Re: Front End Drop

["tmpintnl" <tobyp@xxxx>]

Don - The first place that I would check is the rubber bushings in the 
connection between the front sway bar and the front lower control 
arms. During the deceleration phase, you will naturally get a slight 
nose dive as the effective center of gravity of the car shifts 
forward. It sounds like you may be getting some slight caster (or 
perhaps camber, but unlikely) change during that loading phase. I can 
visualize the lower control arm on the left side dropping back just a 
bit during the "dive". The only way to properly inspect these 
bushings is to remove the sway bar. Not a big deal, but more than 
just "taking a peek". BTW - when I shift gears, and the nose dives a 
bit, I notice a slight temporary increase in the speedometer reading 
as the front tires compress a little from the higher loads. This 
reduces the effective diameter of the tires for a brief moment. This 
gives you an indication of how substantial these load shifts can be. 
This doesn't sound like a TAB or motor/transmission mount issue, or 
you would have seen it during your "handbrake test" (for the mounts). 
That test was a good and sensible idea, by the way.

Toby Peterson VIN 2248
Winged1


--- In dmcnews@xxxx, "Don Golden" <Don.Golden@xxxx> wrote:
> Hi All
> 
> Something new came up which is baffling. When shifting out of 1st 
gear the right front of the car seems to drop and I feel a slight 
tendency to swerve to the left. This seems to be more pronounced the 
higher the revs are when I shift out of 1st. I hear no clunks or other 
sounds. 
> 
> Other than this the car seems to drive fine. I don't notice this in 
any other gear. It's almost as if this is caused by either 1) the 
front weight shift as the car decelerates, or 2) the engine torque as 
it decreases revs, or a combination of both. This isn't noticeable 
during braking, only during accelerating out of 1st gear.
> 
> A visual check suggests that the engine mounts are OK. I tried 
another test: with the parking brake on and the the car in 1st gear I 
let the clutch out slowly. The engine doesn't twist (there is a slight 
downward movement). The same thing happens in with the tranny in 
reverse (except the engine moves upward slightly).
> 
> I can't see any visual problems with the shocks/springs, ball 
joints, tie rod ends. I'm at a loss of where to go next. Could the 
trailing arm bolts or transmission mounts have a similar effect?
> 
> Thanks Don VIN 4835
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]