hey i had a little accident which involved me and a curb…probably hit it going 20km/h give or take (understeer because of ice) not drifting so please don’t tell me to smarten up etc. so ya…i got my things changed (inner and outer tie rods, lca, crossmember) and after test driving it, i found that the steering got a lot stiffer. Is this because of the tie rods or lca? I’m sure its not the power steering but it could always be a possibility. Also, when i rev up a bit the rpms seem to not go down smoothly. It seems as if its a little choppy? Anyone know whats up with that? Thanks for all the help and drive safe and enjoy your holidays stress free.
The only thing I can think is the power steering rack. cheack fluid? how much harder is it?
as for the engin. shouldnt of been effected, you might just be, being extra carful now and noticing things that you didnt see befor.
i checked all fluids and they’re at good levels. it feels as if the power steering is 1/2 as good as it was b4. say if i make a right turn, and i dont hold the wheel after i finish the turn…my wheel will still be turning right and i would head into the curb if i don’t turn the wheel to the left. if it was normal, i would have to hold the wheel so it doesnt countersteer too fast for me. anyone have any ideas?
did you get an alingment after you had all the tie-rods replaced and shit ? if no… then i’d put my money on your steering issue being due to its not alinged properly
ya i havn’t got an alignment yet but didn’t think it would make my steering a lot stiffer. if so thanks for the info!
[quote=“overb0ost”]
ya i havn’t got an alignment yet but didn’t think it would make my steering a lot stiffer. if so thanks for the info![/quote]
Allignment can do wonders!
Also, a tiny possibily of a strut bearring damage, if damaged, noticeble when trying to keep car straight ahead, but car will kind of going left & right
99% sure it’s alignement.
Even being just a bit out on toe can make a car hard to turn.
ya it was the alignment…its nice and smooth now. but one problem…after the accident…i can only go straight if my steering wheel is turned 1 or 2 degrees to the right. it doesnt pull at all…just need to keep the wheel slightly to the right. anyone know whats wrong? a friend told me that it was because of the tie rods are uneven, and i need to turn them maybe 1 full turn on the right side…and 1 full counterclockwise turn on the left side. would this help? other people have told me it could be the steering rack that i have adjust or a steering knucke? any ideas?
Sterring wheel not correctly allinged to the steering components. Any alingmanet shop can fix it. Probably while allingment they just didnt carefulfy set up streeng wheel straing.
where can you adjust that? and if that is the problem…what happens when the tie rods are uneven? i tried doing 1/2 a turn on both tie rods and it made the steering a bit better but not fully.
I wouldn’t just start turning your tie rod ends. You’re going to throw the alignment out.
If you know for sure the alignment is good …
Straighten your wheels (check from the outside, or use a straight edge to be sure)
Then chek your steering wheel. If the wheels are straight, but the steering wheel is off, undo the wheel, take it off and put it back on straight.
If you’re not sure about the alignment, moving the wheel will just hide the problem.
also… if you have an FSM it should show you points on the chassis etc and all you do is measure from one point to the center of the wheel or what not and it can give you a rough idea as to where you are out and how far out you are…
I believe the FSM states all the proper lenghts etc as well ?
1 rule of thumb when replacing tie-rod ends “if doing it yourself” is to make sure you count how many threads their are leading up to the nut so you can get them back as close as possible
but an alignment is pretty much a given when you replace alot of steering compoents… and even trying to do it yourself by measuring can be a pain
sorry for bringing this up from the dead but i didn’t want to start a new thread.
Few MORE problems:
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say if im done a turn and i take my hand off the steering wheel, normally PS will take over and pretty much straighten it for me. however, for me its different. the steering wheel will almost go back to straight…then it will be tilted to the right and stay there (if im making a right turn). It will stay like that until i turn the wheel back and if i don’t i’ll turn into the curb. it seems like the steering is so stiff the power steering does a 1/2 ass job or something. (btw…i’m not sure if this is true but ive read it on http://www.ozebiz.com.au/racetech/theory/align.html…my caster on the left is 7.22 and the caster on the right is 6.7. It says on the website that if its uneven it causes more steering effort than normal. This shop i went to says alignments have nothing to do with steering and they cant help me. So i don’t know what to believe. (i hope its not my steering rack, i have no vibrations at whatever speed. Just stiffer in general)
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whenever i do a big turn (like a u-turn) with some speed, i hear metal rubbing against each other. i asked a mech to check it out and nothing is rubbing the wheel. So could this be because of my brakes? (my brakes squeek whenever i press them). And this only happens when i do a U-Turn with some speed (higher than 5km/hr …not a really slow U-turn)
Hope someone can help me out because i paid $110 for this alignment and it seems like i didn’t get a very good one.
Few years back, I’ve hit a curb with my left front wheel in my 240.
I had an alligment and it was it, but just to let you know, I had major rust spot on the drivers “frame” where it meets firewall (commonly seen on aged 240sx). The hit misallinged the frame a bit, nothing major. See if you have anything of this kind.
If a sterring wheen not turning back, you might have problem with strut bearrings or bended steering rod. The rod may have extra friction, due to fraction, therefore not letting the steering wheel go. You might be looking for a steeing rack as well…
ya if i measure the distance from the end of my front tires, to my splash guard, it is maybe 1cm off or less from the other side. so im guessing misaligned frame or maybe a bent wheel hub?
Definately look into suspention.
Compare sides, left & right
Get a full front-end inspection.
If no issues are found, take it back to the alignment shop and tell them to correct the situation.
If a problem is found, fix it, bite the bullet and get the car re-aligned.
do you guys know where i can get a full front end insespection? the guy i went to didn’t really do any measurements, only eyed it. and another question is what would be better for an o2 sensor. OEM or a bosch one? i’ve heard some people say they’re crappy and some people say their good. OEM one is like $80 and Bosch is like $100. Any suggestions? And my car is a 95 s14. single wire right?
Can’t offer too much help. Can confirm that the ‘95’ O2 sensor is 1 wire. Waterloo Nissan does alignments for ~$85 - not sure about front-end inspections but a phone call should help you out: (519) 884-3660
alright well heres an update on my situation. I replaced the steering rack with a used one and the wheel now returns normally, however, the steering is still stiffer than stock but not as stiff as before with the old steering rack. It feels as if the power steering is working against me. Like if i make a left or right turn it is really obvious that you can feel the wheel wanting to return to the original striaght position and it takes effort to hold the wheel tight so it doesnt go back to the center. Now here are my questions. The mechanic put PS fluid into the ps system and i know you HAVE to have ATF Dexron 3 because ps fluid will screw up the pump because its thicker. So now im wondering if its the fluid that is causing the stiff steering or is it something else?
These are the things ive noticed from other ppl with similar problems
-ps belt
-steering rack bushing
-power steering pump
-power steering pressure lines
-tc rod bushing? they are both tearing a bit
now i’m also wondering how it could be these problems when i never had a power steering problem before? any insight would be greatly appreciated. thanks