago but the rear nearside wasn't. Really bad practice.
So, new shocks all round I guess (might just put one on the back as the other is under 12 months old, does this make me as bad as the person who only changed one...? ).
I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that standard shocks will fit 30mm shorter springs. I'm sure I didn't compress my normal springs this much the last time I changed a normal spring/shock strut. Will the extended shock not be longer than the spring...?
At the moment the shocks that are in the car have a rectangular block sticking out the top as opposed to the hex socket I've seen on the Boge ones.
BTW, both front and rear anti-roll bushes seem solid enough (the front brackets and bushes have been changed recently. There is a slight amount of play at the joint at the base of the steering wheel column, is this normal?
The reason it isn't going into the garage is I'm not sure it is a keeper, so minimal outlay till I decide (probably at MOT mid-June).

 

[Hilux]

Poor tracking (toe out) and camber will exacerbate any wandering issues and can also mimic symptoms such as dead dampers as the correct `attack` angle of the wheel is wrong when impacted.