Axle issue

[keba]

I had all my struts replaced with aftermarket ones from ebay.
Here is what happens .When I'm

making a hard right at slow speeds

(or)

a medium right at highway speeds

(or)

when the passenger side passes over a bump while making a right ..

the car sways and drifts a little to the left.I correct it and everything seems good until the next time.It does not feel dangerous. My previous mechanic (after trying to shake around the tie rods and ends) mentioned that my rack mount bushings were bad .Is this the case?


Issue 2 (related).I decided to look at it and removed the passenger side strut spring assembly.The hub with the axle(the part from the intermediate shaft) swung towards the ground and lay there for a little bit .I did not think much about this at that moment .I checked out the strut bearing and plates and put it all back together ... Then I got to thinking if whether the axle shaft should have separated like that .Isn't there something that holds it back?

Car runs fine and the popping seems to have gone away...

know this is long but thanks for reading through.....


keba

P.S .Target has genuine leather(black) seat covers for 10 bucks a pop in clearance and others for 5 a piece.

[sheepish_fixer]

1) I'd vote tie end before axle bushing...but he's a pro...maybe a 2nd opinion?

2) Your axles can stretch to a point - over extend them, and they will seperate - doesn't sound like you did any harm. An entact boot will hold them together, but still allow them to stretch.

[keba]

Yeah,
Im planning to get a second opinion.He had the car up on a rack and was pushing and pulling the steering bits.and nothing else seemed loose .The rack did move tiny bit..

thanks
keba

[davemac2]

What make of struts did you get off ebay? I have had two bad experiences with struts sold on ebay and will never buy them off ebay again. I think there are a lot of bad struts out there that may even be fakes. From now on, I will only buy these from TireRack or a similar outfit. So what I'm saying is that you could have bought some bad struts. The ones I bought off ebay were suppose to be Gabriel struts. I had one strut completely blow out after only a few months. Some others I installed are noisy, and is definitely the strut and not the mounts.

Who did the installation of your struts?

What year and model is your camry?

Your description of your separated axle is not clear. Did the axle actually separate from the steering knuckle and hub? Did you remove the axle nut? By removing the strut assembly, your half axle and knuckle will droop right?

If the mechanic actually inspected your steering rack bushings and saw visible movement of the rack, then why don't you believe him?! That could cause the steering symptom you describe.

dave mc