Sloppy steering on 93 GT
 

I've only had it a week, but a friend of mine has a 92 LX 5.0 and his steering is a lot tighter/better than mine. I can be crusin down the road at any speed, then the car suddenly wants to pull off the road, one way, then the other, I've heard it called "dancing" before. Is there a front end rebuild kit out there for my GT, like tie rods, ball joints, etc? Thanks, Jason

kit... no.

Replace the following:

A-Arms w/ ball joints
tie rod ends
steering rack bushings
sway bar endlinks and bushings

I spec'd more parts than you probably have "bad". The issue is that you may have damaged any of those parts, particularly the bushings so it's best to replace them.

So, when you say a-arms, do you mean replace the bushings in them or buy brand new a-arms??? At 70 mph, the steering wheel shakes a little, then not at all. I'm hoping it's just bad tires or unbalanced tires? This is just a toy and won't be my daily driver, so I will look into these parts in a couple of months. Thanks

you can bend an a-arm... I've done it or I wouldn't mention it. If it's shaking just a little then going away I'll bet ya a dollar it's tie rod ends. I have a heavy duty set with zerk fittings laying around I think... lmk if interested.

What are you looking to get for the tie rod ends? Also, where's a good place to buy a-arms at? I was looking at 5.0 Mustang and Super Fords newest magazine and noticed a few ads that had tubular a-arms for $200/pr, if I recall that being correct? Still haven't found steering rack bushings. Like I said in this thread at the beginning, I would love to rebuild the whole front end sometime.

FRPP has control arms w/ a newer designed ball joint. Also, as for rack bushings, check out Prothane or Energy Suspension (just make sure you don't get the ones w/ the offset bolt hole).

yeah... the offset bushings are for tubular K-member guys. they're not usually appropriate to a stockish car.

The ends... gimme 20 bones and 7 for shipping. For control arms... If you have coil overs, then Maximum motorsports a-arms are the best. If not, get the frpp stamped ones (talk to ken at www.speedconcepts.net and tell him r3dn3ck from wildhorses sent you.. he'll hook you up). Check www.steeda.com or www.maximummotorsports.com for steering rack bushings.

If you end up deciding to drop 3K on parts, lemme know and I'll get you a parts list that'll have you carving corners with the best of em.

Hey R3dn3ck, if Mirage doesn't buy those tie rods I could probably use them. I had one replaced a little while back, but I still get a slight vibration when I drive around 50mph and then it goes away. It's not always present.

I sent ya a PM, r3dn3ck

Should I get alloy or urethane bushings for the steering rack?

Stick w/ poly since the stock k-member isn't the squarest thing.

mega dittos. unless you go to a tubular k-member stick with rubber or poly. aluminum and delrin are best left to more heavily modded setups.

Another question about the control, cause I'm making a list of everything I need. If I keep the factory setup, can I still use the MM Control Arms or should I buy the Ford Control Arms? Also, do the Ford ones include urethane bushings? It just says new inner bushings, doesn't say if they're rubber or urethane?

EDIT: Nevermind, I just read that the MM arms only work with coilovers, guess I'll be getting the Ford ones then.

ford arms come with improved durometer (stiffer) rubber bushings. I'd still replace those with poly-urethane if you can swing it. It's a little tiny bit harsher over bumps while steering but the feel is worth it when it matters.