[Mighty_5series]

Lots of steering problems on the forum in recent months and i'm no exception....

Ive replaced the control arms, thrust arms, outer tie rods and centre tie rod...

and i still have instability... It has been 4 wheel aligned after all this and are OEM parts...

The problem is that when i'm accelerating it tracks quite straight, then when i take my foot off the throttle ( NOT braking) she goes to the left... and when im maintaining speed im fighting to keep it straight, like i have no feel in the steering in the centre.
The idler arm is nice and tight and has no play, so ive eliminated that... and the brakes are'nt sticking...

Could the steering box adjustment be at fault here? and can the steering pitman arm come loose?

Any theories???

 

[Slacker-ray]

Lots of steering problems on the forum in recent months and i'm no exception....

Ive replaced the control arms, thrust arms, outer tie rods and centre tie rod...

and i still have instability... It has been 4 wheel aligned after all this and are OEM parts...

The problem is that when i'm accelerating it tracks quite straight, then when i take my foot off the throttle ( NOT braking) she goes to the left...
The idler arm is nice and tight and has no play, so ive eliminated that... and the brakes are'nt sticking...

Could the steering box adjustment be at fault here? and can the steering pitman arm come loose?

Any theories???

Hey Mighty,

I personally don't know much about the steering box's but, my friend has an E39 540, which had similar symptoms to yours. He too had new arms, bushes, roll bar links, etc changed and a 4 wheel laser alignment done- still had a prob.

He checked the adjustment on the box, it was out. After he had sorted it, the car ran straight and true............2 months down the line, same prob.

From what I know on steering box's, you can only adjust them upto a certain point, once they go, they go. My friend had to swap it over for a new one. which was not cheap.

Check the box out mate and check if an adjustment is needed.

 

[Mighty_5series]

Hey Mighty,

I personally don't know much about the steering box's but, my friend has an E39 540, which had similar symptoms to yours. He too had new arms, bushes, roll bar links, etc changed and a 4 wheel laser alignment done- still had a prob.

He checked the adjustment on the box, it was out. After he had sorted it, the car ran straight and true............2 months down the line, same prob.

From what I know on steering box's, you can only adjust them upto a certain point, once they go, they go. My friend had to swap it over for a new one. which was not cheap.

Check the box out mate and check if an adjustment is needed.

hows it hanging slacker?

I thought it may be the adjustment on the box... give it a go... i too dont know a fat lot about the steering box... only thing i do know is what was up with the rack and pinion steering system!!...

 

[Slacker-ray]

hows it hanging slacker?



- a little limp and to the left:frown



I thought it may be the adjustment on the box... give it a go... i too dont know a fat lot about the steering box... only thing i do know is what was up with the rack and pinion steering system!!...

......not really a big fan of the box's too, my E38 had a box and that too had to bee adjusted at least twice a year since I had it. The box was Knackered but couldn't be asked to replace it, to be honest it wasn't that bad to warrant a change, I just lived with it.

 

[Mighty_5series]

:rofl

Its always to the left aint it....:rofl

I dont fancy swapping out the steering box... its a arse of a job from what i can gather and yeah... the price of a replacement is.. well, :eek

If i can get it just a little bit better i can live with it...

 

[Slacker-ray]

:rofl

Its always to the left aint it....

ain't that the truth dude...........its like one of those weird, life's mysteries, like: "the bread always lands butter side down"

................that's some weird shit innit??


:rofl


.........seriously though, try the box mate, see how you go. May well do the trick.:thumbsup

 

[RYM]

Lots of steering problems on the forum in recent months and i'm no exception....

Ive replaced the control arms, thrust arms, outer tie rods and centre tie rod...

and i still have instability... It has been 4 wheel aligned after all this and are OEM parts...

The problem is that when i'm accelerating it tracks quite straight, then when i take my foot off the throttle ( NOT braking) she goes to the left... and when im maintaining speed im fighting to keep it straight, like i have no feel in the steering in the centre.
The idler arm is nice and tight and has no play, so ive eliminated that... and the brakes are'nt sticking...

Could the steering box adjustment be at fault here? and can the steering pitman arm come loose?

Any theories???

Does this seem to be on all roads or just on Motorways that suffer with the ruts caused by lorries?

I know it sounds like a front issue but with stability issues it's always worth checking the condition of the bushes on the rear trailing arms:thumbsup

 

[Mighty_5series]

ain't that the truth dude...........its like one of those weird, life's mysteries, like: "the bread always lands butter side down"

................that's some weird shit innit??


:rofl


.........seriously though, try the box mate, see how you go. May well do the trick.:thumbsup

Damn right!:hihi

Will keep posted..

Nice one mate cheers.. :thumbsup

 

[Mighty_5series]

Does this seem to be on all roads or just on Motorways that suffer with the ruts caused by lorries?

I know it sounds like a front issue but with stability issues it's always worth checking the condition of the bushes on the rear trailing arms:thumbsup

Strangely, it was on the motorway when i first noticed it on my first run after doing the work... I did think that A20 about the rear... But the steering feels so vague on centre that it just doesnt feel right at the front. Its like i dont have control of the steering when going in a straight line, when i'm going around a corner, left or right it feels 'connected'. But again, when the steering is centralised it just feels 'unconnected'...

I have a receipt in the history folder for the work done to replace the rear subframe bushes in '07. I dont have a clue when the trailing arm bushes were lasted changed though... I will inspect them though, the bushing does'nt appear cracked but i will have to remove them to tell properly. :thumbsup

 

[RYM]

The rear can considerably upset the front:thumbsup

 

[Mighty_5series]

The rear can considerably upset the front:thumbsup

It is probably worth replacing them anyways, that was my attitude towards the front suspension and steering anyways... As soon as summer comes and i sort out this niggle, i will fit my poly bushes! :thumbsup

 

[RYM]

Poly:thumbsup

Whooooooooo's a Pretty Boy then:lol

Worth every single Penny:cool

 

[Mighty_5series]

Poly:thumbsup

Whooooooooo's a Pretty Boy then:lol

Worth every single Penny:cool

I was going to fit them this time around but TBH i was freezing my arse off sitting outside doing the work and fitting the centre tie rod was a nightmare, until i realised that using a jack underneath the balljoints to stop them spinning worked a treat!!:thumbsup

 

[Mighty_5series]

Well, ive adjusted the steering box today... Its considerably better, but it seems to have revealed a new symptom...

It follows adverse cambers... It seems to track into them...

Fearful that i have set the steering box too tight, i eased it off a little and still does it. The only suspension/steering component i havent changed is the sway bar drop links and shocks! they dont appear that bad, the old bounce test proved A.I.O.

Is it possible that the alignment has'nt been done correctly? it seems a classic case of out of alignment to me.. but it was 4 wheel laser aligned... but im not 100%...

 

[Jonesie]

Bit of a long shot but have you checked your tyres? My old calibra had the same problems as your having, no steering feel in straight line but conering was fantastic. Turned out the rear trail bushes were shot and was causing too much camber resulting in the car trashing the inside of the rear tyres. I was getting through a set of rears a month! Its worth a look with a depth gauge

 

[Mighty_5series]

Right, Ive had my trusty crowbar out on the rear. Pitman bushes seem pretty solid to me, but there is movement in one of the trailing arm bushes. Also, one of the rollbar drop links is corroded badly also...

I have a 'creak' coming from the rear, which i always thought was the diff, because i have LSD and the LSD additive had depleted... I thought wrong!

Funny thing is ive driven plenty of rear wheel drive cars in the past... But i always thought the trailing arm bushes going would feel like i was drifting in a straight line... again, i was wrong..:hihi

Cheers guys.... keep you posted on the results. :thumbsup

 

[doug1234]

I bounce tested my 94 tds shocks before replacing them,the drivers side seemed ok but the passenger side was a bit suspect,and the car would always wander and feel weird at times despite only 25k on thrust arms and new bottom arms and all the steering checked over and tightened,I replaced rear shocks/springs/ and those figure of 8 shaped arm bushes (cannot remember what they are called) and the rear felt better but this highlighted the weird handling even more,so a few days later the front had new inserts fitted.Result was no more weird handling and the front off car sitting about an inch higher.The drivers side shock was ok ish with the bounce test before change,but had been leaking oil,the passenger side had no oil left in in and holding the rod up and letting it go would see if fall into shock body.I think the shocks on mine were the cause of the wandering handling,I am still amazed how the car apart from wandering around managed to handle so well with such useless shocks

 

[RYM]

Tram lining can also be felt more if the tyres are at the incorrect pressure.

The wider the tyre, the worse the affect will be be:thumbsup

 

[hotrodboogie]

i know this might sound silly but its a hell of a job to find a place that can track a vehicle correctly, it makes me shake my head because most places have a young kid fresh out of school doing the tracking, there is one place i know in northamptonshire that does it perfect, the guy that does it is middle aged and been doing it years so knows his stuff, most of em dont even bother to have the steering wheel straight!! :mad

 

[hotrodboogie]

i havent needed yet to adjust my steering box but i was told by a reliable source that if you over adjust it then it loses the ability to self centre.