260Rs Front Pulling Heavily To Left

[THRLLR]

So Like an idiot im not sure which are the bushes. Is it the ones ive circled in red or yellow? i think this might be a potential cause of my issues

[zoomzoom]

The yellow and red circles right next to each other are 1 bush. Its a teardrop shaped wrap-around bush, while the passenger side (the other yellow circle) is just circular.

Its a possible problem, but I would expect the steering to be loose and wandering, if its consistently pulling to one side, it probably wont fix the problem. But if there is play in the steering rack, they should be changed anyhow.

[260tech]

If you're an idiot Alan then there's at least two of us on here. I don't get anything from that posted pic neither. If it was me I would be heading down to the R33 GTR suspension boys in your State with my alignment sheet & wallet. Saves finding out what the problem really is when it decides to go terminal. (All 260 owners are cashed-up, right?)

My 2c

GW

No offense to picture poster intended.

Edited February 28, 2013 by 260tech

[THRLLR]

If you're an idiot Alan then there's at least two of us on here. I don't get anything from that posted pic neither. If it was me I would be heading down to the R33 GTR suspension boys in your State with my alignment sheet & wallet. Saves finding out what the problem really is when it decides to go terminal. (All 260 owners are cashed-up, right?)

My 2c

GW

No offense to picture poster intended.

Hahahahaha yes my pockets are so deep when i reach in i end up in my socks. And just like my wallet empty and missing LOL I am debating whether i should purchase some adjustable caster arms and see if that rectifies the problem or purchase some caster arms/bushes for caster arms and see if that fixes the issue.

Got under the car with that picture in hand and once you are looking at what you have and the picture it then made sense (after removing half of melbourne from my eyes). Especially with the wonderful descriptive help above by zoomzoom.

I have checked ball joints, tie rods, steering rack, caster arms, lower control arms effing everything, and the ONLY thing that moves is the caster arm at the bush end. It seems that the bush is there to allow tiny movements as the car goes over bumps and other wonderful shit. The bushes dont looked cracked but could the cradle have moved?

[zoomzoom]

It doesnt take much of a crack to make a problem. They are filled with a viscous fluid, which then leaks out and makes a mess.

Ive replaced mine with the large superpro bush, however when I got an alignment done, the caster was still slightly out. If you choose to do it yourself, you will need an hydraulic press, and a selection of large metal tubing or very large sockets in order to press the inner metal sleeve out of the arm.

It would be less effort if you purchased adjustable arms with a bush already in them, and then you can be sure the alignment can be done correctly.

[chef_stagea]

Yes measure ur hicas dead straight, fully left And fully right. And yes the steering rack bushes make a big difference.

Something that has helped me b4...

On a quiet wide road... Break fairly hard with ur hands barely on the wheel. This pressures all the front end joints, bushes etc etc and should magnify any issues. There fore pulling to the side.

Did you take ur steering wheel off? Ha!

[chef_stagea]

Check ur atessa fluid level and qaulity

[C34S2STAG]

What's the part number for the rack bushes? (Superpro)

Oil leaks will not help your bushes as well. Makes them swell up and be sloppy

[chef_stagea]

Id guess ud be more smarter, but wheels all same specs? And inflated correctly!

[coparts41]

Have you checked the brake calipers,wheel bearings etc

[THRLLR]

Yes measure ur hicas dead straight, fully left And fully right. And yes the steering rack bushes make a big difference.

Something that has helped me b4...

On a quiet wide road... Break fairly hard with ur hands barely on the wheel. This pressures all the front end joints, bushes etc etc and should magnify any issues. There fore pulling to the side.

Did you take ur steering wheel off? Ha!

Oddly enough yes i took the steering wheel off and replaced with with the Momo woodgrain one from the premium editions. I made sure that everything was dead straight before i took it off and put it back on. Why do you ask?? It was simply taking the bolt off and then putting it back on and plugging in Airbag clip. Unless i missed something???

Check ur atessa fluid level and qaulity

Havent checked this yet but i will tonight, i know quality is good but level not sure yet (but im quietly confident this is not the issue)

What's the part number for the rack bushes? (Superpro)

Oil leaks will not help your bushes as well. Makes them swell up and be sloppy

I tried installing a oil filter relocation plate but unfortunately the f**kn rubber seal against the block was slightly twisted and pissed out 1.5L of oil. Cleaned everything up but im wondering if i should just spray the crap out of my engine bay and steering rack and suspension bits with degreaser to help.

Id guess ud be more smarter, but wheels all same specs? And inflated correctly!

Hahahaha yes im a bit smarter than that but good question, i had 19" chrome wheels on it with same subber and same pressure all around all wheels being identical and the directional tires pointing in the correct direction, then i took them off after i picked up a set of stock 260rs bbs 17" and put them on, all same pressure and made sure the the rims labelled Rear were on the back (durr! lol) and the front on the front. Nice of Autech & bbs to make it easy LOL

Have you checked the brake calipers,wheel bearings etc

I also thought maybe it was my LHS caliper sticking so i took the car out for a nice spritely drive with hard braking into corners and on straights on a 30deg day. Then got out my infrared thermometer gun and measured the discs and found the LHS was actually 8deg cooler no matter where i measured than the RHS. I compared these temps to my brothers s14 and his brake temps were 10-15deg hotter than mine so i guess no sticking either.

Im about the purchase some adjustable caster arms as i have no other idea as to what to replace. There is no oily mess or anything from the caster bushes but they are old and im sure the japanese snow and weather havent been kind to them while this was over there. The same goes for all the other bushes and ball joints. I have sweet f'all idea wtf is really wrong.

[Mr_RS4]

I have checked ball joints, tie rods, steering rack, caster arms, lower control arms effing everything, and the ONLY thing that moves is the caster arm at the bush end. It seems that the bush is there to allow tiny movements as the car goes over bumps and other wonderful shit. The bushes dont looked cracked but could the cradle have moved?

If you can move the castor rod at the bush end then its probably stuffed. Put it this way if you can move it with a pry bar or something imagine what 1800 odd kilos of car can do to it. Personally I've used both pillow ball adjustable arms and oem's with whiteline offset bushes. Adjustable arms give you more +ve castor and allow a more accurate setting of the castor.They also made more of an improvement to the handling (especially turn in and feel). But they will wear out and make noise. I'm going back to my oem ones now. Mainly because I can't be stuffed replacing pillow ball ones anymore and I'm making everything legal. Police and QLD transport are looking for anything these days. Ideally if you've got $500 odd to spend just on castor rods then Ikeya Formula make adjustable ones that are bushed.

[THRLLR]

If you can move the castor rod at the bush end then its probably stuffed. Put it this way if you can move it with a pry bar or something imagine what 1800 odd kilos of car can do to it. Personally I've used both pillow ball adjustable arms and oem's with whiteline offset bushes. Adjustable arms give you more +ve castor and allow a more accurate setting of the castor.They also made more of an improvement to the handling (especially turn in and feel). But they will wear out and make noise. I'm going back to my oem ones now. Mainly because I can't be stuffed replacing pillow ball ones anymore and I'm making everything legal. Police and QLD transport are looking for anything these days. Ideally if you've got $500 odd to spend just on castor rods then Ikeya Formula make adjustable ones that are bushed.

Hmmmmm funny thing is the movement i spoke about above was done with my hand and tugging on it hard. So im assuming that they are well and truly buggered. I did notice something strange this weekend, when i drove straight and then hit the breaks firmly (not to activate the ABS) the car pulled to the left but not as severely as it does when its moving forward. Today i drove it and when i went over train lines and let the car roll over the train tracks the car had NO returnability it just jerked to the left wtih each bump. Everything you guys have told me and wht ive researched tells me its my caster bushes that are fried especially your comment Mr_RS4.

It would be nice to get bushed adjustable arms but for the time being since i have no press and no access to one ill get the adjustable arms and see how they go.

Mr RS4 how long did your adjustable arms last you before they started wearing out and become noisy?

[wolverine]

You can buy adjustable arms with bushes you would only need a press if you swapping out the OEM bushes or am I missing something?

[THRLLR]

You can buy adjustable arms with bushes you would only need a press if you swapping out the OEM bushes or am I missing something?

That's what i meant. Sorry. The OEM ones require the press and the bushed adjustables don't.

Update: so i bought adjustable caster arms and had the car aligned and the bitch still pulls to the left. I did change the steering wheel to a different Nissan item and i am wondering if i have to reset the hicas ecu? I've got a feeling that might be contributing to my issue.

Someone asked if i did but not sure if i missed something.

[THRLLR]

So this is probably going to be me last post on this topic unless anyone has any questions. But for those who have been curious or have had simlar problems i found the solution.

I finally cracked the shits and took the car to Pedders Suspension to do that $30 suspension check where they have your car for 3 hours and check all the bushes and suspension stuff. (Usually im suss about stuff like this where its a really cheap diagnosis price so they can try convince you to replace things on your car that they conveniently sell). But when you're desperate... LOL

Anyway, i showed them my old caster arms and they agreed with me that the bushes were shot to crap. They tested and looked at everything and honestly told me everything was fine. The alignment was almost spot on and the only thing they didnt like was the -2.0deg camber i have on all four wheels. But they couldnt figure out why the car pulled so hard to the left.

They swapped the front wheels around and BANG! now the car pulled heavily to the RHS and up the "hill". Even though the tread was identical and tread wear was even something inside the tyre must have gotten f**ed up. I got my brothers front tyres (brand new) and drove it and the damn thing drove dead on straight.

And yes these tyres were a different set from those that i originally encountered the problem on. I originally found the problem on my 19" wheels and tyres after purchasing some second hand ones (i know, you never really know what you're getting). So i put the stock 260rs bbs wheels on there that had some tyres on there.

It was pure effing coincidence that the 2 tyres i put on the front LHS had the same or similar issue.

On the plus side; my caster bushes were gone so i got adjustable caster arms (non bushed), the tyres on the BBS rims needed replacing anyway so WIN there. Time and effort and 3 alignments later...pain in the ar$e.

Hope this helps people out there. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and help. it was amazing. :-D I hope to be able to return the favour.

[260tech]

So this is probably going to be me last post on this topic unless anyone has any questions. But for those who have been curious or have had simlar problems i found the solution.

I finally cracked the shits and took the car to Pedders Suspension to do that $30 suspension check where they have your car for 3 hours and check all the bushes and suspension stuff. (Usually im suss about stuff like this where its a really cheap diagnosis price so they can try convince you to replace things on your car that they conveniently sell). But when you're desperate... LOL

Anyway, i showed them my old caster arms and they agreed with me that the bushes were shot to crap. They tested and looked at everything and honestly told me everything was fine. The alignment was almost spot on and the only thing they didnt like was the -2.0deg camber i have on all four wheels. But they couldnt figure out why the car pulled so hard to the left.

They swapped the front wheels around and BANG! now the car pulled heavily to the RHS and up the "hill". Even though the tread was identical and tread wear was even something inside the tyre must have gotten f**ed up. I got my brothers front tyres (brand new) and drove it and the damn thing drove dead on straight.

And yes these tyres were a different set from those that i originally encountered the problem on. I originally found the problem on my 19" wheels and tyres after purchasing some second hand ones (i know, you never really know what you're getting). So i put the stock 260rs bbs wheels on there that had some tyres on there.

It was pure effing coincidence that the 2 tyres i put on the front LHS had the same or similar issue.

On the plus side; my caster bushes were gone so i got adjustable caster arms (non bushed), the tyres on the BBS rims needed replacing anyway so WIN there. Time and effort and 3 alignments later...pain in the ar$e.

Hope this helps people out there. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and help. it was amazing. :-D I hope to be able to return the favour.

Big start right there dude.

Cheers GW