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Old 05-03-2021, 01:07 PM   #1
Maverick1998
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 499405
Join Date: Mar 2019
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: St. Louis, MO/Worcester, MA
Vehicle:
2009 WRX "Roxie"
Black

Default Steering is true but in corners/ bumps it is wobbly?

TL;DR: Steering feels wobbly when turning or hitting bumps, but car is fine in straight line.


Full story:

09 wrx sedan. 150k miles. Revel coilovers (30k miles)(got them form subiemods for a really good price, have been great so far), new steering rack 40k miles ago, whiteline front and rear swaybar. Fresh alignment (two days ago from a shop I have used on multiple cars many times and always had good results)



I had a bad vibration issue due to a bad wheel bearing, but I replaced that and everything was mostly fine, but got significantly worse after my front drivers wheel made an unexpected acquaintance with a boulder hidden under the snow at a RallyX (this car is a DD but I like to do short amateur rallyX's sometimes). This unwelcome introduction resulted in the replacement of a bent tie rod, bent control arm, and new wheel. Also replaced the front drivers wheel bearing and front passenger lower ball joint.



Every since, I have had sort of a weird steering issue. What originally felt like a super out of balance wheel (lots of vibration at highway speed, moving the steering wheel a LOT at 70mph) was fixed with a balance and alignment. Now, the car tracks true and feels great in a straight line, except when i go around a corner or hit a bump. When doing either of these, the steering feels wobbly and vibrates. Hard to describe, but as though both tie rods were loose on each end so the steering has too much play, or like if your lug nuts were super loose, or what super out of balance wheels feel like, but only when turning. As a former bike mechanic, the feel is super similar to what a mountain bike with super loose fork bushings feels like, allowing the wheels to bounce through a corner so that the cornering force does not feel even, but feels like it is constantly going in and out of positions?, but of course unlike a bike there is more than just suspension component holding it together, as a bike doesn't have a control arm. Again, this is only on bumps or around corners, on a straight line or slight curves it feels fine. On the ground and stationary, there is no play in the steering. Up in the air, nothing feels loose.



I have noticed after replacing the control arm that my drivers tire sticks out probably half an inch further than before. I have been told me two alignment shops (both before and after the crash) that they cannot get the car 100% in spec, probably due to a slight frame issue, but they can get it close. I cant get any negative camper on my front wheels, as they sit they can only be at 0 degrees or +0.5 degrees. Tires are inflated properly and only have 5k miles on them, no leaks from power steering rack, no play in steering when stationary, no play in any wheels when car is up in the air.



Any ideas as to what could be causing this? The car did NOT start doing this until around the crash. I am going to replace the steering rack bushings in a week while I am changing out the clutch and see if that fixes it, but this doesn't seem consistent with bad bushings or a bad rack. Maybe get new camber bolts to get a slight front wheel camber or return the positive camber to neutral? the PS pump does like to wine and the steering likes to creak when cold, but during warm months it doesn't. Could this be a bad rack, or maybe just in need of a flush? Could it be a suspension issue, and how would I know? Doing a track day in three weeks and I obviously need to fix this steering problem before hand (I have another car but I wanted to bring this one). Any help is greatly appreciated!

Last edited by Maverick1998; 05-03-2021 at 01:12 PM.
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