lifted GU affected steering

[Dee]

simple question.

Got about 3" of suspension lift in the GU a while back. my steering wheel is out by about 10 - 15 deg to the right. not a big problems. some tell me to take it to nissan, they will take it off, put it back on straight. rang nissan, told me the actual problem was i needed a "track bar" or something to that affect. would he be referring to steering damper or something?

[turbogu]

If they said track bar i'd be thinking pan hard maybe, just my thoughts

[Area54]

better to separate the steering shaft at the steering box and rotate from there (at the ragjoint), instead of removing and rotating the steering wheel. If you remove the steering wheel, you may affect the position that the steering wheel locks, and the airbag sensors can be delicate...

[fatassgq]

Put an adjustable (longer) draglink on it and you don't have to touch the steering wheel.

Doing this will also ensure you have equal amounts of steering lock in both directions.

Can get a super tough chromemoly one for about $280 with new tie rod ends. Or get a lesser grade one made of mecaval tube for cheaper.

[toughnut]

Whats happened is that as you lifted the suspension the distance between the chassis and the diff mount for your panhard rod has increased. What this does is pull your diff towards the drivers side of the vehicle. By doing this your steering wheel has turned in order for the wheels to be straight. To test this you can get 2 pieces of string long enough to hang from your front guards and down to the top of your rims. Tie a large nut or weight to one end of the string and tape the other end to you guards. Now assuming that your guards are straight. measure the distance between the string and the outside edge of the tyre on both sides of the vehicle. The other way to do it is measure the distance between the chassis and inside edge of your tires. You'll find that there is a difference between the two and your diff is sitting to the drivers side of the vehicle. To fix this you need adjustable panhard rods.

[gu4800]

My steering was out from the factory - standard. I asked the tyre place when I fitted some new tyres, and they said it was a Nissan thing and that nearly all of them have it.

They too said to get Nissan to correct it - but not by removing the wheel. Same as what was said above, about further down the actual steering shaft (sorry, not a mechanic so that is the best description I could give).

Have since lifted 2" and noticed a small increase in the amount it is out. In the end, I learned to live with it. Too much stuffing around for a small inconvenience.

[gu4800]

My steering was out from the factory - standard. I asked the tyre place when I fitted some new tyres, and they said it was a Nissan thing and that nearly all of them have it.

They too said to get Nissan to correct it - but not by removing the wheel. Same as what was said above, about further down the actual steering shaft (sorry, not a mechanic so that is the best description I could give).

Have since lifted 2" and noticed a small increase in the amount it is out. In the end, I learned to live with it. Too much stuffing around for a small inconvenience.

[Dee]

yeah i spoke to the shop yesterday, and he told me that you could get adj track bars, but it wasnt worth it as the twin tube chromoly ones were about 600 bucks!

so i said screw that, and he told me that nissan would do something or other by centralising the steeing box resetting bla bla bla...?

[fatassgq]

Mate it is as said above in a couple of posts.

If you don't have adjustable panhards you should prolly think about it.

But even with adjustable panhards you will still need a longer draglink.

The draglink is the rod running from the steering box (pitman arm) down to the passanger side of the car.

Even if they move ya steering shaft you will still have more steering lock one way than the other. (may be only a small amount that some people just put up with)

Don't let em charge you any more than $50 to play with ya shaft!!! If they try then come and see me at Superior Engineering and we will sort you out.

BTW as I said above a solid chromemoly draglink will only cost you about $285 with brand new heavy duty tie rod ends. Give me a ring at work if you like on 3889 6778

Brian

[Dee]

will the chromoly drag link fix the problem or will i still need to go adj panhards?

the panhards are affected so slightly that i dont really want to go and get em. its just my steering, (which i have been, and still can put up with).

i just thought i may aswell put it right while ive got some cash to burn...

[Area54]

Mate, you only need to rotate your steering wheel a small bit, don't go overboard - no real need to replace your panhards or draglink for such a small lift (3 inch) plus the legal effects of fitting aftermarket panhard rods and draglink.

[bazzle]

I dont agree to turning steering wheel as box has a dead centre. If you move wheel box will still be off.

Options:
1. Live with it
2. Fit as mentioned above a FEW times an adj drag link. Can be got for many places for a fair price, one is quoted above.
Leave panhards alone.

Bazzle

[Area54]

True, but the steering box has a ratio of around 17:1, so if the wheel is around 10-15 degrees off centre, the box is not out by enough to really concern the centre position of the box - the centre preload covers quite a few degrees of rotation from true dead centre. Plus the added hassle of getting the aftermarket steering drag link approved by DOT, makes the rotation of the steering wheel at the ragjoint an easy proposition...

[alki]

I ordered adjustable steering rod with genuine nissan tie rods from business in Melbourne and paid about $400.
It has been good for fixing out of centre steering but now it has seased.I have to heat it up to undo it.
Looks like threads between tie rod and steering rod don't like mud much