Play in steering.

[ZD44TT]

Hi All,

 

Just wanted to ask you all out there if your Z has initial steering play when you steer the car?

 

I've driven two Z's now, one 240 and one 260 and I find that there seems to be fare bit of play in the steering most noticeable when going straight obviously.

 

I'm not sure if this is how the steering rack was designed or an inherent design fault in the alignment of a stock Z or something else (may not be related).

 

Reason I ask is cause this play definately takes out a drivers confidence in taking a corner. Maybe a small issue that everyone lives with but might be easily resolved.

 

 

 

not my car :lol:

[JP240z]

Yeah,

Ive got a heap of play in my steering on my 240.

I've just put it down to design of the rack.

[nat0_240_chevZ]

look its usually not the rack.

 

however id say check all other item like outer tie rod ends, inner tie rod joints (in behind the rubber boots), rack bushes, steering coupler bush, then should you look at the rack itself ill explain shortly.

 

i find the rack bushes, steering coupler & inner tie rods pronounce this problem the most. get a mate to swing yor wheel left & right very harshly while you look at the rack mount bushes and coupler, whilst car is parked and you will see why. Also other bushes should be checked and replaced before you go any furthar as these can also give a wandering feeling.

 

If you find there is still an inherant idle/play area of the wheel, you can adjust the lash also known as 'play' of the rack & pinion i wont go into detail but is done at the rack where steering shaft goes into the main body. you will see a large nut with a large flat head screw type centre to it, loosen off the lock nut and adjust the centre flat head whilst you check the feel of the wheel, your looking for a 'small amount of play not none'.

this should really only be done with a fresh packing of grease through the rack which is not easy either.

 

just incase you were interested, not a 'how to guide' but. also the zeds i have noticed develop a 'flat' spot on the rack where when you turn the wheels manualy when front is off the ground you will find a small notchy type spot near to straight ahead, not sure why but have some thought why, may be a wheel aligning thing ie centre!!

 

nato

[C.A.R.]

Cheers for the tip Nato - I might go check mine now...

[ZD44TT]

I'm so glad I asked.

 

I'm sure this info will help a few on here.

 

thanks again.

[JP240z]

me for one!

thanks nato

[620Z]

One other major problem might be if the car is lowered. Zeds are natorious for Bump Steer when they are lowered. The problem will be driving along and the cars front wheels simply wonder or the steering wheel almost jumbs out of your hands and requires correction. Very dangerous but fixable at a price of course. Mine was fixed and the car has never driven so well. Steering is now like a normal car and certainly something I should have done years ago had someone told me what the problem was.

[ZD44TT]

One other major problem might be if the car is lowered. Zeds are natorious for Bump Steer when they are lowered. The problem will be driving along and the cars front wheels simply wonder or the steering wheel almost jumbs out of your hands and requires correction. Very dangerous but fixable at a price of course. Mine was fixed and the car has never driven so well. Steering is now like a normal car and certainly something I should have done years ago had someone told me what the problem was.

 

mind tell us what the 'fix' was?

 

I"ll be looking to attend to this on my Z. Not that it's a big issue but I defly don't want to push things under the carpet with this fantastic car.

[620Z]

The fix was to align both the steering arm and the front cross member on the same angle. Basically when you lower the car the geometry of the two different arms change hence when you go over a bump the actual front steering wheel changes direction ever so slightly. This in turn make the car wonder all over the road unless there are no pumps of course. Mind you even braking is a problem because the front squats down but the front and wants to wonder at the some time. It's quite dangerous but a classic problem that many people seem to live with. You can see photo's at my Gallery on this site or if you are coming along to the Zcar meeting I am sure we will talk about it.

[nat0_240_chevZ]

for a COMPREHENSIVE discussion about this refer to hybridz.org.

 

its is basically as craig said, geometry of the control asrm in respect to the steering arm changes and as the tyres/wheels 'bump' the steering angle changes fro that wheel or both (if a front end or porpoising)turn outward causing a wandering feeling.

 

other ways are bump steer spacers which dont correct the problem only alleviate it or give stock values of bump steer which is ok to deal with.

 

other mod is to relocate the inner bolt of the front LCA (lower control arm)

up about 20-30mm depending on what the car is used for and the amount the car has been lowered.

 

REMEBER bump steer is built into most cars from their design @ small to moderate amounts, lowering affects this amount as seen on the skylines with hicas aswell as the Z's to name a couple.

 

as i said earlier have a look at hybridz as they have covered this topic very well.

 

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=118302&highlight=bump+steer

 

this is one of many have a read

 

nato

[RB30X]

Hi guys. Here's a blast from the past.

 

I'm out at a track day today but yesterday I was giving it some with the formula r's on the front (I usually run them on the rear) and now it seems I have cracked my steering rack bushes. I noticed a bit of play when driving here today so I had a look and you can see the rack moving when turning the wheels indicating the bushes are shot. The seems to be stoppers on the rack so it can't move too far so I hope nothing else breaks today. Question is, where do you get replacements from? My Old ones are a blue colour.

[nizm0zed]

Nolathane do pretty red ones.

any auto parts store should be able to order them in.

[PZG302]

Superpro do a set of rack bushes, did mine last year.

 

Any decent suspension shop will have them, especially if they are a fulcrum dealer in Qld. Only about $35 from a very poor memory.

 

Part number is SPF0033K.

[RB30X]

Thanks a lot guys. I had no luck with Fulcrum today. They said they had to machine up the last set.

I'll ring some places on Monday.

[C.A.R.]

Have you checked the lose nut behind the wheel, Tim?

[RB30X]

I thought loose nuts were only found behind the wheels of very early zeds.

[PeterAllen]

Tim - Leave yourself plenty of time to fit new rack bushes. It appears there are several casting profiles of the rack making it sometimes difficult to match the bushes to the rack profile. You may find it necessary to sculpture the outer edges of the bore profile of the new bushes (sharp knife or hot wire) to suit your rack.

 

I THINK (always dangerous) the bushes supplied now are all 260Z bushes but as many 240Z were simply fitted with the different profile 260Z racks if a new one was needed you could be okay.

 

The photos might illustrate what I mean. The red bushes were on the car when I got it; someone was merely too lazy to reshape the bore to fit the rack. The new black bush was the same profile as the red one and needed to be reshaped. The cylindrical bore bush should be okay. Hope yours mate up well but just letting you know what may be ahead.

[RB30X]

Thanks Peter, I'll pull it out soon and compare photos. Those two ridges with the yellow arrows is what kept the rack in the saddles on mine today

[RB30X]

As promised, here is a photo of my bushes compared to the new ones.

 

 

[PZG302]

Yep, that would be causing a little bit of rack movement 

 

Mine were nowhere near that bad and I had about 1/2" of movement in the rack. Your car must have been near undriveable.