loose front end

[tanque55]

It's a 2002 S with 39K miles on it. Would the control arms contribute to this at all? Glad to hear that it is not unusual to get a Little soft up front. Besides it's not the top speed but getting there that is the most fun.

[Steve Tinker]

Originally Posted by tanque55

It's a 2002 S with 39K miles on it. Would the control arms contribute to this at all? Glad to hear that it is not unusual to get a Little soft up front. Besides it's not the top speed but getting there that is the most fun.

Tanque.... worn bushes on both the front control arms (also called coffin arms) and the transversee arms can significantly affect your strait line stability.
Late last year I found my 55,000 mile S getting "vague" at highway speed and steering input a little sloppy. I checked all bolts / roll bar bushes, replaced drop links & steering rod arms etc, etc but to no avail. Then last month I bit the bullet & replaced all the control arms and transverse arms with new (TRW) replacements. I knew within 500 meters that I'd found the problem - no more vagueness. Steering nice and crisp with good turn in after the alignment was done.

Interestingly, when I removed the old arms from the chassis, there was no perceived sloppiness in the bearings - looser than the new arms but nothing drastic....but I still don't know if the faulty bushes were in the control arms or the transversee arms. Anyway they're all in the scrap bin now....