problem in front end

[Ceptos]

hey

i have some sort of problem with my front end, and i am having trouble identifying it. over a year ago i hit a curb on the front right of my car (95 240). i replaced all of the damaged parts (or thought i did). when i originally replaced these parts and had an alignment they said everything was ok. recently i have installed coilovers and spl tension rods, after getting an alignment my car still felt unstable and like it was pulling to the left, i thought it may be the tires which were very worn, so i replaced those. now the car feels like it favors the right side, like it is easier to turn to the right than it is to the left and feels generally unstable on the highway, almost drifting in either direction depending on the road surface, but mostly favoring the right. and it seems to be more noticable in the rain. a list of things i have replaced or tried to eliminate the problem:

- replaced stock LCA- replaced stock inner tie rod- replaced stock outer tie rod- spl tension rods- coilovers- new tires- rotated wheels

since the car aligns fine i think that would narrow down the possibilities to hopefully not so major ones, but all options still being open...

things left i think could be the problem:

- sway bar- wheel hub- lug bolts- LCA and/or tension rod bolts- subframe where tension rod connects- subframe where LCA connects- steering rack- frame (keeping my fingers crossed on this one)

i would like to disconnect the front sway bar to see if that might be it, are there any problems this might cause? ive had the car looked at several times with no results, the problem is slight, but noticable. are there any race alignment type shops in the baltimore maryland area? i would be willing to take a trip to get to one. i also have a printout of my most recent alignment if that would help. any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks

[SmithSR]

post your caster specs.

what tire/wheel sizes are you using?

[Ceptos]

front left caster: 7.3front right caster: 7.1

just running stock 15x6" steel rims with 195/60/15

the first time i had an alignment with the new tension rods i took it back to make sure it wasnt the alignment's fault, front right was something like 6.4 and front left was 7.0 before and they corrected it to what it is now. the problem did not change much after the new alignment. since i have adjustable tension rods now would that make a difference in trying to identify the problem through the alignment? thanks
Modified by Ceptos at 2:05 AM 9/18/2004

[Ceptos]

any chance it could be a worn inner tie rod on the left side? havnt replaced that, if it isnt the original it probably still has a lot of miles on it.

[skydragoness]

Actually i have an issue similar to yours, with my car (and it's developed quite recently) i've had the car aligned this past tuesday, dude at NTB said my steering wheel was crooked and my camber/toe was off a bit. Fixed that to within oe specs and i still feel this play in the wheel. When i go into turns the steering wheel inputs i make feel imprecise. I.E., i'll make a slight input then it turns more than i asked. It seems to take right turns differently than left turns and it tracks occasionally. Overall it just feels loosey goosey up front. I have new OE tension rods, and outer tie rod ends are from last summer. (moog ones from pdm). I miss the nice weighted, tight feedback i got from the steering. Now it's missing

my caster reads: 6.55 left, and 6.35 front.

so far i think it may be: inner tie rods need to be replaced and/or steering rack bushings. i'm so pissed. i want to autox before the season ends and then this phantom issue pops up

[Exar-Kun]

i hate to bring this up, but did you guys check your air pressure?

the ambient temperatures just dropped 20-30 degrees here...

also, check to see if you have mis-matched(tread design or tread depth) tires on the front.....

then we move on

post your alignment specs, how much did you lower your car with the SPL coilovers? you can do some serious damage to a cars feel and ability to track well by lowering it to much, you move the static roll center and change how the car reacts to bumps and such since you changed the way the strut/shock and arms all sit in relation to the wheel and tire assembly.

it seems to me you've got a tire issue, if you're alignment specs are fine...

SD: check your camber readings from left to right, my 300zx liked to do left turns because it had .3 more negative camber on the right side.... also, take a look at all your bushings under there, the inner LCA bushings is often overlooked....

something else for you guys to think about, do the problems feel like their rear-oriented or front? (IE does it want tot rack funny or 'drag' the rear? does the rear end feel like it settles into a line or something?)

if so, make sure you got a four wheel alignment, not a two wheel...

if you lived in GA you could bring it by and I'd take a look...hehe

-chet

[skydragoness]

i upped my pressure to 40psi all around. that helped with ride quality a bit, but the issue is still there.

My front camber is 0.90 left and 1.10 right. Before the alignment it was 0.90 left and 1.85 front. so they put it back into stock specs at least. Is that still too much of a difference?

i'm going to go back to ntb today and have them look at my front suspension. as far as 4 wheel alignments go, they adjusted my left rear toe a little.

[Ceptos]

i just had the tires put on a little bit ago, tho i have not checked the pressure myself (tho i did rotate the tires to see if it was a defective tire or wheel on that corner). i have jic flt-a2's, lowered it about 1.5" in the front and about 1.25 in the back. i replaced the LCA bushings as well as the ball joints.

the steering basically feels VERY sensitive and very easy to turn, like there is no resistance at all, when turning to the right. and harder to turn to the left. the steering centers itself quicker when coming out of a left hand turn, like it was pulling to the right the whole time. i have this odd feeling it is the roll bar, bent inwards on the right side, tho i havnt had time to unhook it yet. or maybe my steering rack got jarred somehow. this problem is driving me crazy, i cant enjoy all the money ive spent on this damn car.

[Ceptos]

unhooked the sway bar, not the problem. joy.

could it be a wheel bearing, or would i notice vibration?

[Exar-Kun]

could be, but you'd hear noise and get a pull/vibration from it usually...lift off the front end and shake the tire from side to side(push it bakc and forth at 3 and 6 o-clock) and have someone look under the car and see if anythings moving in there(tie rod end, etc) if it jsut feels "loose" its probably the hub bearing or a ball joint...

its a bit hard to diagnose a problem like that over the net :/

your rack may be messed up, or even the PS pump itself..did you check your PS fluid?-chet

[Ceptos]

yeah, i wish i lived close so i could bring it by, there is no real preformance shops around where i live. im actually starting to think it could be the bearings, it seems to get worse after i drive the car for a little bit, and i do notice a noise on the left side when im driving next to a cement divider, its been there for a while, and ive replaced the brakes. and when i unhooked the sway bar today i noticed some kind of friction noise when i turned the tire on the front left by hand. i also seem to notice what feels like looseness in the rear right, so ill be getting those looked at soon. when you say ball joint, do you mean the LCA? or is there another part i should have looked at as well? thanks for help, i need all i can get