Bump steer problem

A

Ataher

Member
Location
Tripoli - Libya
Hi everyone.

I knew this when i first bought the car (2004 FX45), the horizontal distances between the fender edge and the front wheel on each side were not identical, so the axle is tilted and the steering geometry is altered, and hence the bump steer problem.

Now I have not had any vibration with this, except of course when I drive over a bump or offroad. On blacktop I could go up to 160 mph with a smooth ride.


In short, is there an easy way to fix this? I heard about some bump steer kits ... Etc. I may not mind the cost but my problem is that there are no qualified dealers / workshops around, so it has to be a DIY.
 
I am actually assuming like you suggested based on those distances, I have no idea about what real homework I need to do to begin with, so any advises are appreciated.
 
you need a wheel alignment which is really not a diy... an alignment will tell you if everything can be adjusted to within spec, or, if not, what is out of spec and you could then determine what the problem is... you really can't judge alignment angles accurately just eyeballing the wheel to fender gap, most vehicles are not 100% symetrical side to side as there are other variables which affect the wheel centering to the body, alignment being the single biggest really but almost all cars subfames are not 100% centered and this will affect the wheel centering to the body too... it's farely common for one side to "stick out" slightly more than the other side
 
Last edited:
Turbocad6 thanks for your advise, it was an eye opener!

I never known the wheel allignment concept up close, but after your reply I went through the subject and learnt a lot about it, I had to do it myself with simple but acceptable techniques that are shared on the Internet, I found out that my front left wheel had a sever negative camber (it was noticeable but only for the trained eye) that I have fixed with Eibach camber adjustment kit, this actually fixed the other problem I had where my steering wheel was pulling to the right!.

Although this did not fix the bump steering issue, but it did help me a lot to troubleshoot it, i am still on the case and I will post any further developments.
 
Something came up, I suddenly decided to check on my drive belts and they looked something like this:

yte7udu8.jpg

So I had them replaced with goodyear ones, and here is what happened:

1) bump steer problem reduced by 50%
2) there was some looseness in the steering (not the steering wheel) which I could feel more when off road ... 100% gone
3) there was a grinding noise under the hood that usually starts 5 minutes after the AC is on .... 100% Goneeeeeeeeeeee
4) I could feel a lot better grin of the road, the car feels more steady and firm

Now I have only changed the belts, how bad having bad belts can be?



Sent from my iPad
 

Attachments

  • yte7udu8.jpg
    yte7udu8.jpg
    52.2 KB · Views: 7
Well, I know the consequences when they break, what I am trying to figure out is the effect of them being that bad on the car performance like that, I been thinking that every time a crushed zone comes around any of the pulleys it causes it to maybe shimmy or slip a little, which consequently cause all that AC noise, and inconsistent input torque to the steering pump that causes maybe steering looseness, and such.


Sent from my iPad
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top