handling

[Paul182]

my 182 feels very loose at the front is there any thing i should check , had the ball joints done 2 months ago.

i know its a bit of a vauge question but dont really know how to describe it .

 

[Chip-mk1]

I'd probably check in this order:
Tracking
Track rod ends
Track rod inners
Steering rack
Bottom arm bushes
Suspension top mounts
Shock absorber play in the shafts

TBH there are still other things it could be too, an extreme example being loose subframe bolts, lol

 

[plymcl172]

this may sound simple but have you checked the tyre pressure and the tyres. This may be your first check before you get to the suspension...

 

[Chip-mk1]

this may sound simple but have you checked the tyre pressure and the tyres. This may be your first check before you get to the suspension...

Lol, yes good point!
Even before tracking.

Its amazing how some people dont even do basic weekly maintainance on their cars so well worth mentioning.

 

[Paul182]

Types are fine i try to check them weekly so they are not the problem , did think tracking but didn't know if i got that done and it turned out to be something else didn't know if the tracking would then have to be re done?

 

[Paul182]

I'd probably check in this order:
Tracking
Track rod ends
Track rod inners
Steering rack
Bottom arm bushes
Suspension top mounts
Shock absorber play in the shafts

TBH there are still other things it could be too, an extreme example being loose subframe bolts, lol

How would the above be checked?

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

I know you said the front is feeling naff but the rear shocks are a very common fault. Check for leaks/problems...

What tyres are on the car ? What pressure are you running them at ?

What's the problem exactly ?! Fast/slow corners ? Straight line stability ? Accelerating/braking/steady speed ?

 

[bozothenutter]

had the ball joints done 2 months ago.

This ...if this is the only thing changed...check this first.

 

[Chip-mk1]

How would the above be checked?

Tracking you will need to pay to have checked unless you have gauges.

The rest are just a case of jacking the car up and feeling for play.

As you rightly say, if you pay to have your tracking set and then change anything else you'll need to have it done again after, but its also the thing on that list that will make the most difference to how badly the car handles without making any knocking noises etc, anything else if its really badly gone (and from how you are describing it sounds like something is) would have other symptoms besides bad handling.

Very likely outcome is that its all just worn out if you are talking 100K miles like a lot of them have done now.

Ive recently changed shocks, inner track rods, outer track rods, bottom ball joints, suspension top mounts on our 172 and every one of them needed changing, TBH the rack does too now really as even that has a little play in it, but I just havent got round to that yet. Feels much better now than it used to though since all the changes.

These cars are not massively over engineered in terms of the component strength in any of these areas and if you start drivign them hard on lots of miles you'll find things wear out.

 

[Paul182]

i think i may just take it to a specialist and have them look over. suspension isnt really my thing lol