Alignment??

[ThaLegend]

I know for a fact that 95-98 240sx does not have a front camber... so how would I go about adjusting the the steering wheel to to align straight? Its only off by a little but bugs me a whole lot... Would I need to buy a camber kit? is my front suspension bent?

[dayna240sx]

I am not sure what you are getting at...

but i assume... (and i hate doing that)...

That your steering wheel is not straight when your wheels are?!?

Am I correct in translating your message?

If so, i had the same problem afteri installed my header... and did this to correct it:
1.Spray steering knuckle with penetrating (I like that word) lubricant (another good word)
2. drive down a deserted country road until you know the wheels are exactly straight...
3. stop the car, pop the hood..DO NOT PULL OVER!!!
4.Loosen the steering nuckle at the TOP
5. Slide the knuckle ( ) down off of the steering shaft ( )
6. have a friend hold on to the steering wheel, making sure that it is straight..
7. Slide the knuckle back onto the steering shaft, it is prolly only off my a spline or two...
8. RETIGHTEN knuckle bolt(s)...
9. test drive, if not the way you want it, REPEAT, until you get the results you are looking for.

[Suislide]

i don't think what you're referring to is "camber"

camber is when the wheels are like this / / -- \ \ when looking at the car from the front, they appear to be slanted. they can also look like this \\ -- // if you have positive camber.

what you are refering to is most likely toe. toe is the way your wheels are slanted when looking from the top. for instance, my old Pontiac had a terrible toe out problem on the left front wheel, so if you looked at the wheels from the TOP, it would look like \\ -- || although obviousley not that extreme. in essence, your wheels would not be pointing in the exact same direction. if your steering knuckles is off by a few splines, then your wheels would be thus when the steering wheel is straight // -- // or \\ -- \\, depending on which side the knuckle is off to. this is usually what causes the vibration in the steering wheel at high speeds, because the tire that is not totally straight is dragging at the same time as rolling, since it's not totally straight. my Pontiac's steering wheel would vibrate so much at 100km/h + that my watch even fell off of my wrist one time.

anyways, do what Dayna said and hopefully that will help some.

[NiSmO_zt]

man, dayna's got a way with words. uhh huh. What about taking the steering wheel off and rotating it a notch or two? I dont know how hard getting to the knuckle is, but the steering wheels pretty easy to take off.

Just a thought

cj

[ThaLegend]

Originally Posted by S13_Iketani

i don't think what you're referring to is "camber"

camber is when the wheels are like this / / -- \ \ when looking at the car from the front, they appear to be slanted. they can also look like this \\ -- // if you have positive camber.

what you are refering to is most likely toe. toe is the way your wheels are slanted when looking from the top. for instance, my old Pontiac had a terrible toe out problem on the left front wheel, so if you looked at the wheels from the TOP, it would look like \\ -- || although obviousley not that extreme. in essence, your wheels would not be pointing in the exact same direction. if your steering knuckles is off by a few splines, then your wheels would be thus when the steering wheel is straight // -- // or \\ -- \\, depending on which side the knuckle is off to. this is usually what causes the vibration in the steering wheel at high speeds, because the tire that is not totally straight is dragging at the same time as rolling, since it's not totally straight. my Pontiac's steering wheel would vibrate so much at 100km/h + that my watch even fell off of my wrist one time.

anyways, do what Dayna said and hopefully that will help some.

lol on the watch part... but my car use to vibrate like a mother fucker, just like you said yours did Ill try what dayna said hopefully it will work.

[ThaLegend]

Originally Posted by dayna240sx

I am not sure what you are getting at...

but i assume... (and i hate doing that)...

That your steering wheel is not straight when your wheels are?!?

Am I correct in translating your message?

If so, i had the same problem afteri installed my header... and did this to correct it:
1.Spray steering knuckle with penetrating (I like that word) lubricant (another good word)
2. drive down a deserted country road until you know the wheels are exactly straight...
3. stop the car, pop the hood..DO NOT PULL OVER!!!
4.Loosen the steering nuckle at the TOP
5. Slide the knuckle ( ) down off of the steering shaft ( )
6. have a friend hold on to the steering wheel, making sure that it is straight..
7. Slide the knuckle back onto the steering shaft, it is prolly only off my a spline or two...
8. RETIGHTEN knuckle bolt(s)...
9. test drive, if not the way you want it, REPEAT, until you get the results you are looking for.

Thanks Dayna

[entity]

Originally Posted by S13_Iketani

i don't think what you're referring to is "camber"

camber is when the wheels are like this / / -- \ \ when looking at the car from the front, they appear to be slanted. they can also look like this \\ -- // if you have positive camber.

what you are refering to is most likely toe. toe is the way your wheels are slanted when looking from the top. for instance, my old Pontiac had a terrible toe out problem on the left front wheel, so if you looked at the wheels from the TOP, it would look like \\ -- || although obviousley not that extreme. in essence, your wheels would not be pointing in the exact same direction. if your steering knuckles is off by a few splines, then your wheels would be thus when the steering wheel is straight // -- // or \\ -- \\, depending on which side the knuckle is off to. this is usually what causes the vibration in the steering wheel at high speeds, because the tire that is not totally straight is dragging at the same time as rolling, since it's not totally straight. my Pontiac's steering wheel would vibrate so much at 100km/h + that my watch even fell off of my wrist one time.

anyways, do what Dayna said and hopefully that will help some.

If one tire is not completely straight, would Dayna's method still work? Either way you'd have a off center wheel, right?

[R.W.240]

yes it would work but the toe (outta line tire) would make the car darty so the steering would be straight but you would have to make more corrections on bumpy roads

I belive toe is adjusted by the Tie Rods (front) that would correct the tire.

[entity]

Originally Posted by R.W.240

yes it would work but the toe (outta line tire) would make the car darty so the steering would be straight but you would have to make more corrections on bumpy roads

I belive toe is adjusted by the Tie Rods (front) that would correct the tire.

Yea that's what I was saying. If your wheels were like this || // and you adjusted them so it's like this \\ // (not to that degree of course), your streering will be straight I assume, but I don't think it'd be a very smooth ride, especially at high speeds. What I gathered from the previous posts was that there was no way to adjust the wheels so they're straight..or am I mistaken?

[Suislide]

of course there's a way...if one wheel is askew ( \\ -- || ) then something in your suspension is off. it could be the tie-rod, or maybe even the whole shock tower itself has turned. either way, there is a way to fix it. you just need to find out what's wrong first.

[entity]

Originally Posted by S13_Iketani

of course there's a way...if one wheel is askew ( \\ -- || ) then something in your suspension is off. it could be the tie-rod, or maybe even the whole shock tower itself has turned. either way, there is a way to fix it. you just need to find out what's wrong first.

whew..had me worried. I was like "now I'm gonna be stuck with a shaky steering wheel forever" lol..