Lancia Beta Forum

It seems like the more I drive my '77 HPE, I'm noticing along with pulling to the right, it has a front end shimmy above 25-30 mph.  I have replaced the lower wishbone bushings, sway bar bushings, repacked the CV joints with new boots and new tires.  While I had the lower wishbones loose to replace the bushings, I checked the lower ball joints for play and they didnt have any and seemed fine.  The problem existed before the parts previously mentioned were replaced.  I also checked the tie rod ends for play also.  I had suspended the front end on jackstands and run the car up, also checking for bearing noises (there are none now) and couldnt replicate the shimmy thinking it was rims or tires. As I previously posted about a right front end noise, it turned out to be road noise from the tires up front, which may signify a problem somewhere in the front end.  Is there any other part to the front end that I may be over looking, like the upper strut mountings, that may be suspect?

Thanks,
Mike

I had a rear end shimy on one of my old Betas and it was a collapsed top mount on one of the struts.

Hi

Warped disk?

Peter

Hi Peter,

How would I tell if one of the strut mountings was collapsed?  Removal and inspection?  The only strut that is leaking is the rear right, if that matters.  I've checked the run-out on all of the brake disks and they are all good.  The shimmy almost feels like bad tires that are worn unevenly, but all 4 are brand new.

Thanks,
Mike

One of my rear struts was so bad the top of the insert popped out, the top mount having completely failed. With the other though there were no visible signs. It was back in the days when a ready supply of 2nd hand strut were available, and a swap cured the shimmy.

Hi

You may be able to detect a problem from a visual inspection of the top mount from within the engine bay. Check the rubber is all solid and secure. Failing that, remove the entire strut is I guess is a solution. You may also be able to see if there is any play if you, with care, try to move the damper part of the strut relative to the top mount using a pry bar etc whilst in situ.

Peter

Another quick thought is if the track rod ends are good, then is there any play in the rack relative to the steering column allowing the wheels to wander slightly?

Peter

Thanks, Peter.  I'll give that a try.