Two Weird Problems...Rear Tires Toe-ing and Steering Feels Loose. Help!

[Ryan86]

Check out the attached pics. The tire place said my old rears were feathered back and to the side a bit... meaning I've been burning out and/or taking agressive turns. I don't do either. As you can imagine, I was a bit confused why the tires lasted 4000miles. When I look behind my car, my rear tires look pigeon toed. Is that right?


And once I got my new tires, my steering feels really loose. Like it takes a while to react. Say I'm going 65mph and move the wheel side to side quickly... The reaction time is so slow that when the wheel is to the right, the car is moving to the left...and vise versa. Please help.....

 

[Ryan86]

Here's one from further away..

 

[92awddsm]

Get it aligned. That should be common sense.

 

[boostedinaz]

I'm not the smartest guy but why not go to an alignment shop and have them align it. It would make the tires last along longer.

Michael

 

[Ryan86]

Stupidity on my part...I thought alignment only dealt with camber. Would that possibly fix the steering issue too?

 

[92awddsm]

An alignment will cover toe and camber. If you have too much toe in or out in the front, the car will dance and steering will be unresponsive.

 

[boostedinaz]

It depends on what the actuall problem is but I doubt it. It sounds liek maybe your rack is done or perhaps something with the shafts from the wheel to the rack. I would check those and get it aligned.

Michael

 

[Ryan86]

Thanks guys. I'll get it aligned tomorrow..

Funny thing is, the steering started wiggin out right after they put the new tires on.

Boostedinaz, what is a rack? What exactly would I check for? Sorry to sound like such a newb

 

[boostedinaz]

Boostedinaz, what is a rack?

Well, it could be meat from a lamb, a nice set of boobs , or the part that turns the rotatinal movment of the wheel into side to side movment that turns the tires. If you get under your car and follow the tie rods from the wheels, you will see a long tube that connect the wheels. I am not rreally sure if this will be your problem becasue you car is a 99 and they seem to las awhile, but shit happens soemtimes. The only way to test it, IMO, is to put the front up on jack stands and have a buddy hold the wheel tight. Get another buddy to watch the the linkage that connects the steering wheel to the rack, and you to turn the wheels while they are off the ground. Ifyou can push the wheels back and forth see what parts are moving. If the steering wheel doesnt move put the linkage does then its something in the linkage. If the linkage doesnt move then the rack needs attention. If they all work titties and beer then the alignment shoudl help.

If any of that didnt make sense then let me know.

Michael



Edit: Also, make sure that it is full of fluid and not leaking.

 

[Ryan86]

K...I got it aligned today. Before the rear toes were 0.53" and 0.70"... 0.12" was max . They fixed it to 0.05" and 0.07"

But...my camber is still out of spec. Fronts are -1.4 and -1.9. Minimum allowed is -0.58. Uh oh. Will this cause excessive wear on the inside of the tires? Should I buy a camber kit?


Also, the alignment didn't fix the loose steering. The place the put on my new tires said it was normal for the first 100miles or so because there is a silicone that needs to be worn off. Is this right? If it doesn't get better, I'll follow your advice boostedinaz. Thanks so much.

 

[boostedinaz]

A camber kit would fix that, but you will need to get it aligned again after you put it in. I am just wondering why it is out of spec when the car isnt lowered and has stock suspension. Did you do a car fax and make sure it wasnt in any accidents?

Michael

 

[Ryan86]

A camber kit would fix that, but you will need to get it aligned again after you put it in. I am just wondering why it is out of spec when the car isnt lowered and has stock suspension. Did you do a car fax and make sure it wasnt in any accidents?

Michael

I have Eibach Prokit springs... Forgot to update my profile

 

[boostedinaz]

I have Eibach Prokit springs... Forgot to update my profile

Ok that makes more sense. get a camber correction and you should have tires that last for more than 4k miles.

Michael