Hey guys......I am having problems with my car pulling to the right ever since the koni's adjustables and my camber kit were installed. i have had the car aligned twice this week, thinkin that the first time they screwed up. i just picked it up earlier today and it's still pullin pretty hard to the right....and now im thinkin it's not the alignment.....anybody have any suggestions as to what it could be. the car has only 36K miles on it...so im don't think any of the suspension parts have worn out on me...but wut should i look for???

sachin

 

Alignment is the first thing to suspect when the car pulls to one side. If you are confident that alignment is correct, then consider:

1) ... a tire defect. Exchange front wheels on a temporary basis. If the car now pulls to the left you probably have a tire problem.

2) ... a dragging brake. If the right front caliper is sticking the car will pull to the right. Feel the wheels after a ten-minute ride. If one is noticeably warmer than the other, it may be a sticking caliper. Be careful, don't burn yourself, a dragging brake can become really hot!

 

Thanks Daniel...I'll check that out today. I also spoke to another friend of mine and he said that the frame of my car may need to be bent a bit to fix this problem. He said he had to get this done after he re-did his suspension and this fixed his alignment problem he was having. He said with me changing out my whole suspension, plus with my aftermarket rims, this may just be the problem....I just don't want to drop a bill on this without it being the problem for sure. any thoughts?

 

You didn't mention this, but did you check your tire pressure? I had a similar problem and it was due to one tire at 35psi and the other at 28psi (stupid tire dealer folks screwed up on me).

 

I would think you only get your frame readjusted is if its bent, not for suspesion.

I would check your tires, do you have uneven wear? Tire presuure off? Maybe the guys arent using the camber plates right? Is one side of the car sitting lower then other side?

 

I cannot imagine the "frame" needs to be bent unless the car had previously been in a wreck and the body shop failed to make a proper repair. Frame is in quotes because our 4Gen Maximas are of unibody construction and therefore don't have a true frame.

 

Hey Synki,
what would it mean if one side of my car sat lower than the other. i'll have to check that out. also, Daniel... I have been in a wreck and i believe the frame was bent slightly...but supposedly fixed. The car was never pulling right before the koni's were put in, so im guessing that the frame is still fine. i'll check all that u guys have told me and see if i find anything out. thanks for all your replies. hopefully this can get fixed b/c it's annoying the crap outta me. thanks fellas.

sachin

 

My first instinct would be to suspect the alignment shop. Did they not test drive the car? Have the tech ride with you, dont let them just shove it into factory specs and tell you its done.

 

What are the alignment specs?? The reason for the pull is that some shops are unable to adjust some aspects of the suspension. ie.. camber that is more than 2 deg neg and caster.

The shop should list all the specs, what are they?

 

The term for this is "ride height". A good front-end man will check tire inflation and measure ride height as the first steps in doing an aligment.

One low side or one low corner could be caused by a weak or broken coil spring.

 

Yep, Daniel rpetty much just sumed up my part. hehe. Since you were in a wreck, that could be a prob too. Are your Konis adjustable?

 

This information is from the '99 Maxima factory service manual.

FRONT WHEEL ALIGNMENT

Camber, in degrees.
-1.00 Minimum
-0.25 Nominal
+0.50 Maximum
+0.75 Maximum left and right difference

Caster, in degrees
+2.00 Minimum
+2.75 Nominal
+3.50 Maximum
+0.75 Maximum left and right difference

Kingpin inclination, in degrees
+13.50 Minimum
+14.25 Nominal
+15.00 Maximum

Total toe-in distance, in millimeters
+1 Minimum
+2 Nominal
+3 Maximum

Total toe-in angle (left plus right), in degrees
+0.09 Minimum
+0.18 Nominal
+0.27 Maximum


REAR WHEEL ALIGNMENT

Camber, in degrees
-1.75 Minimum
-1.00 Nominal
-0.25 Maximum

Total toe-in distance, in millimeters
-3 Minimum
+1 Nominal
+5 Maximum

Total toe-in angle (left plus right), in degrees
-0.27 Minimum
+0.09 Nominal
+0.43 Maximum

 

Where did u get your alignment done. Some places do no tsimply have the machinery to accomodate 18" or larger rims.

 

Nick...got my alignment done at Firestone. I've had it done twice this week at two different Firestones. And Synki, yes the koni's are adjustable. I am about to head outside right now and just do a visual inspection. Daniel, thanks for that info for that 99 max, I'm gonna try to find the numbers for my 98.....but im thinkin they shouldn't be much different, if at all, from the 99. im gonna take this to firestone and make sure the numbers fall in the range that they need to be falling in. thanks for all your help.

sachin

 

UPDATE: ok just did a visual inspection. the tire pressure seems to be equal in the front, i didn't have a gauge but with such low profile tires they seemed close enough to not be the cause of the hard right pull. i also checked the settings on the koni's and they are both on the most clock-wise position (most comfortable). now i guess i wait until i rotate the tires to see if the pull is still going right. i hate this.

sachin

 

Truth is, you need a gauge. Nobody's eyes are that accurate.

 

i guess ur right daniel. i guess it wouldn't hurt to double check. also, today before i drove it again, i increased the firmness by one full turn...and what im beginning to notice is random thumps when hitting certain bumps...and it's coming from the right front. now im wondering if this has anything to do with it. that's all folks....for tonight at least. thanks daniel for being patient and helpin me out...and thanks to all others for helpin me through this crap.

sachin

 

Here's my dilema after the Koni front install. With the hood up, I can push down on the front of the car and place a few fingers on the top strut lock nut. You can feel a "clunk" and you can hear a audible "cluck". This happens on both sides and developed shortly after the install. You can actually see it move very so slightly (less than a 1mm). It drives me nut. I even took off my struts and redid them and have had my car aligned twice. It still pulls ever so slightly to the right. I even replaced my strut bearings. Same problems. My only other option is top isolater.


Dave

 

i was thinking today while driving to school and hearing these thumps when hitting certain types of bumps in the front right area....could my front right spring be a problem by any chance?? do u think it could be that it's lost its "elasticity". i've had them for about 25K miles, and wouldn't think this could be a problem....but im not sure if this would even be a cause of my car pulling to the right. any thoughts on my possible solution?

 

Let me know what you find out because you've got the same exact problem I've got. It only started after adding the Koni's.

Dave