The front end on my '67 bug is having problems: Any time I drive it more than about 30 mph, the steering wheel starts shimmying back and forth very quickly. The symptom is the same as when the steering damper went bad about 5 years ago. After I replaced the steering damper, everything was fine.
Recently while having the brakes worked on, the mechanic at the shop told me that the passenger-side tie-rod might be loose. As the story played out, I kept getting calls and suddenly the quote I was given initially went from $200 to $300, then to $700. At that point, I told them to stop so I could just do the work myself. I can understand why a repair shop would want to cover their asses and fix everything that has a hint of problem, but I couldn't afford to pay for their paranoia.
Anyway, my question is: Do you think the steering damper has gone bad again, or could a loose tie-rod cause the same problems?
Other things to consider:
1) The steering damper installed 5 years ago was made in Brazil. I have heard that Brazilian parts are not as good as German parts. Is it possible that the Brazilian steering damper could have gone bad in as little as 5 years?2) The front shocks probably need to be replaced. Could that be causing this kind of instability?
Thanks for any thoughts / suggestions!
Chip San Francisco, CA
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