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Old 04-04-2013, 01:37 PM   #1
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loose front end

At about 90 mph I feel the front end getting a little loose, steering gets some play in it. Up to that speed it feels good. I haven't gone faster due to this. Any idea where to start with this problem.

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Old 04-04-2013, 01:46 PM   #2
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I think that what you are experiencing is normal. The front end does loosen up a bit at high speeds. Feels great at 120
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Old 04-04-2013, 03:10 PM   #3
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the front end gets a little soft up in speed as long as there is no vibration or shimmy shake all is good. i did 135MPH in mine once upon a time .
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Old 04-04-2013, 03:39 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by tanque55 View Post
At about 90 mph I feel the front end getting a little loose, steering gets some play in it. Up to that speed it feels good. I haven't gone faster due to this. Any idea where to start with this problem.
Weak struts is where I would start. How many miles on the car? Has the original ride height changed? The front nose should be level or slightly pointing down.
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Old 04-05-2013, 02:31 PM   #5
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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.
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Old 04-05-2013, 02:43 PM   #6
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Weak struts is where I would start. How many miles on the car? Has the original ride height changed? The front nose should be level or slightly pointing down.


With that mileage your struts should be ok unless any are leaking fluid.

Try filling the gas tank full & putting some weight in the front trunk, (40-50lbs) to lower the nose slightly & see if your problem improves.
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Old 04-05-2013, 03:17 PM   #7
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Quote:
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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....
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Old 04-06-2013, 05:16 AM   #8
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Thanks Steve. I have the new control arms sitting on my work bench right now, so I'll change and let you know.

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