steering issue
03-02-2013 | 06:41 PM
#1
steering issue
I have searched all over for any info. on this but only at best find a mere mention of it but then it gets kicked to the curb for some other idea.
My steering has been shaking over bumps since i bought my car and i'm sure quite a bit before then as well. It seems to shake more from 80mph but it jumps up and down over any pavement or concrete that isn't table top smooth.
I have replaced everything, and I mean everything except the axles, and figured that must be what is wrong. I talked to the guy over at Rocky Mountain Driveline to have him check stock for my axles needs and he was helping me to make sure that is indeed the axles that are the problem.
He mentioned that the only other thing he has heard of being a problem is that the steering shaft can get loose or worn joints between the main shaft and the rack, so I checked by cutting open that black plastic cover to get access and tried to move it.
The shaft moves a lot, like 3/8 to a 1/2 inch of play from one side to the other, I called him back and he said it should only be about 1/8th or so.
It appears that the connection with the rubber spacer and bolts...is loose.
The Nissan parts website steering parts diagram does not list that bushing separately, just the steering shaft...which it is attached too.
My question is...can the bolts just be tightened up to firm it back up, or does the whole shaft have to be replaced?
If anyone has had this bushing assembly be an issue or has any info. then please give me a hand with this.
By the way here is what is new on the front...steering rack and mounts, tie rod ends, ball joints, lower control arms, struts, springs, wheel bearings, wheels, tires, rotors, calipers, end links and bushings, centering rings, motor mounts.
My steering has been shaking over bumps since i bought my car and i'm sure quite a bit before then as well. It seems to shake more from 80mph but it jumps up and down over any pavement or concrete that isn't table top smooth.
I have replaced everything, and I mean everything except the axles, and figured that must be what is wrong. I talked to the guy over at Rocky Mountain Driveline to have him check stock for my axles needs and he was helping me to make sure that is indeed the axles that are the problem.
He mentioned that the only other thing he has heard of being a problem is that the steering shaft can get loose or worn joints between the main shaft and the rack, so I checked by cutting open that black plastic cover to get access and tried to move it.
The shaft moves a lot, like 3/8 to a 1/2 inch of play from one side to the other, I called him back and he said it should only be about 1/8th or so.
It appears that the connection with the rubber spacer and bolts...is loose.
The Nissan parts website steering parts diagram does not list that bushing separately, just the steering shaft...which it is attached too.
My question is...can the bolts just be tightened up to firm it back up, or does the whole shaft have to be replaced?
If anyone has had this bushing assembly be an issue or has any info. then please give me a hand with this.
By the way here is what is new on the front...steering rack and mounts, tie rod ends, ball joints, lower control arms, struts, springs, wheel bearings, wheels, tires, rotors, calipers, end links and bushings, centering rings, motor mounts.
03-02-2013 | 08:31 PM
#2
Read this thread. It might be the coupling that you are referring to, I'm not really sure.
http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...ering-mod.html
http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...ering-mod.html
03-03-2013 | 05:29 AM
#3
Thanks for the link.
That is definitely the coupling I'm talking about, the only concern I'd have with mounting something so solid is the fact that any dampening I currently get via the rubber bushing would now be gone.
This is my daily driver that I often drive 250 miles at a shot on a weekend and it is driven on some poorly laid concrete that makes the steering jump around like crazy as it is, with a solid mount I'd have to imagine it would be as bad or perhaps more so.
I am interested in this for track use later though. For now I'm going to see if I can't tighten up some of the bolts, maybe after all these years they have worked their way loose...if so, some loctite will be in place to keep that from happening again.
It doesn't seem that the rubber piece itself is replaceable since Nissan doesn't have a part number for it.
That is definitely the coupling I'm talking about, the only concern I'd have with mounting something so solid is the fact that any dampening I currently get via the rubber bushing would now be gone.
This is my daily driver that I often drive 250 miles at a shot on a weekend and it is driven on some poorly laid concrete that makes the steering jump around like crazy as it is, with a solid mount I'd have to imagine it would be as bad or perhaps more so.
I am interested in this for track use later though. For now I'm going to see if I can't tighten up some of the bolts, maybe after all these years they have worked their way loose...if so, some loctite will be in place to keep that from happening again.
It doesn't seem that the rubber piece itself is replaceable since Nissan doesn't have a part number for it.
03-05-2013 | 08:20 PM
#5
After rechecking all the nuts, everything was...and is, tight. This is one sloppy connection. It obviously is designed to dampen vibration but I can't say it does a great job of it.
I left the cover off the steering shaft and while I drove I placed my foot (without shoe) up on the shaft to feel how bad it vibrated from bumps (it was 3:30 am, i was on the freeway and I was the only one around)...it worked good but was disappointing in the fact that what was amplified into the steering wheel didn't really feel like much on the lower shaft, it seemed to be worse the farther up it went.
If something is wrong, i don't know what it is at the moment.
Is their any kind of rubber bushing or insulator at the top mounts, closer to the wheel??
I left the cover off the steering shaft and while I drove I placed my foot (without shoe) up on the shaft to feel how bad it vibrated from bumps (it was 3:30 am, i was on the freeway and I was the only one around)...it worked good but was disappointing in the fact that what was amplified into the steering wheel didn't really feel like much on the lower shaft, it seemed to be worse the farther up it went.
If something is wrong, i don't know what it is at the moment.
Is their any kind of rubber bushing or insulator at the top mounts, closer to the wheel??
Last edited by back2basics; 03-05-2013 at 08:26 PM.
03-05-2013 | 08:34 PM
#6
There has to be a bearing or bushing to hold the shaft in the column, but I've never had to mess with it.
Also, here is another link that could be remotely related:
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...ing-wheel.html
Also, here is another link that could be remotely related:
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...ing-wheel.html
03-05-2013 | 08:41 PM
#7
Last summer I put a tougher suspension on my car, H&Rs and KYB-GR2s.....I have started to notice a small rattle in my steering that I have never experienced before. It happens only when hitting unexpectedly hard bumps, but still, it happens. Maybe these tougher suspensions slowly with time start to take their toll on all the other connected hardware. And yeah, I drive enthusiastically
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