C4 nubie question

Brad: Check the easy things first, tire pressure and loose or missing lug nuts. Grab the top of a tire and place your foot on the bottom. Then pull back on the tire as hard as you can. You're checking for looseness in the spindle/hub. It's easier to do this while the car is jacked up with the weight off of the tire. Then look under the hood, check for broken motor or transmission mounts. Have someone else rev the motor a little while you watch the motor. Have the driver put the car in gear and with their foot on the brakes, give the motor a little gas. If it's got a broken motor mount the engine will want to tip to the passenger side. If that wasn't it, put the car up on a rack and look into the suspension components, ball joints, A frame bushings, upper and lower tie rod ends. Have a close look at the U-joints, typically they won't cause this kind of problem, but if one of the rear ones is really really bad it might cause it. There's serious play somewhere, and until you find it consider it to be hazardous to your health, especially at speed.

TomC '90 ZR1

Brad -

Tom's advice looks very good to me. I'd add to it, though, lift the car's rear end and check the rear wheels for fore-and-aft play. You're looking for play in the rear A-arm bushings, mostly. It's one of several things that can cause your symptoms. Just personally, I'd suspect a toe change is occurring on the rear suspension.

Tom's point that this is a dangerous problem is most well-taken.

-- Vandervecken C6 ragtop

an 85 ? you are going to be very lucky if there aren't more things that will need your attention. be prepared to "pay to play".

g'day

I bought an 84 my first go around. and it gave me the same problem. check your rear half shats u-joints. that was my problem. it could be yours also.

Thanks for the info all. I agree that things sure don't seem safe as is. At this point the car isn't leaving my garage until I can take it to my local mechanic for a look see. His shop is all of 1/4 mile from my house. I'm getting my plates Wednesday and then talking to him to see when he can check it out.

He's pretty good at telling me if he thinks it's a job I can handle or not, and allows me to see exactly what's going on after he gets it up on the lift. I was just hoping to have some ideas going in. I figured someone my have had a similar problem in the past and apparently I was right.