steering & suspension problem

[aznrib]

ok heres the run down. in the winter i ran over a dead deer on the highway. i am not sure how much was left of the deer but it's a decent bump. I changed my tension rods recently to SPL tension rods. Ever since then I seem to hit a bump noticeably harder on the left then right.


Problem 1
After that my alignment has been off and my steering wheel got a tighter. It would get tight then losen then tighten again on certain spots. I have already checked for kinks and non were found. I have power steering fluid. My PS reservoir seem to bubble though.


Problem 2
when i start off at slow speeds there a thumping noise coming from the front driver side wheel. Theres a plug in the current tire from the previous owner. As speeds increase the thumping gets louder. The steering wheel starts to shake at about 65 and I hear like a high to low then low to high then back to low whining sound.

I am putting on new tires and getting them rebalanced. I am trying to think of other problems if that doesn't solve anything. Tie rod? wheel bearing? I am totally stumped on the steering problem. thanks in advance

[DJPimpFlex]

ok as for problem one, I moved a car with a bent tie rod once, and it was just like you said, easy...tight....easy. Fixed that and it was fine. As for the clunking it could be any number of things. TC rod bushings, top mounts, ect. I would have to drive/ride in it to see.

[aznrib]

hm so it was the tie rod after all and i dont have any tc rod bushings... running spl tension rods

[DJPimpFlex]

it was the tie rods....did that fix all the problems or just some?

[aznrib]

i didn't change the tie rods yet. i was supecting them but i wasnt too sure. I only changed my stock tension rods to the ones they have on SPL. thanks for trying to help me out by the way DJ

[DJPimpFlex]

check your steering rack bushings too. They might be worn/loose.

[aznrib]

so check the tie rods and steering rack bushings

[aznrib]

I was on a construction road going about 5mph. My front driver side suspension sounds like a vibrating sound. Is it the strut?

[DJPimpFlex]

depends.....if it was a loud clunking it may be loose TC rods or something (like there not bolted down all the way), or top mounts or something. Just start replacing what looks bad, and things that would make sense to fix the problem.

[aznrib]

ok i got under the car today and took a look at the tie rods. I took off the driver side dust both to check if it was bent but it looked fine. I wasn't able to get to the passenger side tie rod. i hit the tie rod with the palm of my hand and the driver side seemed solid but the passenger side made a weird click.

i also check it by shaking the wheel at 3 and 9 and it moved a little and i heard that click as well. i tried shaking it at 12 and 6 and there was no play.

so tie rods for sure?

[420sx]

make sure ur steering rack bolts are not loose too. my driver side gotten looser over the few events and did that shit.

[aznpoopy]

ok i got under the car today and took a look at the tie rods. I took off the driver side dust both to check if it was bent but it looked fine. I wasn't able to get to the passenger side tie rod. i hit the tie rod with the palm of my hand and the driver side seemed solid but the passenger side made a weird click.

i also check it by shaking the wheel at 3 and 9 and it moved a little and i heard that click as well. i tried shaking it at 12 and 6 and there was no play.

so tie rods for sure?

things can be bent and still look fine visually.
i would replace them anyway... if they're original the joints on the ends are probably on their way out anyway.

[aznrib]

another thing i noticed was a thud noise from the front driver side tire. It sounds like the tire is flat or unven. As I go faster the sounds gets more rapid. I borrowed my friend's wheels with falken azenis and it still sounds the same. Aside from balancing the tires and alignment what else could it be. Also while braking during highway speeds and speeds over 40mph, it is not smooth. I have been searching around and found either warped rotors, bad alignment, tie rods, wheel bearing. I changed my brakes less then 1 month ago.