1994 850 NA Wobble from a start and at speed

[dosbricks]

This doesn't sound like an easy task. You might try consulting someone at a collision repair shop about what procedure they would employ.

[soulvoid1990]

This doesn't sound like an easy task. You might try consulting someone at a collision repair shop about what procedure they would employ.

The mechanics garage that I use has never failed me in all the years that I consult him, so I'm sure we can get the job done. We didn't do it yet as it's something we didn't want to rush. Now that I have time, we will work on getting that straightened out (no pun intended).

Should have the new axle next week, and should have both fixed and see what happens. I will update as soon as we do.

[dosbricks]

Yup, just by reading your sig I could tell you probably knew what you were doing to be able to work through this problem. I just thought that the bent mount might be a contributing factor. Good luck on this and let us know the outcome.

[soulvoid1990]

It's been a while since I've posted something, and I'm doing this from my phone, so I'm sorry for any typos haha.

So we got the axle replaced, and re-measured the control arm mount. It wasn't as bad as we initially thought. It was only off by about 1/4". So we lowered the subframe a bit, warmed it up, and got it back to were it's supposed to be. Put a few welds on it as well to make sure they didn't break internally.

There is still a very bad wobble however. It's better overall with the new axle, but when it has its bad days, boy is it bad. The odd thing is, it shakes at a consistent rate, but more intense the faster I go or harder I accelerate. The only possible thing left to replace is the wheel bearing and hub. It had to have bent one of the two when I hit the brick, and it's getting worse as I drive. It's starting to develop a wine at odd speeds as well. The best way to describe it, is it feels like the death wobble that '93 Jeep Cherokees get, if you guys know what I mean XD

Let me know what you guys think, because I'm going to order parts after the holidays.

Thanks!
Sage

[Ozark Lee]

I have been down the same miserable road with my Platinum. I got the car buried to the frame on a mud road and it took two days for tow company to yank it out. It had some decent tears in the boots on the CV and about a week after the mud road incident the CVs started to clack. I guess the joints don't like being packed with mud instead of grease.

Being proactive, I ran to Advance and picked up a set of rebuilt axles and changed them out. I knew I was in trouble as I pulled out of the driveway and the vibration was horrible at all speeds. I put up with that crap for about three weeks and decided I couldn't live with it anymore and ordered a set of new EMPI axles - still no joy. The vibration decreased substantially from what it was with the rebuilts but it was still bad. It got much worse with a passenger in the car under acceleration on the highway.

Ultimately the cure was Raxles. I had saved a couple of OEM cores from my son's 850 and my daughter's S70 so I shipped the cores to Marty at Raxles and the car is now back to driving like it was before the mud road episode began. I would have saved a ton of money and a ton of time if I just went to Raxles in the first place but the initial price scared me off. I don't know what they cost now but at the time they were $175.00 / side.

Your problem may be with cores since I'm sure you returned the cores after you bought the first set and Marty needs OEM cores to deal with. He won't rebuild aftermarket axles.

...Lee

[shaker_chi]

I had a very similar issue with my 1994 850 n/a. Does the wobble get worse when you turn to the left or right? If you don't see a difference when you turn left or right (meaning your are putting more weight and pressure on one side) it is most likely a rear hub. It is a time consuming task, but not very hard at all. So if I was a betting man, I would say it's one of your rear hubs.

In regards to the axles, I found out the hard way that aftermarket axles are nowhere near the quality of O/E. To replace my aftermarket crap, I went to a junk yard picked up an old one and had it rebuilt. Has lasted over 80,000 miles with no issues at all.

[soulvoid1990]

I wanted to post an update on this, for anyone that may run into this same problem. We did end up fixing it, it was the wheel bearing(s). Even though there was no visible play. I only replaced the passengers side, and it helped, then replaced the drivers side, and boom, issue fixed. Now there is still some wobble in the rear going over bumps, so in time, and if the car lasts, I will replace those too.

Thanks again for all the help!

[dosbricks]

Thank you for posting the resolution to this problem. It helps all of us diagnose problems that may be just round the corner on our own high mileage vehicles.

Were those bearings making noise?

[soulvoid1990]

Yes, all of the wheel bearings do have some noise. After replacing the front ones, the car did get quieter and has less vibrations.

Regarding the wobble while turning. It did get worse when I would make sharp corners, like leaving an ally or parking spot, the wobble would be horrible for a few seconds, then balance out.

I don't remember the brand of axles that I used, but I did order them from Rockauto. They weren't the cheap aftermarket ones, but they weren't very expensive either. I think about $100 each. They were a popular item, and I did my research before I bought them. The first set I put in even came with some cheap crappy axle nut, that felt like it was going to break while torquing it down. The second ones had a OE style nut.