Front End Feels Loose/Tramlining/Pulls left and right
#1
Front End Feels Loose/Tramlining/Pulls left and right
Over the past couple weeks I've noticed that my car's front end is feeling "loose". After going over bumps or after going on a circle exit/entrance ramp with banking the car tends to pull to a direction (enough to change lanes) if I were to let go of the steering wheel. The car doesn't always pull to the same direction. If I am on a road with banking when the road evens out the car wants to pull to the side it was just "tilting". I can be driving with the car wanting to pull left, hit a bump, and then the car will pull dramatically to the right (the bump steer is wicked).
When the steering wheel is at center position the car drives straight. I've recently rotated my tires and have even tread wear (running the stock SL 17's for winter and use the stock SE 18's for summer). I also took my car to a local mechanic and he couldn't find anything wrong with the suspension (nothing was loose or broken) but he did suggest replacing the rotors. I replaced the fronts and haven't had good enough weather recently to replace the rears. While replacing the front rotors I replaced the front struts with Gabriel Ultra's and the "pull" was reduced (money isn't exactly rolling in at the moment) and I purchased the rears as well just waiting on the weather to warm up.
Some times it feels as if the right tire is wanting to pull right and the left is wanting to pull left and I can feel the car fighting to go straight. Didn't know if anyone else had similar experiences. I would like to get this figured out since I tote around my 3 year old 40 miles a day in the Maxima.
Any help is appreciated, I've looked at the bushings up front and don't see any cracking/breaking. When I put the car on stands and give the wheels a tug they don't appear to have any excess sway to them. The sway bar has very minimal movement and all suspension components are tight.
Hoping to get this fixed on my own without getting the Stealership involved.
Thank you - Adam
When the steering wheel is at center position the car drives straight. I've recently rotated my tires and have even tread wear (running the stock SL 17's for winter and use the stock SE 18's for summer). I also took my car to a local mechanic and he couldn't find anything wrong with the suspension (nothing was loose or broken) but he did suggest replacing the rotors. I replaced the fronts and haven't had good enough weather recently to replace the rears. While replacing the front rotors I replaced the front struts with Gabriel Ultra's and the "pull" was reduced (money isn't exactly rolling in at the moment) and I purchased the rears as well just waiting on the weather to warm up.
Some times it feels as if the right tire is wanting to pull right and the left is wanting to pull left and I can feel the car fighting to go straight. Didn't know if anyone else had similar experiences. I would like to get this figured out since I tote around my 3 year old 40 miles a day in the Maxima.
Any help is appreciated, I've looked at the bushings up front and don't see any cracking/breaking. When I put the car on stands and give the wheels a tug they don't appear to have any excess sway to them. The sway bar has very minimal movement and all suspension components are tight.
Hoping to get this fixed on my own without getting the Stealership involved.
Thank you - Adam
#2
My Max has got a date with the Stealership this coming Saturday. From my research it could be anything from tie rod end links, hubs, bad tires, to steering rack bushings so I've decided to pay the guys with time to pin point my problem. I'll post my results in hopes to help anyone else suffering from similar issues.
Last edited by SESixSpeed; 02-20-2013 at 08:49 AM.
#4
After visiting the dealership, I had them perform an alignment, balance and rotate my tires, and their additional suggestions were to get a new set of tires, and I have some minimal play in the passenger front tie rod end. Car drives better but I'll be purchasing a quality tire here shortly.
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