Grandpabill10

I have a 96 Collector with just 16,000 miles on it and new Continental Extreme tires. When driving there is a slight wiggle or bounce (hard to define) that can mostly be felt just through the steering wheel. It is very annoying. The tires have been rebalanced to make sure they are good and am told they have one of the best balancers. Is this something I have to live with being a C4, or can something be fixed or added to prevent this slight but annoying front end problem? Other C4 owners have the same problem? Thanks, grandpabill.

jmgtp

Not a characteristic of the C4.

I suspect bad balance, untrue wheel, alignment issue, or bad tire.

kimmer

If the shocks are original check them.

JrRifleCoach

How old are the tires? Old tires will develop "flat spots" that cannot be corrected.
Tires older than 10 years should be replaced if your planning on driving past 50 mph.
Make sure the lugs nuts are torqued to 100 ft/Lbs. This can cause a front end shake.
Replace all the shocks if they're original equipment.

Grandpabill10

Jr. Rifle Coach: Driving the 96 again and have this 'wobble' problem, but it is only when driving over really rough roads or railroad track crossings. The car only has 17,000 miles on it, could the shocks be bad at this low mileage? The car has the FX3 select ride option. Driving on a very rough and uneven pavement recently and nearly got pulled off the side by the wobble in the front end. The GM service guy says he thinks the shocks are o.k. ?????

Grandpabill10

Kimmer: Driving the 96 again and trying to address the 'wobble' in the front suspension. It mainly happens over very rough roads or railroad tracks. The wheel just shakes in my hand but then evens right back out when the road is relatively smooth. I hear a slapping sound up front when I go over a sharp bump sometimes, but not always. Sounds like flat pieces of steel slapping together or a schock snapping back up. Could the shocks be bad if the car only has 17,000 miles on it? Hate to replace cause the car has the expensive Select Ride (FX3) function. Thanks. Bill

ovrebo1

Low millage, but parts are 20 years old, they can and will go bad.

JrRifleCoach

My gut say they're gone. Mileage means nothing when the age is over 20. Err. Well... you know what I mean...
Have you checked or had someone check the front end for you?
Ball joints, tie rod ends, alignment? The suspension rubbers may be rotted too.
That could cause the bump steer and wobble your experiencing.
Take it to a competent shop that will work with you and have it inspected. If you know of a Corvette shop thats better than a stealer err, dealer.

WVZR-1

There's no FX3 in '96. Could you maybe have F45? Do you have any warning lights in the DIC? SERVICE RIDE CONTROL

Have you actually removed a tire wheel and just done a "visual" of the suspension both sides?

"JRC" mentions a "for hire" check and that is maybe certainly your best option.

Yours, if F45 is a "1 year only C4" thing and no one is "familiar" with the system other than the owners that do their own maintenance and have personal experiences. If this is an F45 car you can actually retrieve any DTCs (current if you have an SRC light OR HISTORY of any recent) using the car CCM diagnostics. You need to become maybe better informed about the F45. Your owners manual should give you a DIC "bulb check" for initial "KEY ON" request.

jbrown8238

Had the same problem on my '96. Took it to one shop and they said front end components all checked out, had balance and alignement, new shocks, same issues.

Second shop took some time and found a lot of play in the inner drivers side tie rod end. Replaced it, alignement and did a roadforce balance, car drives like new. Get a shop that will take the time to really look, they had me come back and feel it for myself, not sure how the first shop missed it.

Good luck,

JB

JrRifleCoach

Some shops are frightened of Corvette owners.
Just like beemer drivers...

Need to make sure these guys know your OK and want to work with them.

ElisTwoCents

You can either go get an alignment and they will most likely let you know if there are any aligning issues i.e. Tie rod, rack issues go to a good shop and that will eliminate a couple of potential issues all at once and daily cheaply.

Or you can go and look at the front shocks since a lack of dampening by the system will give similar symptoms. Any fluid around the base or indications of seepage

PatternDayTrader

I think I know exactly what your talking about since my car does the same thing. There's not much rebound damping in the bilstein shocks, which makes it worse.

My opinion is this is an alignment geometry issue, except I'm sure everything is within spec. So I am going to run the castor up (out of spec) an additional degree or so on each side and see what happens. That's my plan I just haven't gotten around to it yet...

Grandpabill10

Thanks for the good info. My GM head mechanic had it up on the hoist and checked for bad shocks and ball joints and he said they are o.k. I also jacked up the front end and tried like the dickens to move the tire when grabbing at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock position and the 3 and 9 o'clock but couldn't get any movement at all. When I push down on the front end above the tire, the shocks are really stiff and have very little, if any, on the rebound. Am not sure about the suspension rubbers. I guess I am delaying the shock purchase since they are expensive, but it may be worth a try if everything else appears to be o.k. What puzzles me is I have had to other 96's both with more mileage on than this one and I don't remember the wobble when going over a rough road being this bad. Thanks again.

PatternDayTrader

Run the castor up ... I'm sure I'm right about this, I just haven't proved it yet. The tire that hits the bump oscillates momentarily and the no rebound in the shock aggravates the problem.

Grandpabill10

Thanks for your input. Will have to think about this. All these
suggestions really give me something to try. Mr. perfect (me) has
a hard time with these annoying things going on. Regards, Bill

Kevova

Car sits too much, never the less. What speed does it wobble? Is there a certain place or section of road it happens on? Generally low speed wobble is related to tires. Were tires " Road Force " balanced? I'm guessing you have staggered tires if front tires are rotated to rear does anything change? Yes, I know rear tires a wider ....this is a diagnostic excerise not forever.

Kevova

You mentioned gm service guy. Has he / they used EVA (electronic vibration analyser) to determine possible causes?

PatternDayTrader

I don't think hes suffering from a vibration that's present at all times. I suspect that on smooth pavement the car is smooth as glass. Its when he hits a bump that the problem presents itself. Maybe he will clarify ...

Grandpabill10

This is very helpful. I am taking it to a Corvette specialty shop in Toledo. I will suggest these as possibilities. Thanks again