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Car sways from left to right when i jerk the steering wheel

Yamahakid88

Yamahakid88

New member
As the title says, I noticed that if i jerk the wheel back and forth quick, the car will have some body roll. I already know my struts are bad because they make noise in turns, bumps etc. I also will need new tires. I doubt either of these 2 problems would result in body roll, but im open to advice on what it could be. Thanks guys, as always.
 


These cars have body roll. They're big, heavy FWD cars. Not much else to say. You could fix the known issues, then upgrade the front swaybar to a solid Dorman unit and upgrade the rear bar with the GMPP unit or something similar. Could also get front and rear strut braces. That would take most of the roll out of it.


Take a look through this thread for more ideas-- http://www.grandprixforums.net/showthread.php?t=39418
 
Body roll? That's sway bars and links. Have you checked them out yet?

And I got beat to it lol. I recommend everything he said to help combat the body roll. The dorman front bar is easily purchasable from rockauto, and use moog links since they're much more solid. It's much better than stock, solid and I believe its just a tad thicker as well.
 
I literally just noticed it driving home from school, went around a turn and i felt like it had a lot more roll then it is supposed to. I was thinking sway bar as well. Would struts do this aswell?
 
You probably broke one or both sides of the bar recently and just noticed. That's a standard GP option... broken sway
 


BillBoost37 said:
You probably broke one or both sides of the bar recently and just noticed. That's a standard GP option... broken sway
Click to expand...

Standard on the Imp's too, lol... Just did one last week for a friend.

And yes, the Dorman bar is a larger diameter than stock (IIRC it's 33 or 34mm).
 
you need a jack and jack stands, 14mm wrenches, I think a 15mm socket to remove the brackets. Sometimes the old links are seized on so they need to be cut off or "burned" off. The plastic spacer was the issue with mine, I held it with vice grips, and used an impact on the bolt and spun it til it melted off... That's not usually the case though. I had a hard time getting the new bar back in for some reason. The subframe had to be lowered 2 inches. Many get by with leaving it where it is. It was just an extra step requiring an 18mm socket.
 
Ok, ill take a peek at both sway bars, and Ill also order the front two struts for it. Anything else anyone can think of replacing while I have it all apart
 
Basically look everything over if you can first, things like LCA's(for the bushings and ball joints), tie rod ends, wheel bearings if you have an abs or noise issue. Trailing arms for the rear are possible, they rust and can get bent.

Like I said before, you will be happiest with moog front sway bar links. You can keep the dorman ones around for someone else's car lol. Someone that doesn't care to have an improved handling.
 


tires also play a part. I didn't realize how much until I bought a used set of rims that had performance low profile tires...difference was night and day.
 
Body roll, understeer, broken sways (front) are all apart of the GP condition... Welcome to the club!

GMPP front sway as a replacement as a minimum, but better bang for the buck going a little bigger. The Dorman tightens things up when used along with other upgrades as well. Don't think fixing just one thing will make a huge difference. Sway, control arms, strut, coils, strut tower braces will all work together to control the roll. Understeer is effected and can be improved by tightening up the REAR suspension.

There's lots of info on all this, use the search, do some prior to upgrading.
 
Well,I go out this morning for work, and I find that my 2 rear tires are flatter than Miley Cyrus's ass. Filled them up and guess that solved the problem! But tire cracking up the butt! Looks like it's time or new tires. Looking at Falkens, not really sure what kind yet, any suggestions?
 
Sooo you are telling us..you are jerking the wheel around after having not noticed you had nearly flat tires?

No.. no suggestions from me.
 
Yup, never even thought to check it, but that seems to have been the problem. Dont know why i did not notice it before.
 


Rear wheels can get to much lower pressures before you will begin to notice. I had one at 17 psi and looked the same as the fronts at 30 psi.
 
They were pretty dang flat, I think like 10 psi. It's been getting colder around here and my tires are starting to crack etc. Thanks for the help guys !
 
Well we did offer ways to help you stiffen up the ride, but you're the one who realized you're driving on near flat tires lol.
My tires are pretty dry rotted, and used to leak. The actual source of the leak was the bead surface on the rim, it was corroded. A few passes with medium steel wool (with the tire dismounted of course) and it was fixed.
 
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