tell me what's wrong with this car... suspension ? steering ? balance ?

[fenixus]

this is how the steering wheel angle looks like at quite flat highway when going straight at 65mph and 80mph (don't worry i wasn't going ahead of the traffic) on I-80:

PIC1 - ~65mph


PIC2 - ~80mph


i feel light vibrations on steering wheel at 75mph+ now (new tires got broken in recently)... it seems like i have to keep the steering wheel more to the right above ~50mph, car on its own has a tendency to pull slightly left. am i missing something ?

i know it might be as simple as missing tape wight on wheel or so (per vibrations), but what about the steering wheel angle ? it wasn't like that long time ago. started to pull left a tiny bit about a year ago, alignment doesn't fix it, new tires didn't fix it either. is it killing my MPG ?

car has a perfect 4-wheel alignment now (double checked 2 months ago at local Firestone, after 4 years was still almost perfect except 1/4'' toe value on FD wheel), new tires just got broken in after like 1k miles that were balanced on new Hunter GSP9000 machine... where is my problem ? rims ? suspension ? re-do the balancing ? why is this car pulling left still a tiny bit at higher speeds ?

is it coming from a "possible" frame damage (nothing visible) from front driver end collision 2 years ago ?

[jtex2717]

I would say that it is from the accident. I changed my axles and I had this happen to me too....but I think that was just an alignment issue. I think you have a damage issue.....Have you ever taken off the steering wheel?

[carsrus]

Yeah something that minor is probally from an accident shifting something a bit off. If it holds the alignment and the tires wear fine its nothing to worry about.

Cars are never the same after an accident, especially these unibody cars which arent technically supposed to be rebuilt.

[fenixus]

thanks for input guys.

that's what i was afraid of (post-collision damage). well it runs great still (except freaking EGR sub-system from hell). i guess you have to be right then, possible that during that front end accident something got slightly shifted/bent in the frame or so ...

the steering wheel has never been taken off on this car. it holds the alignment pretty much perfectly, tires wear off normally.

hehe this car will never become a racing machine then - can live with that considering it's a 2.2L auto-tragic

[JJ9284]

My car does the EXACT same thing. the steering wheel is even in the EXACT same position haha. is kind of agrivating on straight roads though

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by JJ9284

My car does the EXACT same thing. the steering wheel is even in the EXACT same position haha. is kind of agrivating on straight roads though

hehe, welcome to the club and yeah it feels awkward to hold the steering wheel like that in order to keep car driving straight LOL

does yours behave normally at lower speeds ? mine looks normal in city driving, only on highways i can observe this phenomena.

for like a year i was trying to figure out if it's not the road crown and stuff... eventually i realized it cannot be the crown, because i remember it wasn't like that when i have driven different cars (even this one in past was normal)

[97toyotacam]

I also have this issue and i am not proud of it. my steering wheel pulls to the left though. I think an alignment would help seeing as how i haven't had one in 2 years ( my car was never the same after i clunked it off a sharp highway on to some eneven gravel) My steering wheel has a lot of vibration at 60 and over. I READ that there was a recall for a loose nut/ component in the steering column somewhere and that causes the vibration and if it gets bad enough you could end up shearing the bolt and not being able to steer at all . But seeing as how u were in an accident i would especially get it checked out or at least talk to a toyota dealer. I have been driving like this for a while now - 15,000 miles, so nothing is going to happen to you immediately, but you should get it checked out. im going to.

[fenixus]

hmmm ... a loose nut ? sound intriguing ... any chances you have the TSB number handy ? i'd like to look into that, maybe that's a simple thing then and not the structural damage we've been thinking of.

any kinds of pics (of mentioned nut) would be very handy too.

[JohnGD]

Well, if it was normal a couple of years ago (even after collision), then something probably changed. I'd inspect the ball joints, tie rod joints (inner and outer), control arm bushings. I'd also check the rear suspension arms to see if the bushings are in good shape.

In addition to those guesses I think your brakes are fine and the caliper pins aren't sticking. Wheel bearings are a possibility. Another one is steering gear fluid leak (so you're getting additional assist).

The increased offset with speed may say something about increased drag with speed (or whatever force causing the offset).

[fenixus]

you know, i really think it might be something related purely to steering. since some time i noticed more loose on the steering wheel, more like my old buick now.
when solara was relatively new it had a very precise steering wheel, now is more like i can quickly "shake" it left and right by a tiny bit while driving slowly and car doesn't react to that (just like my old buick never did). however in past when i was trying that on solara it was causing instant response from car steering (car quickly changing course to slightly either left or right).

really wondering about any loose nuts or so in there....

[JohnGD]

In that case check for loose tie rods first. There are 4 wear points in the rack-and-pinion system -- the inner and outer tie rod joints on each side. With the wheels on the ground and hand on a tie rod, turning the steering wheel shouldn't allow you to feel anything loose on each side. And if the tie rods are fine and you don't feel movement for a while turning then maybe it's the pinion gear area? Dunno.

Another reason for light steering can be the rack tension adjustment has decreased over the years. A weaker adjuster spring, worn adjuster bearing or a worn rack (the long horizontal bar with teeth that moves left and right by the gear) are possibilities.

Originally Posted by fenixus

you know, i really think it might be something related purely to steering. since some time i noticed more loose on the steering wheel, more like my old buick now.
when solara was relatively new it had a very precise steering wheel, now is more like i can quickly "shake" it left and right by a tiny bit while driving slowly and car doesn't react to that (just like my old buick never did). however in past when i was trying that on solara it was causing instant response from car steering (car quickly changing course to slightly either left or right).

really wondering about any loose nuts or so in there....

[JohnGD]

Come to think of it. Maybe the Solara has been assimilated by the Buick. Resistance is futile! (are these automatically assigned?)

Yeah, otherwise just check for loose components. At the pinion gear/steering column, at the tie rods, at the knuckle, and at the control arm (bushings, lower ball joint) for anything loose.

Originally Posted by fenixus

you know, i really think it might be something related purely to steering. since some time i noticed more loose on the steering wheel, more like my old buick now.

[fenixus]

will try looking into it over time. the problem is not obvious, last time i checked there is no leaks from anywhere and nothing loose in suspension/steering as far as i know. idk, probably time will tell the truth really...

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by JohnGD

Come to think of it. Maybe the Solara has been assimilated by the Buick. Resistance is futile! (are these automatically assigned?)

LOL! no way! Buick's collective is too weak! It should be rather the other way around haha

(the collective assignment needs to be entered manually in UserCP - edit Profile - custom user title)

Yeah, otherwise just check for loose components. At the pinion gear/steering column, at the tie rods, at the knuckle, and at the control arm (bushings, lower ball joint) for anything loose.

will try checking them, first need to figure out which is which LOL! i'm not very familiar with some of those names yet...

[JohnGD]

Here is a diagram about the components:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/steering2.htm

As you can see, assuming everything from the rack to the tires are in good shape, there are still wear that can happen at the pinion area and the universal joint going up to the steering column.

The tension adjustment is basically a spring that presses against the back of the rack, on the opposite side of the steering column. This affects how tight or loose the steering wheel feels, but should only be adjusted if there is no wear in the rack -- otherwise as it moves out of the wear area the steering can bind.

Of course, I wonder if the torsion bar has anything to do with this. The steering wheel is actually connected to a torsion bar which in turn is connected to the spool valve. I think this is what provides the self-return force, but I have to look into that.

A very simple trouble shooting video:
http://www.ehow.com/video_4908592_tr...-steering.html