loose tie rod or steering damper?

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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Reply to
SF Briarpatch (e)
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uhhh Leave that shop alone! $700 for what? Does it need a front beam replacement?

Replace the worn out components and adjust your steering box. You can examine the parts yourself. ;-) Don't forget about checking out the tires and wheels.

JMHO

Reply to
dave AKA vwdoc1

dang for $700 I could probably replace all 4 ball joints, all 4 tie rod ends, steering damper and put a disc brake kit on my beetle. and that disc brake kit would have a new master cylinder in it.

Loose tie rod end? Probably not, besides that would be pretty east to spot... because the nut would pretty much be off or missing all together. and we all know that you have to coax the tie rod and concentric bushing out of the steering knuckle with a few blows of a hammer just to get it loose. Now the tie rod ends could be shot and need to be replaced... but they are pretty cheap and easy to change in a minimal amount of time... but you'll need a front end alignment afterwards.

if the steering box was that loose it would be hard to keep the thing going in a straight line with out a lot of work from you at the steering wheel.

But yes typically the violent shaking of the steering wheel is usually cured by replacing the steering damper. LOL... it scares the hell out of you the first time it happens huh?!

in short... replace the steering damper. and while you are under there... check the tie rods and ball joints.

Reply to
dragenwagen

I had such a problem. I had a bent front wheel. Put it on the rear.

Reply to
A Veteran

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