Im new to this forum.. i own an 85 svo turbocharged. I came across a problem recently that i cant firgure out. When im making a left or right turn or even moving the steering wheel left and right it sounds like theres alot of strain on a piece of metal and it sounds like its going to snap soon. It only happens when the car is warmed up and has been driven for more than 10 minutes. Sounds like its coming from the front of the car. I tried changing out the wheel bearings those were ok, tightened up the rotors and calipers because they were loose. Anyone come across this problem before? Its getting progressively worse so any input will be helpful. I also have a set of tie rods that are not installed could that be it?? Let me know. Thanks guys P.s. It also sounds like a creaky door opening and closing.
Hello, First off welcome to the forum, you will like it here, lots of good people to help you. I think I have a similar problem on my '80 mustang. is it hard to turn the wheel or make a grinding sound in the column?
Thanks, and no the steering is fine. But yes there is a sort of grinding noise in the steering rack. Kinda hard to tell where exactly the sound is coming from but i have a suspicion its coming from there because even if im going 2mph when i let off the clutch a little it wont make the noise unless i start moving the steering wheel left to right then the noise starts happening.
Yea its a pretty loud noise. Especially if i have to make a hard right or hard left. I have no idea what it could be. This is my first older vehicle so ive never come across a problem like this before.
Ok sweet thanks alot. I have one more question.. i did some searches and it seems like you would know quite a bit about these problems. But do you think you can give me a quick walkthrough of how to install the tie rods?? Because along with the problem im having my car likes to wander alot when it hits bumps or even the tinyest little bumps in the road. I know i have to jack it up but as far knowing what to disconnect and just all together what to do im at a loss... any help would be appreciated thanks alot again. Im new to fixing cars myself.
One recommendation I would make is to pick up a manual of some sort, if you are new to this. Chiltons or Haynes. I love the Chilton's I got for my old Mustang and still use it for my Thunderbird, but the Chilton's for my truck kinda sucks. It's difficult to explain tie rods without a picture, but they're easy to remove and replace. First off, you will probably want to rent a tie rod puller from an auto parts store (most make you pay full price up front, and then you get it all back when you return it). Jack up the front of the car, put it on jackstands, and remove the front wheels. You will see the steering rack at the front of the engine crossmember, with the tie rods attached to the front of both spindles on the inside of the brake rotor. Remove the cotter pin on the tie rod nut, then remove the nut. Use the puller on the tie rod end stud to force it out of the spindle. Next, get a large wrench or crescent wrench and find the "flats" on the tie rod body (it may have a hex or just two flat surfaces where you can grip it with a wrench). Put the wrench on there, then break loose the locknut at the end, just enough so that you can unthread the tie rod from the rack. Mark the location of the locknut with paint or antisieze or something, the remove it as well. Thread on the new locknut to the mark, then the tie rod. You want to get everything back together as closely as possible until you can get the car aligned. Install the dust boot onto the tie rod, if necessary. Push the tie rod stud into the hole in the spindle, and put the nut on hand-tight to hold it for now. Grip the tie rod body similarly to how you did when you removed it, and tighten the locknut against the tie rod body. Then, tighten down the castle nut on the tie rod stud, and keep an eye on where the hole in the tie rod stud, make sure it lines up with one of the open spaces on the nut when it's tight. Insert the cotter pin through the side of the stud, and bend the ends around the outside of the nut to secure it. Presto, you're done. Make sure you get the car aligned very shortly after doing this, or it could be very hard on your tires.
Very detailed instructions Red_Lx, great job. I vote for the ball joints as well, but be aware that your ball joints are not serviceable. Unfortunately if your ball joints are bad you will need to replace your entire lower control arm. The arms match one of the Lincolns instead of the other mustangs. A lot of owners end up changing to the SN95 parts up front because of the cheaper cost and easier servicing in the future. Check out the SVO Club of America's site, they may have some more replacement options.
Can you really not press out the ball joints on SVO lowers? I always heard the '87-93 Mustang ball joints were not replaceable, but I had a guy press my old ones out and replace them when I first got my car because they were completely shot (scary too...creaked really bad on uneven surfaces, and a couple times during sharp turns the steering almost "locked" the wheels in the turned position)
Thanks alot for the help guys. I installed the tie rods and got my car aligned, didnt fix the problem. So im going to try to ball joints next and from there if the problem persists i might just have to take it to a shop and get it checked out. thanks again for the help and the step by step instructions red made those tie rods alot easier
Not a problem. Have the ball joints checked out by somebody. It's difficult to tell whether or not they are going bad when you're just working with a floor jack. A technician can check for any excessive play.
Jack the car up and crawl underneath. Look at the bottom of the lower balljoint. There will be a round nub in the center of the BJ base about 1/4" in diameter. When new, the nub sticks out from the base of the BJ. Over time, as the BJ's wear, the nub recesses back into the base. If the nub is even with the base or recessed inside the base, it's time for new BJ's. If your tierods were bad and the car is almost 25 years old I'd say it's probably time for new ones.
I'm sure there's someone with an SVO on here that knows more than me, but according to the SVO Club of America SVO arms have ball joints that are integrated into the control arm itself. The old ball joints would have to be machined out of the control arm, then the hole machined to accept a press in ball joint. That's why a lot of folks go with the SN-95 stuff and just replace everything.
