front lower control arm adjustable bolts loosening.

[AfreakanKaveman]

Okay guys, so hear is the deal.

Z32 non turbo.

Replaced the passenger power ball joint and control arm bushing (a pair from z1motorsports).

Had an alignment, everything was good for 4 days.
Then the bolt shifter and the toe went way out.

Bad bolt? (Alignment guy says the threads can stretch ect..)

Bushing installed in correctly? I've done a few before on my miata but never on my z

[AfreakanKaveman]

i cant imagine this to be a common problem, since i'v never seen or heard of such behavior on an elliptical adjusting bolt.

Self bump..

[AfreakanKaveman]

please if anyone can help its getting a bit crazy taking it to get aligned every 2 weeks

[nissanfreak12]

Ball joint and control arm is not for adjusting toe, that is what tie rods are.

Control arms and ball joints mainly are for camber

Tension rods adjust the caster

Tie rods adjust the toe

How do you know your toes is out already? If the steering wheel is not straight anymore, it may be due to the steering rack bushings causing it to shift. Bolts can stretch, but if they stretch that much it will break. If you are having issues with the product you just installed either contact Z1 or whomever install the ball joint and control arm. Its also possible some bolts never were tightened enough and that is what actually shifted.

[AfreakanKaveman]

Just FYI, i only replaced balljoint, and L control arm bushing on passenger side. never touched the drivers.

the lower control arm bolt has an adjustable oval shaped washer that slots into the lower control arm. yes i understand this adjustment is for camber, but believe me if you loosen that bolt and turn it, the toe changes along with the camber. yes that bolt was not tightened enough on my first trip to the alignment place ( my mistake) the side effect of that was toe on the psngr side went out ( the side i worked on)

after my second alignment and a locking washer put on with the nut and they tightened the hell out of it, alignment was great for about 2 weeks. recently it has done the exact same thing on the same passenger side. driver wheel and streering wheel are straight, passenger side wheel is toe out. camber does seem a bit off..

i know this is the side that keeps going out since when i straighten my wheel, the drivers side wheel is dead straight, the passenger side is cocked out to the right. * when the wheels are rolling, the passanger side wheel is pulling out to the right,causing the driver side to compensate and the steering wheel is 15 or so degrees to the left
inner/outer tie rods are new.
ball joint is fine ( no wheel play, bolt is tight and torqued )


i must admit i have not checked steering rack bushings. but felt no play in the wheel pulling and pushing on the tire with 2 hands ate 3 and 9 o'clock

new L control arm bolts, shocks, shock mount kit & rack bushings?

[nissanfreak12]

Yes, all will affect toe to a degree. That pivot point on the control arm doesn't adjust that much, but I understand that the smallest movement will cause a lot of issues on toe. unless you are putting the car on a lift with the alignment stuff attached, just by looking at it will not tell you anything. Too many lines on the car that can trick the eye.

Your steering rack bushing will do exactly what you are describing. You normally cannot make the rack move by hand, but the force of the car ill make them move. Go on twinturbo.net and look in the classifieds, there is a guy named bernie that sells the kit for a relatively cheap price with poly bushings.

Another thing that could cause what you are describing is the tension rods, if one is going out, it could also cause the steering wheel to shift. If you have the stock rods, look for leaking and or cracks on the rubber part of the rods.

[solaire]

This may sound weird but why are u trying to adjust camber there? Leave the OEM bolt in the bottom and it won't back out. You can get upper arms that are adjustable they're just a pain to use but when they're set they're set. Also it isn't big on Zs but the same arm is used on the q20 and the bearing in the arm goes bad making squeaking noises so its not a bad upgrade.

[AfreakanKaveman]

I'm not trying to adjust camber. I'm not trying to adjust anything. The problem is that the adjustment is happening by its sepf.

No bearings on the lower control arm.

Tension rods are also new. Replaced about 3000 miles prior. Old ones leaked oil and we're busted the New ones are urethane's

Thanks for the help nissanfreak12