Please help. Shock absorbers/ control arm maybe bushings?

[bixtape]

Hi guys, I really need your help. I'm having the issue where when turning full right slowly it feels as though I go over a bump on an even road. Pretty sure it's drivers side. Other symptoms are :

Squeeking noise like from brake pads , even though I'm not on the brakes and only able to hear it when I'm in small street driving slowly (due to the echo) with open window

when going around the roundabout , the car wiggles , doesn't feel stable.

Outer side of the front tires are worn a lot more. 

I've spoken with the mechanic I go to and previously he told me it's the control arm based on the symptoms at that time and now he suggests it's the shock absorbers before we lift the car to check for leaks on Saturday. Previously he said that there's no wiggle in the suspension parts on that side, but suggested it must be the control arm.

In general there are no decent garages around me who can imediatelly establish the issue and I've received amazing help here before , so I really hope someone has dealt with this issue before and can point me in the right direction without me having to solely rely on the mechanics. 

I've ordered rcf lower control arm bushings couple of days ago but they will arrive in 2+ weeks time and today the car feels a bit worse , so I really need to figure this out asap as by the looks of it any of these parts cannot be found as aftermarket in the uk and gotta wait on long delivery times... not even sure from where to get them from even... thank you in advance!

[Linas.P]

Uneven wear would not be caused by shock absorber... if they are not leaking it would be hard to diagnose that shock absorbers are at fault. I mean you can do basic "push on the corner" test, but on modern cars it is really hard to tell, shock absorbers rarely get so bad that you can feel just by pushing (i.e. car keeps bouncing up and down after you push down).

Worn lower control arm bushing would manifest in wear on inside of front tyres (wheels toe out under braking).

Generally just check wheel alignment if you have issues with uneven wear, maybe you hit pothole or something and it knocked them out of alignment in general? I would recommend doing "4 wheel" alignment with every set of new tyres at minimum, and check alignment at least every 10k or after you hit pothole hard. Now I put 4 wheel alignment in quotes because you can't align rear wheels on IS250 much, but they are still aligned together with fronts. Basically front alignment impacts rear alignment and by playing backwards and forwards decent shop could dial in both axels.  

Looking at your symptoms I am wondering whenever it could be wheel bearing? Squeaking noise like from brake pads, but you not braking... although it would have to be totally shot to cause car to wiggle in the corner... wheel would be borderline falling off before that happens... so any mechanic would be able to diagnose that quite easily.  

[bixtape]

Sorry forgot to mention the wheel alignment . 4-5 months ago the car was feeling strange again but I did alignment for the front which made the car feel smoother. I went again a month ago as they do free checks and the outter tire wear was showing more and more ,the front was spot on and the rear were in red again but was told it's normal and they are within spec. Only thing I was told is that the rear bolts are rusted out and might be an issue aligning them and also the lad suggested . When I go back home I'll search up for the picture to show you the alignment.

I do drive quite a lot and do hit potholes from time to time but what are the odds messing them up for such a short period. I guess it's worth going again to kwikfit to see if maybe indeed they need another alignment , it's free and is opposite my house so not a big issue.

48 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Uneven wear would not be caused by shock absorber... if they are not leaking it would be hard to diagnose that shock absorbers are at fault. I mean you can do basic "push on the corner" test, but on modern cars it is really hard to tell, shock absorbers rarely get so bad that you can feel just by pushing (i.e. car keeps bouncing up and down after you push down).

Worn lower control arm bushing would manifest in wear on inside of front tyres (wheels toe out under braking).

Generally just check wheel alignment if you have issues with uneven wear, maybe you hit pothole or something and it knocked them out of alignment in general? I would recommend doing "4 wheel" alignment with every set of new tyres at minimum, and check alignment at least every 10k or after you hit pothole hard. Now I put 4 wheel alignment in quotes because you can't align rear wheels on IS250 much, but they are still aligned together with fronts. Basically front alignment impacts rear alignment and by playing backwards and forwards decent shop could dial in both axels.  

Looking at your symptoms I am wondering whenever it could be wheel bearing? Squeaking noise like from brake pads, but you not braking... although it would have to be totally shot to cause car to wiggle in the corner... wheel would be borderline falling off before that happens... so any mechanic would be able to diagnose that quite 

 

[Linas.P]

If you have shot bearing then alignment wouldn't help... As well once you tyres are already unevenly worn (depends how much), then alignment again wouldn't solve it. That is why I am suggesting that it is best to do it when fitting new set of tyres. As well alignment wouldn't cause weird sounds and judder.

The rear wheels should never be in red, so I think what the guy told you was a bit of BS. They could be slightly out of alignment, but should always be "within spec." and if they are within spec. then they would be still on green. Red means "out of spec".

[H3XME]

just to add my 5p here.. worth checking ball joints and all other bushings, I mean when you go in for an alignment you'd think they'd have a look and be able to identify a potential issue. 

[Linas.P]

35 minutes ago, H3XME said:

 I mean when you go in for an alignment you'd think they'd have a look and be able to identify a potential issue. 

In kwikfit? you serious? I think they would attempt alignment even if you drive in on 3 wheels 😄 

[bixtape]

Yeah I can tell that they weren't very competent.Just remembered , the mechanic at kwikfit suggested the outer wear of both front tires could be due to that they are different brands? Even though they are the same size ? Lol 

So the plan for tomorrow is when I get the car lifted I will check the bushings ,ball joints and wheel bearings on both sides as well as checking for leaks from the shock absorbers. 

I've been considering getting 4 new tires. Any suggestions for the fsport 18" wheels , considering last winter ? I'm on a tight budged as I got few things going on 😄

Either ways the alignment will wait till I get new tires and this time it won't be kwik fit for sure lol

[Linas.P]

I got myself Yokohama BluEarth-GT AE51 and went for 225/40 and 245/40 sizes, which were over £30 cheaper per tyre than normal sizes. I think total cost for all £4 was ~£350, but I can't see any way of getting decent set of tyre for any less than that.

Well I guess "got" maybe a little bit premature to say... cannot comment on how they are yet, but at least on the paper they were good value and should at least be safe to drive on. 

 

[Brian R]

Where you said, "In general there are no decent garages around me", you were not kidding! I would have thought a half decent mechanic would have that diagnosed in no time at all! Let's face it, there are enough clues to put them on the right track.

[bixtape]

Right so after reading everywhere, I decided to risk it and change the lower control arm bushings with the rcf ones from Japan for £90 as so many people recommend them. Can confirm this fixed the wobliness and the car feels spot on . There was no play when jiggling the tire left to right , up and down , also no noise when moving the tire while the car being lifted. The squeeky sound has to be from the brake pad as I broke one of the anti rattle clips. Trying to find new ones at reasonable price to them along with my brake pads as maintenance.

The old bushings seemed OK, but had  very small cracks compared to the new ones. Highly recommend anyone experiencing these symptoms and hasn't changed these bushings to go with the rcf ones. 

 

I'm pretty sure all 4 wheels now need wheel alignment and new tires . Will be buying new tires in August. Should I wait to fit them and then do the alignment or just do it now? 

 

 

[jamie07800]

Just my opinion but if you have solved your problem i would do tyres and wheel align at same time. If you still have the sqweek from  brake just check the dust plate surround is pushed away from disc and ask the technician to use an air blower around the caliper incase any debris/metal clip is in that area and you cant see it may blow it out. All the best