weird steering and wears inside of tires

[BronkStang]

ever since i drove into the city (NYC) 2 weeks ago my steering got wierd. ill be driving down the road and the truck will steer itself when i go over bumps or pull to the left or right. all the steering links are new trw (centerlink, tie rods, idler arm) and i just replaced the tension rod bushings. truck just hit 86k. i got it at 75k and the steering was fine then i just replaced the steering to get it tight.

so i ws thinking i busted a balljoint but i cant get any play out of them, even with a big crowbar. some of the balljoints dustboots are broken tho. checked the alignment toe is at 1/8 in. only other thing i can think of is the wheel bearings, maybe theres a slight amount of play in them and that lets the brake pad grab the rotor and pull the truck? i dont know, tired of guessing, i cant find any play in the front suspension. also the inside of my azenis noticeably wore down in the past 2 weeks, and theyre fairly soft rubber...

[seang]

I wonder if there is something wrong with the tension rods or their bushings. They are also called compression rods or radius rods.

If there is preload on the wheel bearings, then they aren't going to have play. If they were bad, you would hear it.

Since you brought up brakes, the caliper slides (guides) have to be inspected, cleaned and greased once in a while because they can freeze up; and when that happens, the inside pad pushes more outwards on the rotor instead of pinching it.

[RT22]

if the inside of tires are wearing out on both the toe is OUT meaning the tires are not aligned properly, those city pot holes can do that. have alignment checked. Look at this like you are on top of car and the top is the front of the car \ / that is the tires when toed out the inside of tire is going to wear out faster other thing that cause it is negative camber, have alignment checked.

[Rev_D21]

Jack the front end up and shake the tires. Check for loose ball joints and/or steering linkage. NYC roads suck, you could have some damage down there.

[PEZi]

if the inside of tires are wearing out on both the toe is OUT meaning the tires are not aligned properly, those city pot holes can do that. have alignment checked. Look at this like you are on top of car and the top is the front of the car \ /

^ that

when you replaced those parts... it may have been knocked out of alignment... ALWAYS re align after suspension work

this also explains the weird pulling

[BronkStang]

after checking the alignment, pulling it in again and finding the measurements OFF, i knew something was up. so i jacked it up gave it the shake and got some play out of the pass side (1/8) and a 1/4 out of the drivers side UGHHHH its the balljoints, its the lowers but im doing all four surprisingly the balljoints were really screwing with the toe, not so much with the camber. on the other hand...

i cant wait to regain handling! and I finally have an excuse to muscle in those poly bushings! now, someone told me that i have to replace the entire lower control arm bc the joints aren't replaceable (i know the uppers are) is this true?

reverend d: prob doing the brake upgrade, whats ur guys price on all the brake lines?

[95tequesta]

I know this is an old thread, but I just had the same question regarding the lower balljoints ball joints on my 97 nissan hardbody RWD 2WD. You do not have to replace the whole control arm. You do have to pry the boot off, I used a screw driver and hammer. Or other suitable tool. Once you get the boot off their is a snap ring. Pry that off and you can hit the ball joint out.