TeamSwift

So I was driving to work this morning and I was coming up on the 15n to the 10e freeway interchange
As I was in the turn merging to the 10 the car started to correct itself, I had the wheel turned to the right but the car
went straight, scared the shiz out me ass !
Has anyone had this problem ?
I just bought new tires .......ugh now I feel nervous about driving home .

Its called understeer. Deal with it....

Seriously though....you need to check your steering rack & steering and rack ends.

_________________
~the other Ralph~
Certified Suzuki Owner:
MKIII Swift GTi - The Green Destiny!
2010 Suzuki Jimny - The DD Workhorse!

Lol I know how under steer feels -_______-
Yeah Ima check it cause shit was scary lol

Step one: inspect for loose or broken parts.
Step two: repair.


Option 2...ask a forum so everyone who has never seen your car can make random guesses.


Since were guessing here I'm going with rack, inner and outer tie rod ends, column, steering rack mounts, and frame horns.

_________________
98 swift big block
03 cobra bolt ons
97 3000gt vr4 e85, high comp, bolt ons
too many others to list

More like "ask on a forum so everyone" can take a pot shot at humor/sarcasm?



I've "never seen your car" but may be able to do better than just "make random guesses". Especially when a TEAMSWIFT member "almost died" while "merging to the 10"!

First things that leeswang's comment "I just bought new tires" brought to mind was to check air pressure & lug nuts.

Once rescued my Dad in Berkshires, where he'd stopped his SAAB 99 EMS. It began making bad sounds, accompanied by loose steering & was rapidly getting worse. His best "random guesses" centered on last rites for tranny. Got there as tow truck was just beginning to lift front end. I took a quick look at it, discovered loose lug nuts & chewed up alloy wheels. He'd just had snow tires removed summer tires installed. SAAB still had to leave on hook, but Dad was relieved tranny was OK & tire shop replaced ruined wheels.

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2000 Chevy Metro 3 cylinder 5 speed 3 door hatch
1998 Chevy Metro 3 cylinder 5 speed 3 door hatch
1998 Chevy Lumina APV
1998 Ford F-150 4X4 XLT
1992 Ford E-150 Club Wagon Chateau
1991 SAAB 900S 5 speed
1987 SAAB 900 Turbo SPG
1985 SAAB 900 Turbo SPG
1974 SAAB Sonett III
1971 SAAB 96 modified to 1980 specs
1966 SAAB 96
1960 SAAB 93F
1958 SAAB 93B
1964 Willys JEEP CJ-5
1954 Willys JEEP M-170 military ambulance
1953 Grumman Kurbside step van

Check where your a-arms bolt to the framehorns before you even drive it again. Make sure the bolts are tight and check for rust.

Ken....

Well I checked it out and saw that the sway bar brushing on the passenger side are pretty much gone.
I checked all the other bolts and everything felt tight ......I noticed that after I got new tires the car did start feeling weird .....Hmmmm maybe getting new brushing for the swaybar end links will help, I hope

sway bar bushings shouldnt have caused your problem unless you were going way too fast but its a starting place for sure.

_________________
98 swift big block
03 cobra bolt ons
97 3000gt vr4 e85, high comp, bolt ons
too many others to list

I was just outside looking at my car and I noticed the caster on the passenger side is off, the driver side looks dead on center and the passenger side is more towards the rear.
How do you adjust the caster on these little guys

You can't. There is no adjustment for camber or caster on these cars. If it has moved significantly your control arm on the pass side has moved which means the mount for the arm is rusted and the car is not safe to drive. Get it to a mechanic and have them go over it.

_________________
"Don't argue with stupid people. They just bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience."

Rust ? In socal that bad its unheard of ...maybe the control arm is bent

You can't see caster. What youre seeing is setback. Get it to a mechanic asap.

_________________
98 swift big block
03 cobra bolt ons
97 3000gt vr4 e85, high comp, bolt ons
too many others to list

Ugh good to know when I gotta drive it home after work today
Anyone want to buy it 1,100 form lol I have bigger things I gotta take care of.
Its almost impossible for me to get any free time to really get into this

See if you can tell the difference
Driver side


Passenger side

With the car in gear (5spd) or in park (auto) without brake applied. Stand at the front of the car and start rocking it back and forth (rear/front). You should see movement looking down past the tranny or engine at the control arm if there is something wrong with the control arm.

Lets see a pic underneath.
Show us the worn bushings.
I'm not familiar with that car so well, I have an MK1 sprint.
But if it's like an MK1 the strut/combo/swaybar is very important,
if the bushings gone it's huge - Also affects camber/caster.
BTW, there's helper bolts to help adjust alignment specs,
they give you some adjustment, they're offset and and
install in the strut to steering knuckle for adjustment.

oK so on the way home I kinda tested the steering on this long on ramp turning right
I sped up and turned into it then it happened again so what its doing is the steering wheel feels like it starts to turn more than the car is actually turning then the car started to go onto the next lane ......this has me stumped
I was thinking maybe steering rack is bad ?? I tales to the previous owner and he said that he replaced the tierod ends not to long ago. I'm going crazy haha

how fast were you goin? it could be a rear toe arm flexing. I have a hard time believing the rack is the problem. it is a rack and pinion so if it was bad it could be jumping teeth but then the steering wheel would be clocked different. it sounds like you were goin too fast on bad new rubber. what size tires did ya get?

_________________
If you ain't First your last - Ricky Bobby

1990 swift GL Twincam swap
Hyundai trans swap- in progress

Yes just how fast were you going on those cheapo tires and exactly what ramp/exit is this so I can find it on google earth.

_________________
98 swift big block
03 cobra bolt ons
97 3000gt vr4 e85, high comp, bolt ons
too many others to list

I was going 55-60 lol not fast at all the tires are 185/60/14
It's not under steer ......before I left work I drove it on the back lot and was turning left and right really hard
The rubber actually holds pretty good giving that they are cheap north Korea tires lol
I'm gonna get it aligned tomorrow, well see if that helps at all.
Again I was going 60 tops haha

Oh and the ramps are 15 north to the 10 east and the second time it was 60west to the 71 south

Did you do this ^^^ as yet? Sound advice imho.

_________________
~the other Ralph~
Certified Suzuki Owner:
MKIII Swift GTi - The Green Destiny!
2010 Suzuki Jimny - The DD Workhorse!

looked at both ramps and a co-worker that has driven them state they are 55 or so mph ramps. you shouldnt be having any trouble on them at 60 no matter the tire. you must have something loose, worn, or broken to be causing this.

_________________
98 swift big block
03 cobra bolt ons
97 3000gt vr4 e85, high comp, bolt ons
too many others to list

I think there will be a lot of guessing until he actually gets under the car (or better a mechanic gets under there)

I will put in a guess, along with many of the other inputs so far, it seems that you will need quite a bit of work required on the front end, possibly suspension as well as steering etc, additionally you may have also one of the steering rack mounting points broken (it is quite a common issue) this will cause similar symptoms to your description and when stationary you cannot observe easily if this has happened

All this should have been picked up by the guys putting on your new tyres

_________________
There are three kinds of people in the world, those that can count and those that can't

You should post your real name so we can keep an eye on the obituarys in your area. I can't believe that this car is still being driven with something this seriously wrong with it.

Ken....

Makes me think the truck in front of
you spilled a load of Diesel.
I've seen a 24 wheeler go into the center
one day, It was pretty obvious he was leaking
diesel on the left side tires, you could smell it
a mile back. It was probably the biggest truck
I've seen in my life, then half of it on it's side.



The alignment guy will find it.
You will go in for an $80 alignment
and end up spending $800 for a front end
rebuild. Be sure and tell them you've got a
major issue. If they don't find anything, tell
them to look again.