Random Pull/Torque Steer after new moog lower control arms.

[mystery101]

Noticed some vibration and road noise / rattle on bumps. Found the factory LCA bushing torn and replaced the whole arms with Moogs.
Since then the whole front end seems to act strange around corners that varies with throttle input; You can go around a corner and the whole front end feels like it is stepping sideways either direction and will suddenly change under a shift causing me to have to "overcorrect" the wheel in the opposite way.
Car has been to two separate dealers for an alignment and an independent alignment shop after the fact in an attempt to identify or mitigate the issue.
All 4 wheels seem tight and pass the side to side, up down test off the ground..


The only thing I can think of is maybe I didn't torque the balljoint nut down enough; but it seemed like every time I added leverage to the end of the wrench it would turn more and I felt like was getting close to being overtightened. Both front LCA bolts are tight aswell.


Fitment issues with moogs possible?

 

[mystery101]

Think I may have found the problem.

 

[Macgyver]

Why is the offset off ?

 

[mystery101]

Today I went to a different dealer for an alignment. They spent 3 hours trying to get it into spec and failed.
They claim the alignment keeps changing after they get it off the rack and test drive it.
The diag is a $2500 estimate for steering gear as according to the tech its rattling and the rack has a rotational/up and down play
(Which I've been throwing parts at this car to fix)


Not sure which route to go. Been trying to search for any success of programming a new rack via forscan..

 

[SHOdded]

have an independent service shop verify your work with the LCAs.  have never heard of an issue with Moogs other than they don't last nearly as long as Ford/MC LCAs.  probably better off with Detroit Axle for parts.  Moog does make quality sway bar links (greasable).

 

[mystery101]

Moogs were the only option for me as the OEM's were backordered to hell and back. I didn't want to take the OEM originals to a shop to get pressed.
I guess the only good thing is the moogs were cheap on Autozone through a commercial account and have a lifetime warranty.
The car was just dropped off at Alignment Shop Inc in Ormond Beach to be remeasured by hand, Took it to two local honest mechanics that said nothing is loose.

 

[mystery101]

Just came back from alignment shop. Guy said rack seems fine to him and got the wheel straight. Said toe was out still from yeomans.
But then told me he drove it and no matter what it would continue to sidestep/pull on heavy throttle. He then suggested it might be the RDU after he took it to a cooperative mechanic on the same block to see if he missed anything loose. They said they noticed a clunk that corresponds with rotation to the AWD. Although I don't have any issues with my AWD, PTU had been replaced at 75K even with thorough maintenance. RDU fluid has been replaced once at 40K. Noticed occasional puking from the RDU vent in cooler weather with abuse soon after. Vehicle has a vibration that hasn't ever really gone away at 85MPH, Even after 5 different sets of tires and all rims checked for roundness or straightened by a shop. Brakes are brand new all around and didn't change anything with vibration/pull either.

Edit: I believe the clunk is more related to the Gearhead Tune and its shift strategy and pressures. I also wonder maybe trying a Longitudinal sensor relearn or Steering angle relearn would probably fix this.

 

[glock-coma]

I thought the torque steer was a product of the uneven length of the cv axles.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mystery101]

Not sure. There are mechanics that recognize this as not normal due to it being awd with epas with pull correction.

 

[mystery101]

After chasing this issue for far too long and yielding no result. I decided to purchase factory control arms off rockauto.
Unfortunately they are terrible at keeping inventory and didn't provide me the passenger side lower. After I pulled off the moog lower on the driver side the issue became clear.
Moog uses subpar bushings in its control arms. The factory one uses metal endplates and the bushing itself is much larger.
After installing the driver side lower control arm the problem has gone away considerably and you can tell that the passenger side is not that good as the driver side feels solid as a rock going down the road.

 

[Macgyver]

Makes sense. Dont skimp on control arms.

 

[mystery101]

I wouldn't say I necessarily skimped. Oems were out of stock and backordered. Moogs used to be a good brand

 

[Macgyver]

True.

Wonder if its worth upgrading the bushings all around with a harder compound. Try to minimize TS as much as possible.

 

[mystery101]

Anyone make em? I thought I had looked. Poly?

 

[xartic1]

Anyone make em? I thought I had looked. Poly?

I

 

[mystery101]

?

 

[xartic1]

?

Sweet, still looks like Tapatalk hasn’t figured out this issue with replies.

What I stated was something along the lines of that my vibration issue was due to the knuckle bushing on the rear where the control arm connects to. Completely worn out and I replaced it with a Moog bushing since I don’t really have faith in Dorman. I would love to swap the knuckle bushing with a poly along with the front control arms for more rigidity and for long term durability.

I replace almost all my bushings in my Ex with new parts since they aren’t that expensive but having 120K miles on the vehicle just gives me a piece of mind while hitting some turns pretty hard.

 

[hawkeye93]

I also replaced my LCA with Moog.  The Moog arms do not use a castle nut, and I have had an issue with the ball joint loosening.  You can't get a socket on the nut; you need to use a crowfoot wrench, and it can be difficult to get the necessary torque on the ball joint nut.

 

[mystery101]

On the moogs. I tightened them down as tight as they would go. You shouldn't need a crowsfoot. I did it with a 11mm on the stud and a long wrench. However my issue was not caused by loose ball joints. The moog lcas came with subpar forward bushings from factory without metal spacers and no matter how tight you go with the bolt the bushing barely contacts the frame and allows too much lateral movement.