In the last couple of weeks, my '95 850 wagon has developed a slight side to side shimmy or wobble in the front end. Basically the steering feels like there's a little sideways play--a feel that it hasn't had before. The wagon has 220k+ miles on it and has been regularly maintained. Any thoughts about what might be going on??

Prime suspect would be a ball joint. What is the wear pattern on your front tires? Assuming the same tires have been on there for some time, an uneven pattern (more wear at one or both edges) might confirm this. I had such wear and showed it to an alignment shop - the tech on inspection found a worn ball joint. The joint had a few millimeters of play - enough to prevent him from aligning the suspension until it was replaced - but I hadn't noticed any change in the handling of the car until then.

Secondary suspects would be a defective tire or bent/cracked rim. If the suspension is otherwise tight you might feel these strongly. Finally, worn tie rod ends, or even steering gear.

Does the car track straight and return to straight after a turn?

Could directional tires installed backwards--sidewall arrows pointing in the wrong direction--possibly be the culprit? Just discovered that little bit of info today. May have occurred at installation or when tires were recently rebalanced.

Thanks for the response. I haven't noticed any unusual tire wear. The tires have been on since December. Car tracks straight and returns to straight after a turn. About the same time that the shimmy started and I also noticed a noise when turning at slow speeds--noise comes from driver's front. It's particularly noticeable when pulling into a parking space or backing out. Took it to a shop and they put it on a lift--couldn't find anything wrong with tie rods, etc. They examined it with both weight on the tires and off. I'll get them to check the ball joints again because I understand that problems are hard to see.

Sounds like they did a thorough job. I've seen mechanics check ball joints by trying to separate them with a pry bar. Need to be careful not to tear the rubber boot. Most often done with car's weight off the joint.

What kind of noise during turns? Maybe a driveshaft problem?

I took the car to the shop where I bought the front tires in April. They determined that the tires were wearing unevenly in the center. They described it as ridges that ran across the tire and attributed it to a manufacturing defect and are replacing them with another brand since the defective ones have been discontinued. They balanced all of the current tires, front and rear, for while we wait for the new ones. Not a big change in the ride.

I'm not convinced that that there's not something mechanical going on too--any thoughts?

I'm thinking maybe a front axle issue, depending on the noise during turns. Is it a "click" sort of noise? Had that happen once... otherwise I'd say ball joints would be prime suspects. I recently redid the ball joints, tie rod ends, and control arms (well, the control arms came with ball joints and bushings, no point in not just doing it all at once) and noticed a WORLD of improvemenet.

The noise wasn't a clicking sound. It sounds more like tired metal rubbing or clunking if that makes any sense. It's also not a sound that happens when going over bumps like you would expect with strut mounts, etc. So far it's limited just to turning, particularly as I make a right turn into my parking space in the parking garage. I may just do what you did and have all the work done at once if I can afford it.

Might be strut mounts or bearings. I had this a few months ago; I characterized it as a groaning sound I heard while turning the steering wheel at parking speeds.

I've just replaced my LHS control arm which had seriously worn bushes. So worn I pushed them out by hand. The symptom was that the car would pull to the right when braking. I would take your wheel off and check for play to see if the whole lot moves about.
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Tek