[Lexacocca]

Hello all,

This past weekend I drove the Concorde on the Blue Ridge Parkway. First off the car performed flawlessly! That 25 yr old 42LE handled the mountains like a champ! Of course I couldn't resist opening her up through those curves. Yes, the old girl still has some giddy-up. The ride back was unfortunately a bit disappointing. I now notice a significant pull to the right. At low speeds it isn't as noticeable, but the faster you drive the harder it pulls. Basically, the steering wheel must be held at 11 o'clock to drive straight from 55 to 70mph. Today I checked the inner tie rod bushings and the left bushing was slightly loose. Once tightened, I took her for a drive with no change. I won't be able to jack her up until tomorrow afternoon.

Here's my question... Could I have blown a hub bearing? No abnormal heat or noise. I've yet to change the hub bearings. My co-worker said I could have blown the outer tie rod end. I replaced those last year. Any thoughts or ideas are welcomed.

Replaced on the car during the past year:
Lower control arms, tie rod ends, inner tie rod bushings, rack bushings, sway arm bushings, sway arm links, strut rod bushings, and struts

 

[yevrah]

first gen recall was for the lower control arm mounts at the sub assembly.
does it seem to be scrubbing the tires any?
inside or outside?
a hub bearing should make a noise as it starts to go out, giving lots of time to failure.
although i've seen somethings that make one wonder.
i've seen some held on by the brake caliper, yet they seemed oblivious to the problem to that point. 😀
even with a 10 or so degree camber to the wheel.

 

[Lexacocca]

first gen recall was for the lower control arm mounts at the sub assembly.
does it seem to be scrubbing the tires any?
inside or outside?
a hub bearing should make a noise as it starts to go out, giving lots of time to failure.
although i've seen somethings that make one wonder.
i've seen some held on by the brake caliper, yet they seemed oblivious to the problem to that point. 😀
even with a 10 or so degree camber to the wheel.

Absolutely no scrubbing.

 

[rusty]

Any chance the sub-frame bushings have worked loose?

Nice car!

 

[Lexacocca]

Any chance the sub-frame bushings have worked loose?

Nice car!
[/QUOTE

Thanks for the kind words. In pictures and from a distance she looks great. Up close, you can see what damage golf ball sized hail can do. That bright platinum color helps to hide most of the dents. Thankfully, I have a replacement hood and a trunk. Then to Maaco for a respray. The subframe bushings look fine and all bolts are tight. The engine mounts are starting to develop cracks, but doesn't vibrate more than normal. However, after I jacked up the front end, there was excessive play in both tie rod ends and the right ball joint. This is what I get for using Advance parts 😑. After my inspection I ordered new AC Delco tie rod ends, lower control arms, and sway bar links from Rock Auto. After a $50 alignment she should be right as rain.

 

[rusty]

The subframe bushings look fine and all bolts are tight. The engine mounts are starting to develop cracks, but doesn't vibrate more than normal. However, after I jacked up the front end, there was excessive play in both tie rod ends and the right ball joint. This is what I get for using Advance parts 😑. After my inspection I ordered new AC Delco tie rod ends, lower control arms, and sway bar links from Rock Auto. After a $50 alignment she should be right as rain.

Same here. I installed Auto Zone's rear sway bar end links on our '96 Concorde, and had to change them out for Moog parts within days. No more store brand parts for me if I can help it.

 

[Lexacocca]

Same here. I installed Auto Zone's rear sway bar end links on our '96 Concorde, and had to change them out for Moog parts within days. No more store brand parts for me if I can help it.

I'm with you. The rear links from Advance are junk as well. So much so the bushings fall out of the links.