So what the hell is this problem????

[91e30181]

Oh and the clunk in the steering seems like it is up near the actual steering wheel itself, kinda like whatever holds it is loose. Just parking it my drive at 3 mph makes it clunk 10 times per foot, but it will never do it at speed. Weird, huh?

[jlevie]

Does the car exhibit this behavior if you let it coast to a stop?

It sounds to me like there are uneven braking forces being applied that are only evident at low speed. And that rotational variation in braking is tickling slop in the steering/suspension. The first steps in solving the problem would be a full front suspension refresh (new shocks, upper strut bearings, control arms, CAB's, inner & outer tie rods, and possibly front wheel bearings). Next would be new caliper guide bushings if you have ATE calipers and OE or equivalent brake pads (not a low dust pad). If there's excessive end play in the front wheels after that (as evidenced by motion when tugging on a wheel at the 9/3 o'clock positions) the rack is worn and needs to be replaced. With the suspension refreshed the front end needs to aligned. Note that toe is a function of ride height, so if the car is lowered you'll need less toe to compensate for the camber increase. Oh yeah, also check to make sure that you don't have a bent wheel.

[91e30181]

Nope, its only upon braking and not all the time...but still 80% of the time or so. Yeah I figured a full refresh was the call, but the problem is that the previous owner had done that a documented 6K ago with the right shit. It was all OE (older guy, very well off). So Im guessing urethane bushings with with H&R's + Bilsteins might bring me some luck, but Im not too optimistic!

[Hellabad]

Check the tightness of the inner control arm ball joint bolts, where they bolt to the crossmember under the motor. Use a 7/8 15 degree box wrench because it is easier to find than a 22mm.

Jay

[twistednut]

My suggestion would be to bleed the hell out of the brake lines completely flushing the system and grease the guide pins on the calipers and see what that does for you. It's regular maintainence anyway. I learned from my mechanic not to pump the pedal completely to the floor. There are contaminates at the very end of the plunger that could end up in the brake lines. Also I had to tighten the fuck out of the bolt on the steering column to get it to stop clunking.

[91e30181]

Ok, so new control arms/ball joints/tie rods/urethane bushings/steerng rack are on order. Im will also tighten the fuck outta that bolt on the steering column. After that, I will bleed the brakes, but Ive never heard of that dont push the brakes all the way down, but I guess youre right! By the way, once the car is 100% in every department, its getting an LS1 with a 6 speed. My buddy is an awesome mechanic and one hell of a fabricator, so he really wants to do this. All I need is the spare 4 to 5 grand to buy a wrecked donor GTO!

[DCColegrove]

Check your sub-frame mounting bolts.

[91e30181]

Yep, got all new subframe bushings and what not on the way as well. Lets just hope this all works. I will keep you guys posted on what it turns out to be.

[e304me]

try giggling the the steering shaft around in the engine bay

[ieatpeople]

how will laughing help?

i think you meant Jiggling

[DynoTechMotorsports]

replace the wheels, i had a similiar ghost problem on my 85 318is, the wheels and tires would balance fine, but it would shake at low speeds, so i replaced the wheels and all was fine

[KenC]

This is an issue that seems to only happen on airbag cars. It feels like the steering wheel is loose under the dash.

Take the knee bolster off so you can see the steering linkage. I'll bet you $50 that if you grab it with your hand you can wiggle it. You'll then see a nut that joins the two halfs... it's very common for it to come loose. Just tighten it up with a BIG wrench and you're set.

Sorry about all the $$$ you dropped on suspension.

[91e30181]

Thanks for all the help and suggestions. Once the car is out of my bodyshop, its getting towed to my other shop for the mechanical shit. That should happen in 2-3 weeks, and I will get you the results. It better fuckin work!

[Heysüß]

soo?.... what ended up being the problem?