odd handling problem

[Murphy]

out of all the cars (not a whole lot) that i have driven, id have to say my legacy is the most difficult to drive, it handles so oddly, theres no play in the steering like in our Explorer, but it just likes to wonder around it hard sometimes to keep a straight line
and the cornering is mostly my fault because i tend to go a little fast around cornvers, but ive never yet driven a car thats understeer like this one, is that normal?
and the steering wheel, you cant get a feel for anything, its so loose

is there anything realy wrong or do i just need to get more use to it?
ive been thinking that maybe 270k miles has taken its toll in the bushings and rack and pinion, but im not sure

[n2x4]

Have you checked bushings at all? I'm assuming that with almost 300k miles your struts are blown, which also affects handling but if I were you, I'd jack up the front end and check everything out. Swaybar bushings, endlinks, tierod ends, ball joints, steering rack bushings, even strut topmounts.

I know when I replaced my struts, swaybar bushings, and endlinks, it handled like a totally different car.

[Imprezive]

what kind of tires do you have? Is everything stock?

Most likely just the age/wear on the car. My legacy is pretty stable, even up to 120mph.

[Legacy777]

As people mentioned, the age of the car and the suspension components are probably to blame.

If you have incosistent handling, then you've more then likely have bushings/strut mounts that are worn, which can alter the suspension dynamics under varying cornering loads.

[Murphy]

the fronts struts are only a year old, the back ones have who knows have many miles on them, but i have them in the garage to put on maybe today if it stops raining

checked out the bushing on the front and the strut mount but they looked fine, but the right front did move a little when i wiggled it, but its hard to tell if i was moving the steering wheel or not
power steering fluid was slightly low but i didnt think it was low enough to make a differance
tires are worn a little, ill probably get new ones in the summer, maybe ill get all new ones instead of my dad making me get 2 and moving the fronts back

my left head gasket is leaking again though, that gasket is less than a year old, i tightend it up but it was as tight as it could go without snaping a bolt, hopefully its coming from somewhere else

[Legacy777]

Having mix-matched struts on a car can produce VERY undesirable handling. I experienced this first hand.

Are the struts you're putting on the rear the same brand/model.

Are you talking about moving struts to the back or strut top mounts? Either way, they are specific for front, rear, and left & right....so you can't swap.

[Murphy]

yeah, they are same Gabreil struts, i dont think you can switch front and back, but the rears have no dampening to them, it just bounces i suspect they got 150k miles maybe

do you think that could be a problem, as apposed to having 4 bad struts instead of 2 new and 2 old

[Legacy777]

It could be....it's hard to say, but if the rears are shot, you should definitely replace them.

[Murphy]

well i got one taken off, to late now to do the rest, but the rear struts are shot, push them down and they dont put in any resistance and they dont go back up, just the spring holding the car, im thinking that its going to raise a few inches with the new struts, the back sits lower than the front as it is

i have a picture but that picture hosting gallery thing isnt working right so i cant host them

[n2x4]

You could upload them to www.imageshack.us if you wanted to. That's usually where I end up hosting all my stuff.

Something to watch out for too, is even if the bushings look ok visually, they may still be worn out. That was the case with the bushings on the rear passenger side of my car. I ended up in the ditch and later found out it was because the bushings were so dead that if you lifted the wheel off the ground, you could move it side to side with your hands because there was so much play. Everything seemed ok when I crawled under for just a quick check originally.

Make sure you give everything a "tug" test. Your struts should help too.

[Murphy]

sorry, forgot to post back
but the struts are on, its rides much nicer and actualy it doesnt wonder anymore, its pretty nice realy, havent taken any hard corners but its doing good for now

[RallyRS]

Problem sounds like it is related to the steering settings. Probably not related to problem with rear suspension, although this will not help handling of car.

I would get the toe settings checked by a wheel alignment shop. The car wondering on the road (bump steer) is normally related to the amount of positive caster or play in the steering rack. More positive caster the better. Only problem is that with a standard legacy suspension setup this is not adjustable. Play in the steering rack will required a replacement rack - you would normally hear a small knocking noise in the steering rack if you move it side-to-side quickly with the wheels on the ground. Check steering rack before alignment check.

light steering can be related to caster and camber. Increasing the camber will stiffen the steering and help you to feel the road. If you use camber plates of increase camber these can be fit on a angle and also used to increase caster.

A bent chassis may be possible if this does not help.

Hope that helps.

Cheers
Hayden