cdaleen

Hi everyone. My o6 xb has been having a problem with the front end for around two months now. Bumpsteer on rough, uneven roads. Really seeking out the crest of the road, and just feeling a bit loose.

I replaced the sway bar and endlink bushings, along with the rear shocks, just as maintenance at 146k miles.The end links helped a bit, and made the bumps less harsh. Front struts are ordered, along with new strut mounts. Oh, yeah, the front struts make a squishing aound when I go over speed bumps at more than 2 mph. Almost a squeaking sound, but definitely a squishing sound.

I jacked up the front end, put the car on stands, and pried the control arms, tie rod ends around a bit, and they all lok and feel tight. The rack does not leak, and has no excess play.

The front tires are cupping on the inner edges, hence replacing the struts. The car was aligned 8 months ago, with no curb strikes since, or before, for that matter. I am running 18 inch trd wheels with 215/35/18 kumho ecsta AS/t tires.

Any experiences or thoughts? I drive the car for work, so replacing parts before they fail is how I roll. Any money i lose by replacing parts too soon is better than missing work. Thanks

criminaltc

Yeah man, that just sounds like a high mileage sloppy front end. Happens to every vehicle. I know exactly what you mean about the sloppy loose steering and all that. All you can do is make sure the rack is good, it's aligned with new tie rods, and that you get those new struts put on. That squishing sound is them being shot. You just gotta check and replace every moving part which sounds like you almost have done them all. I have a 93 Blazer V6 Vortex (Had to throw that in there, things got *****) that pulls my race car to the track and that thing just clicked 270,000 miles. It's funny you're doing the same thing I am doing right now, I'm replacing the whole front end for the same reason you are.

taman86

The squishing is sound is not them being shot but the fluid being pushed while compressing and rebounding. If there indication of fluid leak you can tell with wetness around the strut rod and dirt sticking to the area. Also when you have excess bounce while going over speed bumps. If you don't have access to a press or proper tools I recommend doing full lower control arm swap. Has new ball joints and bushings installed and can be had from oreillys for about 180 a side, along with strut mounts, outer tie rod ends. Its hard say without doing proper inspection but if you're all about doing it all at once and forget it then I say go for it. I say this from a technician stand point.

cdaleen

Success! New struts made it all better. No noise, no bounce, and road imperfections don'tause bumpsteer anymore. Thanks, everyone.