Pain in the a** S13 steering problem!!!!

[omgjacki]

I have searched for serious..OK first off i haven't found a problem like this on the forum...I have found problems sort of like this but never exact. BUT i tried out some solutions that were posted...

My problems is the following:When driving my 240sx and when i hit the brakes my steering wheel turns not even a quarter turn to the RIGHT and stay that way..... But the car still drives straight ..NOW after i get off the brakes the wheel is cocked to the right...So in order to straighten the wheel back to they way it was before the braking i turn the wheel to the right SLIGHTLY and back to the left quickly.. At this point the wheel snapped back into place. I can also make the wheel snap back into place if i get on the gas a little.

BUT wait it gets better....

If i am driving and i take a left that requires me to turn to the wheel more then a quarter turn it starts into the turn fine but then all of a sudden at some point in the turn it jerks the whole car to the left...(like if i meant to make a sharp left turn)After completing turn the wheel stays cocked to the right and i have to go through the previous process to get the wheel & car to snap back again.

What have i replaced:1. Brake calibers (twice and bleed twice)2. Tie rod ends (replaced and installed using the spray paint technique) 3. Switched out suspension (coilovers off and went back to stock struts & springs all around)4. Replaced Tension rods5. sway bar

What is next:Of course an alignment

BUT WHAT ELSE????? any crazy solutions ??

[rioredstang]

Check the Steering rack bushings. The steering rack is sliding back and forth in their mounts. Open the hood and have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth. Look down by the brake booster and you can see the top of the rack. While they are turning the wheel the rack should not move. I have seen this many times.

[IanS]

Check the Steering rack bushings. The steering rack is sliding back and forth in their mounts. Open the hood and have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth. Look down by the brake booster and you can see the top of the rack. While they are turning the wheel the rack should not move. I have seen this many times.

Couldnt have put it better myself.

[MisteenoMike]

2. Tie rod ends (replaced and installed using the spray paint technique)

Could you elaborate?

[killedbydeath]

You shoot some paint at the threads and tie rod before removal,

Aaanyways, if you'd have taken your car in for an alignment, they'd have fixed the problem already

[MisteenoMike]

Interesting...

I can think of at least three better ways that don't involve "tagging" my parts, but I'll have to add this to my mental "MacGuyver-style" repair database.

[moso]

use black paint, you cant tell when your done but it makes enough of a diff to do the job.

[omgjacki]

Thanks for the input. That was my boyfriend who posted for me. I mentioned the steering rack and bushings many times but he was sure that wasn't it. After everything we've done it's still doing this. So, I'll tell him to swallow his pride and check the rack. Thank you again!

I'll see if we can get to that tonight and I'll update.

[compactfean]

Okay so I need some truth.... was it you or your man that checked a curb! That is exactly what happened to my car! Don't be ashamed. ..we've all done it. Check your strut rod and a arm. When I hit a curb I bent both and that's what happened. If you can't tell if its bent from the ground check it out on a rack. That's the easier way to compare both a arms and strut rods. Also there is a super simple way. ..get a measuring tape and measure the distance between your tire and the fender on both sides on the front tires. One wheel will be further back then the other.

[rioredstang]

The only thing I have seen that will affect the centering of the steering wheel like is when the rack is moving. The strut arms being bent would make the car pull to one side or the other. CHECK THE RACK BUSHINGS.

[IanS]

Thanks for the input. That was my boyfriend who posted for me. I mentioned the steering rack and bushings many times but he was sure that wasn't it. After everything we've done it's still doing this. So, I'll tell him to swallow his pride and check the rack. Thank you again!

I'll see if we can get to that tonight and I'll update.

Huhhuh Huhuh Jackie said input.

[compactfean]

The only thing I have seen that will affect the centering of the steering wheel like is when the rack is moving. The strut arms being bent would make the car pull to one side or the other. CHECK THE RACK BUSHINGS.

That doesn't explain the car yanking to the left in a turn. You obviously haven't ever bent a strut rod. My car yanked during right turns...it was ds strut rod and a arm so A ARM!

[omgjacki]

I had the same set up on my coupe. For the front, anyway. I had no problems with the coupe. When I moved everything to the hatch is when I noticed the problem. I did hit a curb a few months back. Put a nice hole in my tire, but this was a problem before the curb.

[compactfean]

Well if everything checks out sounds like its time for a new rack and pinion

[rioredstang]

You could also have something in the rear suspension moving and make the car jerk.

[driftnasty180sx]

ok so me and OMGJACKI checked out the bushings on the car. We turned the steering wheel back and forth and the rack DID NOT move at all...i compared it to make other s13 that drives perfect and everything looks the same...so

Bushings- not it

BUT i still believe its the alignment because when i drove it home the other day there was alot of shaking in the steering wheel. CLASSIC sign of alignment ...sorry that was one thing i forgot to mention ......Tuesday it goes in for the alignment and then i will post the results....

BUt anything other suggestions will be help to me or anyone else that might have the same problem so keep posting

[rioredstang]

There is nothing in the alignment that will cause a shake. There are no parts to a alignment. A shake has to start from a tire being out of round or out of balance. Loose or worn parts will make a small shake worse.

[driftnasty180sx]

well listen the alignment is free so why not just get it done right?...i had shake with my s13 before and after we aligned it the shake was gone....lets wait and see...it couldn't hurt...i look at it as one more thing crossed of the list

RECAP:

What have i replaced:1. Brake calibers (twice and bleed twice)2. Tie rod ends (replaced and installed using the spray paint technique)3. Switched out suspension (coilovers off and went back to stock struts & springs all around)4. Replaced Tension rods5. sway bar & bushings6. RACK BUSHINGS

What is next:alignment

also...i am gonna take a good look at the control arms and check out these 2 things.

[driftnasty180sx]

That doesn't explain the car yanking to the left in a turn. You obviously haven't ever bent a strut rod. My car yanked during right turns...it was ds strut rod and a arm so A ARM!

did it also pull when you press on the brake?

[IanS]

BUT i still believe its the alignment because when i drove it home the other day there was alot of shaking in the steering wheel. CLASSIC sign of alignment ...sorry that was one thing i forgot to mention ......Tuesday it goes in for the alignment and then i will post the results....

BUt anything other suggestions will be help to me or anyone else that might have the same problem so keep posting

If I had a nickel for every time somebody walked into my shop and told me they needed an alignment because thier steering wheel was shaking, I wouldnt even need to work on cars.

In all my life, I have never seen a car that shook due to the alignment, baring those with loose parts, or an alignment thats so far out that its noticeable with the naked eye.

Things that will cause a shake: Unbalanced wheels, bent wheels, separated tires, or loose/worn chassis parts.

Im not saying it doesn't need an alignment, (it does because you pulled the tie rods) but it wont fix shaking.

You've already replaced most of the stuff that could cause the problem Jackie is having. The lower control arm bushings are a possibility, as are the lower ball joints. My first guess would have been tension rods, but you say you have already replaced them. I would check all the bolts again anyway, also make sure the bushings are still good.

Did you use new tie rods/tension rods?

[driftnasty180sx]

Yeah the tension rods are deff. good and the tie rod ends are new too..

but you might be right i am gonna check al the bolts and see if something is loose...something could have gotten loose over time....also everything was swapped over from the one chassis to the other (suspension, engine swap, rack, etc) by the shop. Maybe something wasnt tight correctly....

The little shimmy and pulling i believed that a alignment would fix...BUT i just drove the car again just and this earthquake shake couldn't be from just an aligment..so you guys have a very good point... i stand corrected ....hopefully it is just a case of loose bolts....

[IanS]

Yeah the tension rods are deff. good and the tie rod ends are new too..

but you might be right i am gonna check al the bolts and see if something is loose...something could have gotten loose over time....also everything was swapped over from the one chassis to the other (suspension, engine swap, rack, etc) by the shop. Maybe something wasnt tight correctly....

The little shimmy and pulling i believed that a alignment would fix...BUT i just drove the car again just and this earthquake shake couldn't be from just an aligment..so you guys have a very good point... i stand corrected ....hopefully it is just a case of loose bolts....

Ive had problems with the tension rods coming loose at the control arms on S chassis's. If they are not uber tight, hard braking can cause them to slide a little, and once it happens, they just get looser and looser.

Have you checked the rear suspension? The fact that the crooked steering can be fixed by getting on the gas in weird. Because the car is RWD, throttle inputs have limited effect on front suspension. You could have bad traction rod bushings or something. What kind of diff does the car have in it?

[driftnasty180sx]

The diff is welded...i checked all the rear stuff on the car and thats all perfect.

I changed the tension rods as soon as I felt (the pulling to the side when braking) this issue. And it didnt fix it. The shaking was there before but very very little but over time it got worse. IS the shaking and pulling both cause be the same problem? maybe or maybe not because the pulling has always been the issue with the car....

anyway i am about to head over to the shop and double check everything again in the front.

I am gonna take some pic of anything that stands out to me.

[driftnasty180sx]

passanger control arm upper bushing is my problem......crazy play when turning the wheel..... i can't believe i over looked it

[sx moneypit]

Dont fret it brother.I have been working on cars since 1977 and it still happens to me every now and then. The good thing is you found your problem!

[driftnasty180sx]

yeah i know its always something dumb..turn out that the control arm bolt was only loose... I tighten it and everything was fine....well the only thing is that at about 55mph i get a slight shake. i assume that the bushing got damage since the bolt was loose..... i am gonna get new control arms for both side anyway and i hope that solve this for good. plus an alignment and we should be in the clear

[IanS]

At least you got it figured out. Time for a full urethane bushing kit

[driftnasty180sx]

u read my mind

[rioredstang]

Now have the wheel balance checked on the (2) front tires. Also check that they are round.