My steering is out of alignment. I know they the shop is going to say that the tie rods are bad, so I'm going to do that myself before I take it in.
My question stems from what else should be replaced? The ballpoints are only a couple of years old. This is a Caprice with a pitman arm, idler arm, drag link and inner and outer tie rods. I don't have the money or the tools to do the arms, but how much improvement could I feel from a new drag link? The A arm bushings are crap after 180,000 mile, but I ain't changing them now.
I know a guy who knows a guy, so the cost is negligible.
It's lonely at the top
I'll take a wack at it. It would depend on how badly worn it is (DUH, I know), but I think an A-arm bushing replacement would be felt more, as would tie rod ends. But, they're not in your plans.
I've always felt less slop when replacing the tie rod ends.
Your welcome. But, just my limited response from this group??? C'mon, someone's got to have other opinions, or ways to determine where you can best spend your $$.
What does a drag link do? Now add 1/16" of play at each intersection. How's that wheel feel now? Also with this added play, each front tire tends to chatter back and forth independent of each other scrubbing off tires quickly.
Most of this stuff isn't expensive to buy, just a PITA to install which is why a mechanic gets so much to do it.
If you're keeping the car try to find a way to buy everything you need, balljoints are good, so tie rods (4), control arm bushings and a drag link. Done, good for another hundred thousand miles.
Check out these guys, I like their stuff.
http://www.energysuspension.com/assets/files/2010-energy-suspension-catalog.pdf
Dan
The pitman arm on a full size Chevy can make a big difference too since it is what locates the drag link. If the drag link is flopping all over the place it doesn't matter how good the joints in it are. In all honesty, none of this stuff is that hard to change. It's nasty, you will bust your knuckles on something while swinging the BFH. Having the tools to do the job helps a lot. Most of them can be rented from your local auto parts store. As 914 said, every joint with slop adds to the problem. Get someone to turn the steering wheel while you look at each joint. Any of them with side to side or up and down movement needs to be replaced. If you can grab the drag link and move it, the pitman arm is usually the culprit. It's just as easy to do it all at once as to do it piece meal. You already have the tools out and you are already nasty. The parts aren't that much.
This is an excellent opportunity to clean and tidy up the area under the oil pan that you think no one ever sees.
We see it.
Dan
More to the point, if the bushings are really bad, the alignment shop may refuse to do the job, or refuse to give any kind of guarantee on the job. Because, you see, the worn bushings are just allowing too much slop to give any kind of secure adjustment. I know I personally wouldn't do the job without the understanding that it's half-a$$ed at best. But I would also offer to give some financial consideration if the job had to be spread out over a couple visits.
The whole thing is, you're there, you're already nasty and banged up (as Toyman said...truth is spoken here!) and it doesn't take much longer to fix any one portion than to get it all done.
More to the point, if the bushings are really bad, the alignment shop may refuse to do the job, or refuse to give any kind of guarantee on the job. Because, you see, the worn bushings are just allowing too much slop to give any kind of secure adjustment. I know I personally wouldn't do the job without the understanding that it's half-a$$ed at best. But I would also offer to give some financial consideration if the job had to be spread out over a couple visits.
The whole thing is, you're there, you're already nasty and banged up (as Toyman said...truth is spoken here!) and it doesn't take much longer to fix any one portion than to get it all done.
More to the point, if the bushings are really bad, the alignment shop may refuse to do the job, or refuse to give any kind of guarantee on the job. Because, you see, the worn bushings are just allowing too much slop to give any kind of secure adjustment. I know I personally wouldn't do the job without the understanding that it's half-a$$ed at best. But I would also offer to give some financial consideration if the job had to be spread out over a couple visits.
The whole thing is, you're there, you're already nasty and banged up (as Toyman said...truth is spoken here!) and it doesn't take much longer to fix any one portion than to get it all done.
Well then! Isn't that special! Computer glitches that cause echoes! Sorry 'bout that!
The alignment shop also does mechanic work. Might ask what the gestimated labor charge on new idler arm, pitman arm, and bushings would run once I do the tie rods and drag link.
Appleseed wrote:
The alignment shop also does mechanic work. Might ask what the gestimated labor charge on new idler arm, pitman arm, and bushings would run once I do the tie rods and drag link.
You've got two hands and can read, just like the guy you're going to give $65 an hour.
That's just me.
But I also do not have the proper tools (or hell, even half assed tools to do this.) And if I can't reassemble it in time , I can't get to school.
Maybe a GRMer in Illinois can help, I'm a day's ride away.
Dude! I never thought of that. Duh. I know of a few of us around here. Maybe cubic beer and pizza would help. (Seriously, its a great idea 914Driver.)
What year Caprice? Early ones had a ball joint in the pitman arm. Later ones the center link had the ball joint that goes into the pitman.
The whole assembly can come out in mostly one piece. Take the bolts out on the drag link, then picklefork the tie rod end and pitman. If you have an early one, fork the pitman arm off. If you have a late one, leave the pitman on and fork off the center link from the pitman. Then new parts just bolt into place without many busted knuckles. While its apart, check the play in the steering box. Chances are its pretty loose after all these miles. If you get more than 1/8" play side to side, see about rebuilding it. If you replace it, avoid the temptation to get a parts-store rebuild. They're notoriously bad. AGR makes an aftermarket performance replacement that isn't much better. The best deal is a Detroit steering box from an X body. Its a bolt-in deal. $500 direct from Detroit here.
I would call Just Suspension if you want bushings, but get the hard parts from NAPA or your local "undercar" wholesale house. Just Suspension has all the same basic stuff as Energy, but cheaper. Their hard parts are usually foreign cheapies, but Moog makes what they call "problem solver" ball joints and links that are wonderful.
Either way, make sure you measure all of your ball joints before ordering. There are two different options; 5/8" and something else... 9/16" maybe? The "regular" B-bodies got the smaller ones. 9C1 caprice typically have the larger, but its a crap shoot. All of the Impala SS I have seen have the smaller. Only Wagons and HD cars got the big ones reliably
Most of this stuff can be checked with a pry bar. Pry between the spindle and lower arm, between the centerlink and pitman, etc. If there is any up/down movement, just replace it while you're under there. That stuff isn't expensive.
Resist the temptation to use poly bushings. Unless you plan on greasing them religiously, they'll just squeak and wear out quickly. They will improve your handling 1% but trust me, the bushings aren't the weakest point of your handling. I tried them on my Impala SS and regretted it the whole time. Increased noise, vibes, bumps, fast wear, yuck. Stick with rubber.
WAIT! Beer?
14.2 hours of driving or 847 miles! What's for breakfast?
I was so, so hoping you'd chime in Curtis. Its a 95, so I guess it counts as later. You can pickle fork the pitman off? You mean the assembly off the pitman arm and not the pitman off the steering box, correct? I'm going to go with rubber, just because that's whats on the new A arm I had to install on the passenger side after it rusted off the chassis (really!) I'm going to have to hold off on the box. I can't swallow that much money right now, but , yeah, that many miles on the box crossed my mind.
