Hello there;

I have a 99 caravan with a few issues on the front end that I would like to have clarified, so that I know what needs to be fixed......

Whenever we go over a small bump at speeds above 30 mph, the whole front end will start "bouncing" as if going over a washboardy dirt road UNTIL you let off the gas. Then it smoothes out, and you can accelarate again until it happens again. Also, as your cruising along the freeway nearing 65+ MPH, the front end begins to "vibrate", and this gets progressively worse as you accelerate. The last thing is that it feels like the front end is "sliding" a little to the left and right at freeway speeds, but not sure if that is due to the tires being worn down on the outside edges of tire.

I'm not sure if these are all related to each other, but one thing to mention is that I did have the inner tie rods replaced about three months ago, and that is when I started noticing the wear on the tires, as well as the bouncing and vibrations.........

I also read on here that the culprit might be the bushings on the sway bar and tie rod ends, and if so, which one's would it be so that I know which to replace. money's a little tight, and trying to do what I can to keep the van running the best I can.

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated......
Thanks,
mikey

 

If the vibration started after inner tire rod replacement, then you've probably got bad ball joints too. Now that there's no play on the tie rod, the wear in the ball joint is showing up.

Here's the whole scoop on sway bar end links and bushings with photos:

Caravan bushings and end links