Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Bump Steer!!!!!

'98 'tour has serious sidestep on any bump(even small ones) at 30 MPH and above. I can't find anything visually wrong with suspension other than the weak looking stamped control arms. I had a '90 GT 'stang, traded for '97 Cobra, traded it for '98 Ranger(F*&$#@G IDIOT),finally traded it for this car so I'm not quite used to the whole front wheel drive thing.

'98 SE V6 MTX BONE STOCK W/ 78K, Chip from '00 SVT will be here Friday

I think all the Tours have a serious side step over any uneven pavement.
It is because the suspension is very stiff.
It does not give much, and it has a very high resistance to dipping.
The combination of the two give you a suspension that does not allow
for very quick, and very far, wheel travel.
By the time the wheel touches the lower pavement,
you are in the side step mode.

I've done it many times, and I hate it when it happens.
Its that sensation of sliding in midair.

My car tracks perfectly. The only time I can get it to sidestep is when the Aussie Bar kicks in when I am cornering too hard.

The trashed bushings on my control arms cause bumpsteer at any speed. I would check these out and replace the control arms if needed.

You know, I hadn't realized that my car's tendancy to drift over bumps is gone now that I swapped out my control arms until you mentioned it. I second that recommendation.

Thank you very much everyone. I was kind of concerned about the bushings as well as the control arms because I could grab the middle if them and twist them without actually trying too hard and it looked like the bushings would slide a little side to side but barely enough to notice. A coworker did tell me that it was just the nature of the car, but it's so freaking bad that I had to wonder. Not saying that you were wrong about the suspension being so stiff and short, but you have to drive this thing to see why I was so concerned. I didn't pay attention to names before, so whoever swapped out control arms, where did you get them from and were they very expensive? Like I said before, I'm new to this arena( still trying to figure out my computer too ), so I don't really know where to start. Once again, thanks a bunch for all the advice. Another question for the SVT owner. Do you think a chip from a 2000 SVT (from Diablosport) will work in mine? Diablosport just E-mailed me back and said it would be between $50 and $120. Add that to the $100 that the guy wants for the chip, I can almost buy one new. Just curious.

98 SEV6 MTX no mods till next week

You need to get the chip reflashed for your PCM code. That's probably what Diablo was quoting you. The code is on the bottom of the PCM, under your glove box. Just remove the plastic bracket holding it in and there should be a label with a 4 digit code (alpha-alpha-alpha-numeric).

This thread details my control arm experience (you have the same type I do). Not a fun job, nor is it cheap to pay someone to do, as the "right way" requires lowering the subframe for the driver's side. The cheapest I found a set of new control arms for our cars was $250. Also not great news. BAT lists them in their catalogue, but they don't have any nor do they expect any more.