Hondering Wanda

[vongiese]

I mean wandering Honda!
My 89 accord wanders when going down a straight stretch of road. Very annoying. :bowrofl: I have replaced upper control arm and bushings, lower BJ, Rad Rod and sway bar bushings.
What is causing the wandering? Rack? springs?
thanks
mike

[smufguy]

I mean wandering Honda!
My 89 accord wanders when going down a straight stretch of road. Very annoying. :bowrofl: I have replaced upper control arm and bushings, lower BJ, Rad Rod and sway bar bushings.
What is causing the wandering? Rack? springs?
thanks
mike

get an alignment. it could be improper camber or Toe-in. The guys at the alignment shop will know what to do.

Except for camber (3gs with stock upper control arm) everything else, toe in, caster can be adjusted on our cars.

[vongiese]

get an alignment. it could be improper camber or Toe-in. The guys at the alignment shop will know what to do.

Except for camber (3gs with stock upper control arm) everything else, toe in, caster can be adjusted on our cars.

Had an alignment done a few months ago - no difference. Tire pressure at recommended levels. I have not replaced the front shocks (4 years old or so) or the rack. Funny thing is the 88 LXi I just bought acts very similar! :sad2:
weird

[smufguy]

Had an alignment done a few months ago - no difference. Tire pressure at recommended levels. I have not replaced the front shocks (4 years old or so) or the rack. Funny thing is the 88 LXi I just bought acts very similar! :sad2:
weird

does it happen at cruizing speed or under acceleration?. Bent rims could do it too. A bent rim on my uncle's 90 accord was the reason his car 'wandered' even under cruizing.

[HondaBoy]

did you replace your wheel bearings? didnt see you say that, but you might have already done that. maybe your frame is bent? those are things i'd think of.

[AZmike]

Do you still have the alignment sheet? I'm curious to know what the actual numbers are.

[AccordEpicenter]

check your tie rod ends and rear alignment

[vongiese]

check your tie rod ends and rear alignment
I don't have the alignment numbers....but it was a 4-wheel alignment. It does happen at cruizing speed - hold the wheel on a long highway turn and it won't hold the corner radius. On straight stretches you can actually feel it slightly shifting back and forth and then it'll wander off course.
I replaced one wheel bearing that was a little grainy feeling. Tie rod ends seemed tight. But you know what I'm thinking it could be - the thru bolt that hold the bottom shock mounting fork to the lower arm was stuck in the lower arm. Froze tight and penetrating oil didn't cure it. Could that limit the play in the suspension enough to give me problems?
The 88 that's is acting similar has not had any front end work - so that may be fixed when i go thru that car.
Thanks for all your commments
mike

[smufguy]

sometimes roads are not really that even. I've had a brand new TL wander a little bit on a straight road on I-95 but it was the road. Anywhere else, its straight. Sometimes tire wear will play a major role in the way the car aligns itself under motion.

Even if the bolts are frozen tight, its the rubber bushings in it that give way, not the bolt itself, so its not a big problem. Unless you dont have a bent lower control amr or upper control arm, you should be fine on the run.

[Rendon LX-i]

I was bout to mention that Smurfguy......My car does it only at the highway or some hightways. Cuz of the fact i have wide tires plus u can use studed tires durning winter or before so this eats away the road. so the road becomes somthing like this \/\/ u know what i mean so my cars pulls to one side and somethings to the other side i was WTF i have a bad alinement but it was actully the road lol

[w261w261]

Try swapping the front tires. Then try the rears. If the tires had worn a little funny and they were taken off and put back in the wrong places, that might produce a wandering effect.

What tire pressure are you running (cold)? Did you check for play in the steering rack?

[vongiese]

Try swapping the front tires. Then try the rears. If the tires had worn a little funny and they were taken off and put back in the wrong places, that might produce a wandering effect.

What tire pressure are you running (cold)? Did you check for play in the steering rack?

I got new tires when I got the alignment - and after I did the front end work. But thanks for the tip to swap tires. I'm running recommended pressure on the tires - whatever is printed on the door tag - can't remember what that is off the top of my head.
I supppose some of this could be exaggerated by the road surface, but I think comething else is going on here. I checked the rack by jacking one of the forn wheels off the ground and trying to wiggle that wheel while looking for play in rack and rest of front end. I couldn't detect anything in th rack...although that's what I suspect could be the culpret. Any other effective way to check the rack?
thanks for the help!!!

[smufguy]

when you did the alignment, aside from setting your camber, caster, toe-in and everything to the stock specs (or close of), they also center your steering. What they do in this process is that, they set the car so that the steering is staright with the wheels straight. Mine was crooked as hell when i swapped my steering column and after the alignment mine was straight. So if you say u did the alignment, then they probably would have centered your steering too. so your rack wont be an issue here, atleast thats my opinion.