Forum:
Basic problem is that the front wheels will follow any line, ridge or bump in the road requiring constant and ocassionally dramatic steering inputs to avoid the ditch or oncoming traffic. The idler arm is new, the tyres (235's) are old and the tracking may be out which i will check. In addition to checking the suspension ride height at the front, has anyone had similar problems which could point me in the right direction before I head off down the damper / steering gear / steering box route? As a side question - is possible to adjust the backlash in the steering box or is the unit totally unadjustable?
Sportrak Handling.
I would definately check the tracking firstly as this was way out on my Mitsubishi and caused it to follow any bumps and dents and swerving when hit cats eyes when changing lane on the motorway. Once that had the tracking done all was well again.
Also what tyre pressure your front tyres at?
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Tracking
Good question - my sporty ( feroza ) and I are opposite ends of Australia right now. As the hand book doesn't specify 235 tyres i will have inflated them to a value approximating to the largest standard tyre ( any advice gratefully appreciated ) . I suspect you are right ( had a TR6 with similar suicidal tendencies caused by that ) butI have tried adjusting the tracking by up to 4mm with no significant improvement. However without the proper gear this will only ever be a guess. If the tracking was miles out I would assume it would show up in tyre wear which - over 3000kms ( 1800 miles back home )- it has failed to do, Will let you know.
supermarket trolley.
I had a similar problem with my Fourtrak when in 4WD. The front tyres were new 75's and the rear ones old 70's. The difference in diameter caused havoc with the limited diff locking and made it impossible to drive in 4WD, ok in 2wd only. Once I put new 255x75x15's on the back as well, everything was back to normal.
Russ.
Russ.
The result of investigations!
Had the tracking checked at a suspension specialist - way out as suspected but the problem was exarcebated by the worn front tyres. Whilst they looked OK, they were causing a pull on the steering opposite to that suggested by the tracking. Swapping the new rears to the front helped. Play was demonstrated in the ball joint at the end of the steering box steering arm and in the joint to the offside track rod end which caused a 4 mm play in the tracking. There was also play in the steering box which the garage were not prepared to adjust as any over adjustment on a power steering box could wreck it. Adjustment is via the screw and locknut on top of the steering box - best done 1/8th turn at a time. Tyre pressures were also on the low side - garage recommended at least 30 psi. Plenty to work on there but at least I can come off valium when driving.