My car has a nasty habit. It likes to pull when I hit a bump. Now here's the strange part.... if I hit a bump it usually pulls to the left, but if I hit another bump shortly thereafter it will immediately pull the other way. What is going on? I live in Florida and there is no shortage of bumps and pot-holes. Try as I may I just can't avoid them all.

 

sounds like you go some bump steer. steeda makes a kit that helps correct that. bumpsteer is when the suspension does the steering and not the driver. which is what it sounds like you are saying.

 

Get your front end alignment checked first before you do anything else.

 

I was hoping it would be something as simple as an alignment. I will also do some research on what 88LXKid suggested as well. I can't do much of anything right about now because I'm on a six-month deployment in the Persian Gulf right now. Just looking at my options so I can get a rough estimate of how much money I need to save up. Thanks for the inputs.

 

o ya might want to do that first, forgot about that. do that first and go from there as roundman says

 

you on a ship over there? My brother served back in the late 70's and early 80's on the USS Einsenhower, CVN 69 for a 4 year active duty hitch.
I would get my whole front end looked at closely when you get back to make sure the bushings aren't worn out and that nothing is bent or loose underneath. A good alignment shop should be able to inspect all these parts and let you know if anything needs replacing or not. If the front end is in good shape, you shouldn't be getting bump steer like you describe, so I think they will find something badly worn or bent.
Good luck over there and stay safe!

 

I'm on the USS John F Kennedy CV67. This is my third time over here, so it's nothing new for me. Appreciate the support. I will have to get that inspection done when I get home. Thanks for the info. 88LXKid, do you know of any good websites to look for the parts you were talking about... just in case there is some damage?

 

ya sure white heres one http://www.maximummotorsports.com/mmtierod.asp

Im thinking about purchasing it when i replace my steering rack this winter

 

Thanks 88LXKid. Great site. I need to learn more about suspension myself. I bought my car used and it seems like the previous owner may have done some work to the suspension because, aside from the pulling, the car has some very stiff suspension and cuts corners like a dream. I've gone down many a narrow, winding road going 60+ without touching the brakes.... I know, not the smartest thing in the world but it sure was fun! I had to put the car through it's paces to see what its, and my, limits were. Is there any way you know of that I can tell if the suspension is aftermarket without taking it to a shop? Thanks.

 

you can also try www.steeda.com or www.p-s-t.com and www.musclemustangsfastfords.com
the magazine website will have a lot of links to other suspension suppliers like Kenny Brown and others.
best way to tell what isn't stock is to find someone with a stock Stang and crawl under it and see what it looks like then crawl under yours and look to see what's different. lots of aftermarket stuff will be powdercoated or painted different colors than Ford stock parts or will have a company label attached somewhere on them. most of the stock stuff I removed on my '88 was painted Ford black. now I've got metallic blue Eibach springs, aluminum gray Competition Engineering 90/10 struts, etc, etc.