Whats wrong with my van?

Question

Ok... I don't know the proper terminology for auto parts, so you'll have to excuse the crudeness of my explanation.

My 99 Windstar has a horrible wobble coming from the front passenger side.
My husband & his mechanic friend have replaced most of the front end, (Tie rod ends, "Sway bars?" etc.) The only thing that did not get replaced was a large triangle shaped piece on the driver side (Sorry, I have no idea what its called) but it was replaced on the passenger side.

My tires are relatively new, and we've checked to ensure all the lugnuts are tight. My tires are properly inflated.

I've had a wobble for a while, thats why all those parts were replaced, it never completely got rid of it.

Now, today, its a LOT worse. The wobble makes my steering wheel shake, and I feel it when I'm braking now too..

At highway speed (80 - 100km/h) it feels like my tire is going to fall right off. (I drive highway to work)

Any idea of what this could be?
We're in Ontario

I don't have a whole lot of money, so thats why I'm asking for opinions rather than taking it to a mechanic who will charge me $150 just to look at it and tell me whats wrong.

The mechanic said he wouldn't do an alignment until the wobble is gone. He said he wanted to do the other control arm (Thanks) before an alignment.

No accidents with the van... although I did run over a curb *Blush* with that side of the van, but it was already wobbling before that happened

Answer 1

Sounds like your husband needs to find a new mechanic friend. Especially if he replaced the sway bars to fix this problem. That's...not quite a good guess.

Sure it's just not some guy in overalls that has a few rusted cars in his front lawn?

Randomly replacing parts to fix a problem is a lot like going to your doctor, he notices something's wrong in your leg, so he decides to start doing random surgeries until the problem is solved.

If another mechanic is charging you $150, like you said, to find out what's wrong, don't go to that guy either.

If these are your 2 best options in your town, move. I suspect any other maintenance issue will be just as costly and ineffective to fix.

Matt

Answer 2

mattfromasia is absolutely correct. It boggles my mind at what has been done to the front end of your car without rotating the tires (which costs nothing!) to see if that is the problem, which it most likely is. Unless your brake rotors are bent in half, I doubt you would get the shimmy unless you actually hit the brake - not while you are just driving - that kind of shimmy is from the pads vibrating on bent rotors only while braking.

Almost any front end shop will diagnose your problem for free. Who told you that it would cost $150, your husband's so-called mechanic friend who seems to know little or nothing about cars?

If you are that close to you losing control when you drive, and it sounds as though you are from what you are writing, then maybe you need to get this fixed BEFORE you drive it again, just for the sake of your life? You don't deserve to be in that car if something catastrophic occurs at 100 kph.

Answer 3

What you described sounds like a warped brake rotor. If the above-mentioned parts were replaced and the vibration is still there, it has to be the brake rotors.

Also check your tires to make sure they are properly balanced and don't have any defects. (loose treads or belts)

Have the mechanic isolate the problem BEFORE replacing what he thinks it may be.

Good luck.

Answer 4

start easy, switch the right front tire for the left rear. See if it changes the wobble. If so, it's either a bent rim, or a problem with the tire itself.

Answer 5

that piece is called a control arm ,sounds like you have a shifted belt in the tire either put on the spare or switch the tire front to back and see if it goes away if not have the hub bearing checked but it really sounds like a tire

Answer 6

First huge problem -- that's a save away from the main un-solid sort on the line (actually real -- see shopper comments) It sounds like a gas line problem. might desire to be any sort of issues from a undesirable gas pump, undesirable gas, undesirable gas filter out, the record is going on. of direction that's a save away from -- might desire to be something.

Answer 7

get ur tires aligned or check if it is ur axle. It might be bent. or did u have prior accidens to the car?