I'll start from when the symtoms started, may not have anything to do w/ what I'm experiencing, but, here goes.
Took the Tib in last weekend to get oil change/tires rotated/balanced. It had been raining here for several days after ward. I noticed the car was 'hydroplaning' a LOT more than usual. Yeah, we'd had a lot of rain, but I figured My Kumhos just needed to wear a little while on the front. Well, now it has dried out, and the car still acts like it's sliding on water. I'm afraid to really push it through turns, afraid it's really gonna break loose and throw me sideways. There is no noise coming from the car... no popping sound or anything.
I wonder if the service moron tweaked something too far, or something's coming apart.
Any suggestions??
Thanks Ahead!

 

Hmm...

Did you check the tire pressure?

Does the tire tread feel waxy or stiff?

 

Yeah, pressure was #2 after checking the lugs.
The one's on front now have 7/32 (practically brand new!). But the 5/32 (now on back) sure did seem to 'hold' a whole lot better.
What if like the sway bar is cracked, or the cv joints are going out.
I'm expecting the worst to be wrong! sad.gif rolleyes.gif

 

Maybe you need another alignment?

 

after i had my car lowered, the car hydroplaned really bad. driving in the rain felt like driving on ice. it turned out the toe-in was WAY out of spec. it was fine after a new alignment.

 

I would suspect your alighment as well.

 

Well, i would also suspect your tie rods and possibly a bent ball joint on the a-arm...which was the cause of my escort feeeling like it was hydroplaning or steering it self at times back in the day. The bent ball joint would rotate every now and then and because it had a bent 'bolt' in the middle of it changed the alignement and doing so made my car drive 'funny'. 91-96 escorts and our tibs have mac-strut front suspensions so have someone inspect the inner/outter tie rods for wear and ball joints on the a-arms. Remember that larger aftermarket rims will add stress to these mentioned components and may cause them to wear prematurely...it's worth a try.

[ December 29, 2002, 07:15 PM: Message edited by: Koreandude ]

 

Thanks so far...
What if the car just isn't getting any traction. And I don't mean because of the tires.
Like when doing a burnout, for example, you can feel the front end slipping (of course). I'm feeling this from a regular take off.
Making an 800 mile trip this week. Just don't want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere. WILL def. get alignment checked.
Thanks Again!

 

Do you have directional tread tires, and if so, were they put back on in the correct direction? A lot of car shops will screw up and switch left-right on directionals, making the tread backwards. If the tire is worn on the inside or outside too and then switched sides, the effective camber of that wheel changes and can pull, or if on both sides can make the front wheels "fight" each other and can cause an unstable feeling.

Make sure they didn't just do a thrust alignment too... a lot of times they'll reference the front wheels to the rear, and if the rear is out of alignment then the fronts will also be out. Have a good 4-wheel alignment done, if you haven't.

 

An alignment could mean the end of your trouble. Before my alignment this afternoon, the car was moving to one side, moderate turns and overtaking made the tires squirm, and the feel was horrid. Of course, that was after I went off the road and almost fell down a ditch. After the alignment (and new shoes), the car felt and looked like a million bucks. Still needs some bodywork, though.