[zip]

Hey all—I have a '92 Paseo with 168,000 miles, just recently replaced struts and shocks with KYB GR-2/OEM, along with ball joints.

Prior to this work the car had developed a tendency to wander a bit, something within the last 10,000 miles or so. Replacing those parts did not cure the problem. I figured it might be tires since the old struts were dead, so I rotated them, which helped, but the odd wandering while pointed straight ahead is still there. The alignment is good from a Toy dealership.

Toyota recently stopped selling their A-arm bushings separately, you must now purchase the A-arm to get the pressed-in bushings, so I opted out since I was selling the car soon to a buddy. Could this be the cause? Or perhaps the ones at the rear?

Thanks for your help, everyone.

 

[dexter_5000]

did they replace the bolts when they did the alignment? sometimes you can't get a true one without replacing them for some reason.

 

[zip]

Hadn't thought about that, the answer is no...

Obviously, putting engine work into a car with clapped-out suspension is tre ghetto, so we'll be getting the legs fit and back to original spec before throwing aftermarket at it. Thanks for the reply!

 

[POSPaseo92]

it may be a radial pull caused by the tires. Try switching the front tires (left to right and right to left) and if the car starts to pull in the opposite way than before, get new tires.

 

[Methanoxide]

Check to make sure your front Sway bar is fully attached..

 

[zip]

Thanks again for replies, guys—I had thought about the radial pull and checked both air pressure and felt again for the wander after a tire rotation, no change. The swaybar problem is intriguing. I'm taking the car into the shop for an alignment this weekend, and will deal with it then (it was put in for struts, ball joints, and steering rack on the weekend of 4 July, so this'll be interesting).

 

[Hossy]

If the suspension is tight and the alignment is good i would still suspect a tire problem. a bad tire can cause pulls or drifts on any corner you have it, granted worse on the front.

 

[dexter_5000]

wheel bearing hub maybe?

 

[Tercel GTS]

panhard bar in rear off or bushings worn?

 

[zip]

What is the failure rate for front bearings on Paseos? As a motorcycle tech, wheel bearings are often the cause for tracking problems in high-mile examples, but I was told by a Toyota tech last year that he rarely replaces front bearings, which threw up a bit of a logic flag, considering the car has 150,000+ on it.

 

[zip]

panhard bar in rear off or bushings worn?

You know, that's what I'm thinking. A good tech told me once that front end problems manifest in the steering wheel, and rear problems in the seat, fair enough.

A description of what is going on, is the car requires constant on-center-tracking of a non-rhythmic kind, and sometimes I feel the wander in the seat on large radius curves. After the rotation a bit of the front end wander went away, but the lack of confident tracking esp off center was still there. After a few hundred miles the on-center problem was back.

Great posts, guys… I'll put them to the tech when it goes in; missed this weekend due to other plans.

 

[jeffs94]

Sounds like you may have a toe problem and it will cause wandering along with loose steering rack bushings, worn out tie rod ends, steering rack gear worn/damaged and completly gone upper strut mounts(rare but possible).

 

[zip]

Good diag, but for once, I already covered nearly everything you mentioned. The front end save the upper strut mounts and A-arms have all been replaced in the last 10,000 miles.

I've picked apart the problem, and the only thing that could possibly create what I'm feeling, are bad Panhard rod bushings, esp since everytime it rains a loud creak comes right from that area. Only needs a bit of wear to put a hinge in the car's handling, which used to be pretty telepathic. Not a lot of vibration or pull at speed, which to me would be something front-end related, correct?

Since that's pretty cheap compared to A-arms (can't get bushings anymore w/o getting arms with them) or strut mounts, I'm going to try that first.

 

[jeffs94]

where do ya live at in Phoenix?

 

[zip]

Just north of Northern, south of Sunnyslope close to Central. Still a good area to have a house, despite SS being less than a mile away. :