[Svtsi]

Hi everyone. First off I'd like to say thank you all I've been a non member reader for a little while and I've taken some of all your helpful advice on regular maintenance. Now, this will be sort of a rant but I'd like to give as much info as I can at once.

I've searched but I guess i am a dunce
I drive an 02 svt. It doesnt matter if it's running cold or warm, while I drive my car feels like it "snaps" out of alignment. It may happen once or back to back and I get in this inescapable rut of correcting for it, then it snaps back, and I'm forced to straighten back out the wheelquickly but then it snaps back out etc... And I'm all over the road. This happens more when I'm on straight and lumpy roads and/ or just turning left. Although even on perfect paved road, and occasionally turning right as well.So I think I've narrowed it down to the right side of the vehicle.

It's been gradually getting worse the last 2 months. But has been an issue since a few oil changes before that. This month I've put in new stock front struts, springs, top mounts, sway bay endlinks up front(moog), on both sides...also had drivers side wheel bearing/hub replaced. They only did one side even tho I brought both. did a poly rear engine mount and new stock rear sway bar( would have done shocks n springs too but some bolt > snapped socket) with poly bushings.
The addition ofthe bar seemed to solve the issue for max one day then it was back to , ahem, "normal" again. Also I've had an alignment and the tires on the back are new. I've been to a local mechanic n he said seems like an alignment issue before I said anything that was done.

Time for me is scarce n I have minimal tools what can I do? Try and look for something loose? Any direction where to look would be appreciated. I'll have to park it and borrow a car if need be if a fix will hit my wallet. And it seems like that's the way I'm going with my svtf

Another issue I've been having is on cold driving my car going over bumps kinda goes wum wum wum (sorry lol) while bouncing slightly or sometimes signifigantly after hitting it. Same for dips in the road, accelerating and then letting off, or steppin on the clutch to shift gears, or breaking. It does it warm too but it's been cold out so getting worse. Today it did it while just cruzing in first to a stoplight in the morning. What can I do?

I know I've asked a lot but I don't know where else to turn n i need a fix for my dd so I wanna ask some people that know the focus. Thanks again ahead of time.[wrenchin]

 

[PumkinSvt]

check your outter tie rods I had the same problem.

 

[dirtbrown]

maybe a bad passenger side motor mount

 

[Svtsi]

Thanks for the help. I'll check the tie rods ASAP tonight if I can get some light. And I was looking up motor mount problems yesterday... Funny thanks. Someone said 1 poly can mess with the others, so maybe a poly replacement to match? And drivers side... I've got enough rattle with the dogbone, although I opted for stiffer race bushings. I loved it at first, Then hated it, but now I'm used to my change ending up on the floor! I've already made plans for someone to put on my rear susp. Bc its pretty shot but I may wait bc I rather drive straight. Ty for opinions again

 

[azdamay]

This may be way out there, but our family has had two Escorts in the past, and both developed a similar problem. In both instances, it turned out to be that the mounts that held the power steering rack were loose, and the whole rack was shifting back and forth. Might be worth checking to make sure the mounts are tight.

 

[GodLovesUgly]

i had a problem similar to this ( i even have a thread about it) i replaced everything you replaced (minus the bushings) i even replaced the inner and outer tie rods. does this happen when you accelerate? like a wicked case of torque steer? does this happen when you are coasting? (no gas at all)
i finally found the problem after replacing everything mentioned above, come to find out it was the actual hub, the portion that goes into the knuckle sheered off. i replaced the entire knuckle and hub/spindle and the problem was completely fixed. you might want change the side that the shop didn't.
another thing to watch out for and another reason why i replaced the entire knuckle is because the bottom of the knuckle where the lower ball joint goes was damaged to the point where no matter how tight you made the pinch bolt there was still some play around the ball joint.

 

[macdiesel]

This may be way out there, but our family has had two Escorts in the past, and both developed a similar problem. In both instances, it turned out to be that the mounts that held the power steering rack were loose, and the whole rack was shifting back and forth. Might be worth checking to make sure the mounts are tight.

This sounds most logical for the symptom described. Get the front end off the ground and shake it down. Somethings gotta be loose or bent.

 

[Missourileo]

Sounds like tie rods, but I'm also wondering if the mech torqued down the(new, because you can't reuse them) nut on the d-side wheel bearing/hub assy.

 

[Monoblanco]

Steering rack, front subframe, rear subframe - any one of these loose could cause what you describe. Dangerous - fix!
Good luck,
Monoblanco

 

[Svtsi]

Couldn't check anything yesterday baby had to go to the dr 12 at night. It happens randomly sometimes when accelerating like TS like mentioned. That loose rack makes me nervous bc I drive to work today 30 miles each way. I don't have a place to jack it up I'll have to see if fam member can let me use garage. Should I park her and use another car? I probably should. I should also mention the stuff I already replaced wasn't for this problem just needed it an I'm not just randomly throwing stuff in. I'll report back later thanks guys appreciate the help

 

[GodLovesUgly]

absolutely park the car. it is very dangerous to drive it like that.

 

[Mother Focus]

Had the same issue, rack & pinion was loose like mentioned above.

 

[Svtsi]

Today I got it looked at by another local garage bc I couldn't get to one my self. We jacked up the front and back and he said he didn't feel or see anything loose. He was moving the tires when it was up and said the axles seem like they have a lot of play. I'm pretty sure it was in gear and when he would spin it forward a very loud click, then spin it backward a little bit and another loud thud. He also said the tires looked to be wearing weird but they didn't look different to me same wear over last 6 months. He drove it like .5 miles only and said didn't notice anything weird. We could hear a loud clicking on the drivers side over every minute bump. Said maybe the axle we could hear? Any insight into this?

 

[mjlangley]

I have a similar issue to you: if I am in a corner, there is a point wher the self-steering of the car suddenly changes, and some steering input is required to correct it.

As another responder stated, check the bottom of your spindle, where the pinch bolt is that grips the LBJ stud. I changed my own LBJ's and didn't get that pinch bolt tight enough, and now the spindle LBJ bore is wallowed over size, causing the exact issue you are describing.

Your best bet for finding the problem is to look at the different parts of the supspension while the car is parked with someone else rocking the steering wheel back and forth gently. On my car, if you are careful enough, you can see the LBJ slightly moving in the spindle, scary...

 

[Svtsi]

Update

Here's the deal fanatics. Car has been parked for last 2 weeks slowly getting work done after a better session driving the car. Me and a friend really thought it was coming from the back of the car. So I bit the bullet n took it to get rear suspension on and everything checked out. Well long story short, rusted bolts + major play in bushings =cutting stuff, all new hardware, new lca's uca's toe arms etc... Just drove it today and felt a world of difference no swaying\ losing control. Very tight. Now to save money for some euro bits haha.... I'll keep ya posted on if it stays this way