Hi there,

I think the p-38 needs new shocks. Just got back from a 1600 mile round trip to NW Ohio, and it was wandering on the road (not too fun in the mountains). The steering is tight and the tires are new. There is no shaking or anything. It is just that the steering feels somewhat "disconnected" to the steering wheel and when the wind blows or there are bumps or curves it is much worse and hard to control. I should also add that it is worse at higher speeds. (80mph) Is there some way to check the shocks without first removing them? Also, do I need different shocks because my vehicle has been converted to coils? Thanks for any help.

 

What type of shocks do you have?

I'm confused when you say the "steering is tight" but then it also feels "disconnected"??

Sounds like you may be experiencing some bump steer. Take a look at your steering stabilizer, see if it has any leaks. Take one end off the car and see how stiff it is, if you can easily move the piston with your hand, it's probably time for a new one.

Other thought is to check your swaybar end links. They are prone to breaking. What year is your truck - 1996 I'm guessing by your username?

 

It defiantely could be the steering stabilizer that is helping cause some of this. Generally your shocks will not effect the feel of the sterring wheel since they only work in an up and down fashion, now sway is another thing all together.

Have you notices any unusual wear int he tires lately? It could be a bearing going out or eventhough you think it is tight the draglink or tie rod could have a bad end and is exhibiting itself at a higher speed. It does not take much to make it feel that way.

 

Is this a new condition? Did it happen all of a sudden? Double check your sway bar. The condition you are describing sounds much more like a sway bar problem than shocks. I had a sway bar link go out last summer. The truck was all over the place going down the road.

 

Yes it just happened although I didn't hit anything. The rover always used to be very stable on the highway and now it is very hard to keep it in a lane especially in the wind or when changing lanes or on curves. The steering wheel also shakes violently when going over major imperfections in the road. I just noticed it on this trip because I normally drive on slower straight roads. Thanks for the suggestions. I will check it out and post back.

 

check your tire pressure..... if they are over inflated or under inflated they will cause the same problem

 

This does NOT sound like shocks. First of all shocks die a very slow death unless they become damaged. It would be so gradual that you wouldn't even notice it. Shock are often overlooked and many people are still driving on their original shocks on vehicles that are 10 years old with over 100k miles. What you are describing is some major suspension problem and if it is that hard to control I would not drive it until it is checked out. The good news is that the sway bar links are very cheap and easy to repair yourself. Are you familiar with the sway bar and the links. It should be rather obvious when you crawl under the truck if you know what to look for.

 

Yep, end links are a 15-20 minute job per side. I replaced mine with ones from AB. They appear undersized for this truck IMHO, but anyway. A broken one can cause excessive leaning, however probably not violent steering wheel shake.

So, to summarize board suggestions I'd probably do the following:

1) Check tire pressures
2) Check swaybar end links
3) Check steering stabilizer
4) Check for worn/damaged ball joints

You could still have a shock issue that is contributing to the overall problem, even if not the major cause - they can spring a leak sometimes and crap out quickly -you would see indication of fluid on the shock body.

Are they Bilstiens?

 

Ok. So I checked the tire pressure and the sway bar links. All is ok. I also checked the stabilizer. It moves in and out with a fair amount of resistance but does not have any outward thrust. I am not sure if it is supposed to. I also checked the balll joints for play. They are tight. I could be crazy, but I am starting to think this could be a tire problem. Before the trip I replaced two tires with new sumitomo a/t tires in the stock size. They were not my first choice but the open country a/ts are on national backorder. A/t tires in 255 65 16 size are not exactly easy to find and the Sumitomo tires (made in China by the way) were in stock. I first had them installed on the front and they made the vehicle pull hard to one side. So, I moved them to the rear and the pulling problem went away. Now I have the control problem but I never noticed it until I drove it high speed. I just can't imagine new tires causing such a problem, but something has to be causing it. Any other ideas? Any way to tell if a tire is bad?

 

Yeah tires can do it. I always do an alignment when I do new tires as well. You might have a more stable rear but a loose front that follows all the lines and ruts in the road. The new tires on the front pulling to the right would have been an indication that there is something that needs to be fixed as well, usually new tires will mask a problem just because they are even accross the tread pattern. I still say it could be the tie rod ends or something like that, unless you pull them off you may not be able to tell they are worn.