car steering all over the place

[bowlofturtle]

My maxima is scary to drive.

i cant believe my brother drove this and didnt say anything to me.

So everytime i go over a bump on the highway, pending how big the bump is i feel the whole car get airbourne and when it lands the whole car kinda shifts to the right. I might be exaggering a bit here but that is the best phrase i can come up with. Also when i take hard turns and hit some imperfections in the road, i feel the whole car shift to the right when i hit that imperfection.

WTH could be the problems... I have the front struts assembly coming in shortly (bad strut bearing and mount making noises). I just did the front RIGHT control arm. Its one those units that has the ball joint as one unit. I thought that would of fixed it but it didn't.

There is some slop in the steering wheel, i think i should replace the TRE. But my main thoughts are i think the shocks are bad and causing this. Could 4 bad shocks cause this problem or should i focus more on the front steering/suspension parts and tires.

 

[demarpaint]

Sounds like you have a few issues, all of which should be addressed. Did you check the entire front end for slop and play? I'd be real concerned with all the front end parts, seems from what you've said more than one part is bad.

 

[oppirs]

Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
i think i should replace the TRE. But my main thoughts are i think the shocks are bad


If TRE is tie-rods? Yes start w/those. 12+ years on our roads are a killer, most suspension needs replacement if not rusted out!

 

[pcoxe]

A slight amount of wear/play in several components can add up to a lot of play overall.

 

[TallPaul]

My wife's Mountaineer was a bit squirrely. Turned out to be a rear wheel bearing that was about to fall apart.

Once got a '64 Dodge Dart (some time ago of course) that wandered really badly. The steering box was loose and getting ready to fall off the frame.

Get it on a hoist and inspect the undercarriage.

 

[Chris142]

I'm guessing loose rack mounts

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: pcoxe
A slight amount of wear/play in several components can add up to a lot of play overall.


+1

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
I'm guessing loose rack mounts


I'm guessing I agree with Chris142

Its amazing how the rack moving around just a little can create such odd sensations.

 

[mechtech2]

We can only guess. But like mentioned, there are probably a number of faults.
Get it looked at professionally.

 

[bowlofturtle]

Originally Posted By: oppirs
Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
i think i should replace the TRE. But my main thoughts are i think the shocks are bad


If TRE is tie-rods? Yes start w/those. 12+ years on our roads are a killer, most suspension needs replacement if not rusted out!


Yes, TRE = tie rod ends.

I've done the RIGHT wheel bearing, right control arm w/ balljoint, front sway bar endlink and bushing. I did those a couple months ago when i was hunting for a noise

Both front strut assembly is on order, just made an order for tie rods and LEFT control arm.

I just did the bounce test for the rears and i'm pretty sure it failed as it was more then a second to stop.

I hate taking a car this old to a shop because i know its going to be a LONG list of parts, some that could solve it and some wont but they need to cover all bases and make sure.

Originally Posted By: Chris142
I'm guessing loose rack mounts


I'm guess this is just a simple find the 4 bolts and check if they are tighten.

 

[eljefino]

I test drove a car where one of the two castings for the rack mounts just sheared off and was hanging there. Yeah it didn't feel right!

Your maxima doesn't have a parallelogram setup, but when I worked in a tire store I was shocked by how awful idler arms were allowed to get, typically on 5-year old work trucks.

Don't overlook the rear axle either. With the car parked, put a tire wrench on a lugnut on all four corners and try and loosen/tighten. If the tire rolls back and forth at all you have a bushing/ ball joint problem. This is a direction of looseness one often doesn't see shaking it up in the air.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle

Originally Posted By: Chris142
I'm guessing loose rack mounts


I'm guess this is just a simple find the 4 bolts and check if they are tighten.



Depends on where the looseness is. We used to have a Chrysler LH series car (first generation) and the bushings between the rack and the clamps that held it to the chassis would get sloppy, letting the rack move back and forth. Only fix: new bushings. My fix: aftermarket polyurethane bushings

 

[bowlofturtle]

^thanks.

I'm trying now to replace the parts that i can and know SHOULD be replaced with such a older car with so many miles on it. That way the shop shouldn't add that to the list of things wrong and if i dont get it fixed it could be the problem.


I've been meaning to do cheap maintenance on it but since i dont daily drive that, it wasn't top of my list. After the front struts, tie rods and left control arm gets done thats when i'll take it in to get it checked out if the problem is still there.

Does my problem sound completely made up, where the car shifts to the right over a bump?

 

[morris]

TOE-IN?

 

[Rand]

is this when you are in a turn? if so its probably struts/shocks

if you hit a bump going straight and your car shifts right...

well you got some serious issues there.

 

[BearZDefect]

Originally Posted By: bowlofturtle
I just did the bounce test for the rears and i'm pretty sure it failed as it was more then a second to stop.

Sounds like the rear damping is completely dead. You probably have other issues, but having fully functional rear struts made a significant different in the feel of my 1997 i30 on the highway.

In other words, when I replaced my half-worn rear struts (they weren't completely dead, and replaced nothing else at the same time) the highway feel improved significantly.

 

[bowlofturtle]

its mainly felt on highway speeds and while turning say 45+. I think dampening related because without the bumps and inperfections in the road, it doesn't shift to the right. Just sucks because chicago has so many bumps and potholes.

 

[eljefino]

Could be a broken spring too. If one corner is softer than the others when you hit a bump it'll change suspension geometry particularly camber for the worse and then one corner of your car is trying to pull in a different direction for as long as that corner is compressed.

 

[TallPaul]

Originally Posted By: Rand
is this when you are in a turn? if so its probably struts/shocks
Ya know, my Ranger does exactly that, oh the highway in a turn it will hit a bump and sort of come down slightly turned. I just thought it was because the vehicle is so light weight compared to my old F150, but there is also an odd noise on bumps going slowly, bet they are related.

 

[bowlofturtle]

Since the weather all of a sudden wants to be 90+ i'm not doing too much work.

I did jack up the car the other night to check out the bushings for the rack. The LEFT side doesn't look the best but is still there. The right side is MINT!

I did a quick look at the springs and none are broken.

I wanted to do the tie rods last night because it was quick work, but i couldn't figure out which way was LOOSEN... LOL help here. I was trying the both ways and they didn't budge.

So if i'm at the pass wheel am i suppose to be turning clockwise or counter... LOL