Rear end wiggle/ steering drift?

cliqwe
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Rear end wiggle/ steering drift?

Postby cliqwe » Sat Feb 28, 2015 1:10 am

Ive been noticing lately while crusing on the freeway in a straight path Im getting what feels like a slight rear end wiggle... that is, the the steering wheel is straight, Im driving straight, but then I feel the car drift (not like D1 drift) or feint slightly to the side, almost like its tracking on those cracks in the freeway but the road is smooth and the steering wheel doesnt seem to be pulling along with it. Its very slight, so Im not too concerned about it but Ive already replaced the PS rack with a refurbished one along with new inner and outer tie rods, replaced all the front bushings with PU bushings, replaced the lateral rod with a T3 rod, but have left the stock 4 links with stock bushings in the rear for now. Dealer recently did an alignment and everything is to factory spec for the most part.
The only cause I can think of off the top of my head is maybe the stock 4 links in the rear are allowing for some wiggle (although I have the T3 rod?) or maybe the stock unchanged PS steering rack bushings. I never noticed the problem until I recently changed out most of the suspension - for reference, Im on 8/6 kg springs, koni shocks, camber plates, and the other mentioned mods, 14x7 Rewinds with 185/55/14 tires. Are there any other possible causes for this, like a bad wheel bearing or something?

Thanks for any suggestions.

mideng
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Re: Rear end wiggle/ steering drift?

Postby mideng » Sat Feb 28, 2015 1:35 am

dealer for alignment....not a good idea

the mechanics at the dealers are morons!

yes morons

get it aligned again with somebody who knows what they are doing

take it to Dave Alignment in HB ..... or west end...speak to neggro darren

problem solved

tell Head Neggro in Charge sent you....

good luck

Toy86
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Re: Rear end wiggle/ steering drift?

Postby Toy86 » Sat Feb 28, 2015 7:23 am

U might want to check the bushing of the 4 links in the back. They may be really worn and dry rotted apart.

Also check the welds on the rear end and the chassis where the 4 links mount up and make sure none of those bases are cracked.

U might also want to check ur adjustment to your T3 Lateral Bar and make sure you didn't set it incorrectly.

If you put new shocks and springs in, those bushing should be good, but you might want to check the mounting points for those off the rear end and make sure none haven broken off. I don't know the condition of rust on ur rear end so that's why i'm letting you know to check the welds.

If all of that is in good working order, u might want to jack up the rear, remove the wheels, and check the axles for any significant play. Maybe you had a pressed bearing come off press, or the bolts holding in the axles might have back out some.

If you find the problem post some pics, and let the community know. Good luck!

cliqwe
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Re: Rear end wiggle/ steering drift?

Postby cliqwe » Sat Feb 28, 2015 11:13 am

thanks for the replies guys. Yeah the dealer alignment is pretty weak for spirited driving but the specs look to be ok... Although, when they set the lateral bar I could visibly see that the passenger side tire was sticking out more than the drivers side so I did correct that... Not sure if that's how the stock settings are, but it looked off to me.
I'll check out the mounts and bushings in the rear though when I get a chance... I may take it back to the dealer to have a weird noise in the back checked out too, might be related :mrgreen:

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gotzoom?
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Re: Rear end wiggle/ steering drift?

Postby gotzoom? » Mon Mar 02, 2015 1:07 pm

If you're running anything more than 1.5 deg of camber with power steering, you're likely to feel what I call "wandering" while driving straight at relatively high speed (ie: highway speeds.) I think it is caused by a combination of excessive camber and the design of the power steering system. Reducing camber, if you don't need it, helps a lot. If you're not tracking your car, you don't need any more than 1.5 deg of camber.

allencr
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Re: Rear end wiggle/ steering drift?

Postby allencr » Tue Mar 03, 2015 8:32 am

cliqwe wrote:...I did correct that... ...it looked off to me.


SO, it may have had or probably had all 4 pointing in the right direction, but you think you can make it look better? WTF!

MisterJerk
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Re: Rear end wiggle/ steering drift?

Postby MisterJerk » Wed Mar 04, 2015 6:49 am

check out you panhard bar mount at the chassis. If its been curbed or w/e(30 year old car, who knows) the body side of the panhard mount can crack or break. inspect the ends of the panhard bar. make sure all the adjustments are tight, heim ends/bushings are good.

cliqwe
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Re: Rear end wiggle/ steering drift?

Postby cliqwe » Fri Mar 06, 2015 10:44 pm

allencr wrote:
cliqwe wrote:...I did correct that... ...it looked off to me.


SO, it may have had or probably had all 4 pointing in the right direction, but you think you can make it look better? WTF!


Good point.... although the problem was there BEFORE I did this, and is unchanged AFTERWARDS as well. I have not noticed any other negative effects while daily driving, which is what the car is primarily for ...oh, but it does look better.

On a side note, would there be any reason why that particular setting would be off? When I say "it looked off to me", what I mean is the passenger side tire was slightly sticking out and the drivers side looked slightly sunk...

...or maybe thats how its supposed to look???

Havent had a chance to get under the car yet with school, Ill try to take a peek this week.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.

Deuce Cam
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Re: Rear end wiggle/ steering drift?

Postby Deuce Cam » Sat Mar 07, 2015 8:54 am

I recommend centering the axle by measuring the distance from the inner wheel lip to frame rail (fender-to-tire is less accurate). Adjustable bars with a jam nut on each end (like T3) can actually be done by feel since the bar will turn very easily once the axle is near centered, then measure to verify. Make sure to adjust with the rear suspension fully loaded.