Stiff Steering

[overb0ost]

Alright well this might be a little long so just warning you ahead of time. I drive a 1995 240sx LE 5spd. Well a month ago i got into a minor accident, understeered into a curb becuase i hit some ice. So i had to replace the lower control arm, crossmember, and tie rods. After replacing these parts i got an alignment and noticed the steering got A LOT more stiffer than usual and the wheel wouldnt return fully after completing a turn unless i manually turned it back. So after reading a lot of tech on various forums such as son240 and zilvia i thought it might be the steering rack. 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? even when driving the car right after the hit the steering was still nice and loose. could it be possible that my power steering got damaged when i put my new crossmember in? any insight would be greatly appreciated. thanks
Modified by overb0ost at 7:49 PM 1/8/2006

[overb0ost]

anyone?

[onosqv]

Is your alignment to spec? What is the caster? Maybe you don't have enough positive caster (i.e. at least 5 degrees). I'm not sure what the problem is, so I'm just throwing out suggestions.

[overb0ost]

my caster is 7.3 and 6.8if my caster differs would that make my steering more difficult?

[Red coupe]

there is usually a slight difference in caster to help a car track straight down a crowned road(roads aren't flat they slow down to the sides to help drainage if you hadn't noticed). More caster is often added to the right wheel to get it to slightly pull left, canceling out the side slope of the road.Caster is set by the location of the upper strut mount. and the location of control arm's ball joint. your caster seems to be in spec though and unless you hit hard enough to deform the strut tower or bend the t/c rod it shouldn't have changed....

If your alignment was fine..

[overb0ost]

ya i did hit something on the passenger side (curb) and i replaced the tie rods, lca, crossmember. when i got the car back i didn't notice that it was stiff maybe because it wasnt stiff or maybe because i was just excited i got my car back on the road. im not sure if the caster was always like that but it is off by 0.5 degrees. i noticed this stiff steering and the wheel not returning when 2 things happend.

1) i brought it to an alignment shop right after i got my car fixed and then brought it back to the same place because they did a crappy job and my wheel wasn't straight. (could they have adjusted something too tight?) i also got anotehr alignment after my rack was installed and everything is in spec pretty much.

2) i put on my 15" steels with nokian winters

these 2 events were very close together so i cant tell which one affected my steering. is it possible that the 15" steels and the nokian winter tires could have made the steering feel stiffer?

i also forgot to mention that my car is lowered and that the passenger side lower control arm has the stock ball joint (from a wrecker that could have been sitting on the shelf for a bit) while the driver side has the aftermarket grease fitting ball joint. since i have a stock ball joint on one side and my car is lowered will that make a difference in steering?

and i also noticed that the bracket that holds the tc rod is slightly bent out...not very noticable but could this have altered my caster and maybe have an effect on the steering?

it is this piece right here:

Modified by overb0ost at 11:11 AM 1/10/2006
Modified by overb0ost at 11:12 AM 1/10/2006

[overb0ost]

anyone?

[Red coupe]

I dont think that the bracket being a little bent outwards would do it...The bolt is torqued to something like 70 ft/lb so I think that would pull it to the tension rod anways....although if both were bent out to the side moving the forward end of the tension rod sideways I guess it could change caster....

You said that the stiffness in the steering seems to have gone way? is there still a problem with it not centering correctly?

[overb0ost]

the stiffness only got better because i put lighter rims on. it is still there and my buddies with s14s that drove the same like mine says it is siginficantly stiffer. its weird tho, everytime i jack the car up it seems to be looser..than after a while it changes..whats up with that? i was also thinking could it be the pre-load setting? or a steering U-joint, or the steering knuckle? the wheel returns normal now. but when it returns it returns so fast that if i put my hand on it i would get a leather burn. very weird. maybe binding struts or strut mount? i have no idea...lol
Modified by overb0ost at 7:07 PM 1/16/2006

[Red coupe]

yeah could be a binding strut mount maybe...you could jack up the car and remove the tie rod from the steering knuckle, the smoothly and gently turn the wheel by hand to see if the strut mounts are bad. it works better if you can get the car on one of those plates with the swiveling top so you can do it with all the bushings loaded but you may be able to feel something even with it unloaded...perhaps supporting the car by the lower control arm with a jack or jackstand would work...

[overb0ost]

ya i tried that and it didn't seem like a binding strut. i also just remembered that one side is fully stock tie rod and tie rod ends and one side is stock outer tie rod with ball joint and one aftermarket inner tie rod (the one that threads into the steering rack) and its those cheap aftermarket ones from a place called part source. would that make a difference?
Modified by overb0ost at 8:38 PM 1/17/2006