dave@cylixd.UUCP (Dave Kirby) (08/29/85)
I have a 1975 Buick Electra 225 that has developed a strange and annoying problem: it tends to shake from side to side when I drive it on any marginally bumpy road. The least little bump the car runs over causes a sideways oscillation to commence; several bumps spaced at random over a road cause the oscillations to build and re-inforce each other. I replaced all four shocks with medium duty ones, but to no avail. The shocks keep the car from bouncing up and down, but they do not stop the sideways motion. If I let the car coast on a parking lot at about 3 MPH, then slam on my brakes, the car will go back and forth, right and left for several seconds before it finally comes to rest. Is there a sideways dampener similar to shock absorbers on a behemoth like mine that needs to be replaced? Are the springs shot? Or maybe a weld has come loose? Any insights will be appreciated. Thanks in advance, ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Kirby "There is no great genius without RCA Cylix Communications some touch of madness." - Seneca Memphis, TN ...!ihnp4!akgub!cylixd!dave (The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of RCA Cylix. They may not even reflect my own.)
dennis@vrdxhq.UUCP (R. Dennis Gibbs) (08/31/85)
In article <234@cylixd.UUCP>, dave@cylixd.UUCP (Dave Kirby) writes: > I have a 1975 Buick Electra 225 that has developed a strange and > annoying problem: it tends to shake from side to side when I drive > it on any marginally bumpy road. The least little bump the car runs > over causes a sideways oscillation to commence; several bumps spaced > at random over a road cause the oscillations to build and re-inforce > each other. > ... > Dave Kirby "There is no great genius without Perhaps the problem is that your tires do not have stiff enough sidewalls to control the side to side motion. Try this: When the car is parked on a level parking lot, push on the side of the car, near the rear or front wheels, and try to push at right angles to the direction the car is facing. As the car begins to shake, take a look at the tires; if the sidewalls are flexing a great deal, then tires with stiffer sidewalls might help the problem. I have seen this happen with large, heavy cars such as yours, and often new tires cure it.
clewis@mnetor.UUCP (Chris Lewis) (09/03/85)
In article <1983@vrdxhq.UUCP> dennis@vrdxhq.UUCP (R. Dennis Gibbs) writes: >In article <234@cylixd.UUCP>, dave@cylixd.UUCP (Dave Kirby) writes: >> I have a 1975 Buick Electra 225 that has developed a strange and >> annoying problem: it tends to shake from side to side when I drive >> it on any marginally bumpy road. The least little bump the car runs >> over causes a sideways oscillation to commence; several bumps spaced >> at random over a road cause the oscillations to build and re-inforce >> each other. >> ... >> Dave Kirby "There is no great genius without > >Perhaps the problem is that your tires do not have stiff enough sidewalls to >control the side to side motion. Try this: ... Another possibility is worn ball joints. My '75 Valiant had a tendency to do this - it would really swerve when going over the crown of the road. On some roads it was quite unstable - at times it felt as if the car was oscilating horizontally around the middle of the front seat. Supposedly you check this by jacking up one front wheel (getting it out of "rebound" (off the rebound bumpers)), and using a prybar to see if the wheel has any vertical slop. Though, when I tried it I couldn't tell for sure - the book for my car shows use of a special gauge. The easiest thing to do is take it into one of those tire and brake chains (Firestone or Goodyear) and ask them to inspect it. My car had lots of other problems, and Firestone itemized all of the problems for $15. (rear axle bearings, front calipers/rotors/pads AND the ball joint). My father and I then did all the work ourselves (<$400 rather than >$800). We didn't change the ball joint as they recommended because at first we thought they may have been fooled by a loose front bearing, BUT, the car is still somewhat sloppy. We'll probably replace it on the next iteration. Firestone earlier had fixed a similar problem on the car (which they called "doglegging") by freeing up the CAM bolts. (whatever they are). -- Chris Lewis, UUCP: {allegra, linus, ihnp4}!utzoo!mnetor!clewis BELL: (416)-475-8980 ext. 321