Steering wheel crooked after a couple suspension mods???

slvr08gt

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Well. Adj. PHB has recently been installed and it centered the L-R perfectly as it should. I STILL however have a crooked steering wheel when the LCA's are mounted in the lowest and second to lowest holes in the relocation brackets. Hmmmm

-Nick
 

slvr08gt

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The LCAs can change the pinion angle unintentially, however if you are trying to center the thrust angle of the rear axle you can leave one LCA and adjust the other side only. This will straighten the rear axle without adversely affecting the pinion angle.

I assume you are saying to leave one of my non adj. LCA's on the car as is and install ONLY one adj. LCA??

I do understand that this would correct the thrust angle but which side do I adjust to match?

From the fenderwell to my tire on the passenger side is 6.5 mm and the distance on the driver side is 5.5 mm. These measurements are when the LCA's are mounted in the lowest hole of the relocation brackets.

When I place the LCA's in the second lowest hole of the LCA's. The measurements are 6.5 mm on the passenger side and 6.0 mm on the drivers side.

-Nick
 

RSKtakR

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I was told that it was my solid UCA causing this problem.. but that makes NO sense.. I think its my LCA reloc brackets.. I bought them used and they had a slight bend on one of them. I am going to replace them with a brand new set, and the adj PHB, and hopefully that will correct my problem.
 

Grimace427

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I assume you are saying to leave one of my non adj. LCA's on the car as is and install ONLY one adj. LCA??

I do understand that this would correct the thrust angle but which side do I adjust to match?

From the fenderwell to my tire on the passenger side is 6.5 mm and the distance on the driver side is 5.5 mm. These measurements are when the LCA's are mounted in the lowest hole of the relocation brackets.

When I place the LCA's in the second lowest hole of the LCA's. The measurements are 6.5 mm on the passenger side and 6.0 mm on the drivers side.

-Nick

I did not mean to mix and match control arms. Use adjustables on both sides, but when adjusting only change one side at a time and drive the car to see if there is an improvement. If you adjust both in the same direction that changes the pinion angle. Get that set first if possible then adjust the thrust angle to center the steering wheel.

I was told that it was my solid UCA causing this problem.. but that makes NO sense.. I think its my LCA reloc brackets.. I bought them used and they had a slight bend on one of them. I am going to replace them with a brand new set, and the adj PHB, and hopefully that will correct my problem.

The UCA will not make the steering wheel off by itself. With no other changes but the relocation brackets, you can assume they are causing the problem. However simply changing them will not necessarily fix the problem. The new ones can cause the same problem because they are solid pieces of metal that bolt to the axle. If anything is not perfectly straight in either the brackets, axle, or even body mounts, the alignment will be off. That is why adjustable components exist, to make adjustments perfect.
 
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RSKtakR

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I did not mean to mix and match control arms. Use adjustables on both sides, but when adjusting only change one side at a time and drive the car to see if there is an improvement. If you adjust both in the same direction that changes the pinion angle. Get that set first if possible then adjust the thrust angle to center the steering wheel.



The UCA will not make the steering wheel off by itself. With no other changes but the relocation brackets, you can assume they are causing the problem. However simply changing them will not necessarily fix the problem. The new ones can cause the same problem because they are solid pieces of metal that bolt to the axle. If anything is not perfectly straight in either the brackets, axle, or even body mounts, the alignment will be off. That is why adjustable components exist, to make adjustments perfect.

yes I know.. I am buying a set of adjustable LCA's today, and pulling the solid set off, as well as a adj PHB and maybe a NEW set of LCA reloc brackets. I dont care to replace my brand new solid UCA for an adjustable one, but Im thinking that since I will have adjustable LCA's, I should probably have the adjustable UCA as well.
 

1179

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I would suggest that you start from scratch; remove the lca relocation brackets,install the stock lca's, take measurements from each lca front mounting bolt to its rear mounting bolt,( should be the same ). Install your relocation brackets & adj. lca's; adj the lca's to achieve the measurement you took above, ( use the same reference point you used above, not the lca rear mount, as most relo brackets will not maintain the correct geomerty ). Do all measuring & adjusting with weight on wheels or stands under axel housing. Good Luck
 
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slvr08gt

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I would suggest that you start from scratch; remove the lca relocation brackets,install the stock lca's, take measurements from each lca front mounting bolt to its rear mounting bolt,( should be the same ). Install your relocation brackets & adj. lca's; adj the lca's to achieve the measurement you took above, ( use the same reference point you used above, not the lca rear mount, as most relo brackets will not maintain the correct geomerty ). Do all measuring & adjusting with weight on wheels or stands under axel housing. Good Luck

Good idea. Thanks for the input.

Nick
 

Scuba-Matt

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I'm having the same problem after Installing BMR lower control relocation brackets and BBR non adjustable billet lower control arms today. The F to R is out 3/8 inch. I also have a adjustable BMR panhard bar and the axle is centered within 1mm.
I'll see what kind of adjustment I can make tomorrow and let everyone know.
 
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RSKtakR

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After thinking about the sequence that I put all my suspension parts on, I think my steering wheel was fine, until I put my aftermarket sold UCA on.. NEVER had a steering wheel problem until after that. My adjustable PHB, and double adjustable LCA's should be here by the end of this week, and will get installed over Christmas weekend. After thinking about all this and the fact that nothing was off (that I could see anyways) until after the UCA was installed. SO either:

1. the solid UCA put the rear end in the REAL correct position since there is no squishy rubber now, or maybe a mount on the rear end isnt quite "in square".

2. the solid UCA isnt made right, and something is slightly off with it.

Say I fix "rear alignment" after installing the adjustable LCA's, and make the gap between the front of each rear tire the same (its a 1-3/4" gap on the passenger side and 2-1/2" gap on the drivers side between the front of the rear tire and the FRONT roll of the quarter panel), will me adjusting the LCA's to this centered position put my solid UCA in some sort of bind, and cause other damage/problems? Should I also look into replacing the UCA with an adjustable one?
 
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Scuba-Matt

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After thinking about the sequence that I put all my suspension parts on, I think my steering wheel was fine, until I put my aftermarket sold UCA on.. NEVER had a steering wheel problem until after that. My adjustable PHB, and double adjustable LCA's should be here by the end of this week, and will get installed over Christmas weekend. After thinking about all this and the fact that nothing was off (that I could see anyways) until after the UCA was installed. SO either:

1. the solid UCA put the rear end in the REAL correct position since there is no squishy rubber now, or maybe a mount on the rear end isnt quite "in square".

2. the solid UCA isnt made right, and something is slightly off with it.

Say I fix "rear alignment" after installing the adjustable LCA's, and make the gap between the front of each rear tire the same (its a 1-3/4" gap on the passenger side and 2-1/2" gap on the drivers side between the front of the rear tire and the FRONT roll of the quarter panel), will me adjusting the LCA's to this centered position put my solid UCA in some sort of bind, and cause other damage/problems? Should I also look into replacing the UCA with an adjustable one?
When you get your adjustable LCA's you'll be able to correct the front to rear issue. If your front to rear is off then your binding the UCR now. Adjusting the F to R will with the LCA'a will take that bind off the UPC. The adjustable UCA will allow you to change the pinion angle.
Is you axle centered left to right? Do you have an adjustable panhard bar?
 
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RSKtakR

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When you get your adjustable LCA's you'll be able to correct the front to rear issue. If your front to rear is off then your binding the UCR now. Adjusting the F to R will with the LCA'a will take that bind off the UPC. The adjustable UCA will allow you to change the pinion angle.
Is you axle centered left to right? Do you have an adjustable panhard bar?


axle is NOT centered left to right, my adjustable PHB will be here by the end of this week and going in the sametime the adjustable LCA's are. Im not to worried about getting an adjustable UCA, unless I REALLY need to. HOPEFULLY the adjustable LCA's and PHB should correct everything.
 

slvr08gt

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Man I really wish we could find the "contributing factor" that causes some people to run in to this issue of the steering wheel going off kilter. Im starting to wonder if this only happens to people that are running lowering springs. Maybe it happens to everyone but some people dont report it or something. Just seems odd that there are very FEW threads discussing this problem.

-Nick
 

RSKtakR

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Man I really wish we could find the "contributing factor" that causes some people to run in to this issue of the steering wheel going off kilter. Im starting to wonder if this only happens to people that are running lowering springs. Maybe it happens to everyone but some people dont report it or something. Just seems odd that there are very FEW threads discussing this problem.

-Nick

I think its a combo of the drop springs (throwing the axle to the left or right) then everyone puts LCA reloc brackets on after they lower the car to get ridd of the possible tire hop problem and "correct" the angle of the LCA's after the car is lowerd, BUT the reloc brackets are never perfect because they move the mounting point of the LCA... then you have the rear all out of whack like I do right now.. Did you ever get yours set right?
 

slvr08gt

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I think its a combo of the drop springs (throwing the axle to the left or right) then everyone puts LCA reloc brackets on after they lower the car to get ridd of the possible tire hop problem and "correct" the angle of the LCA's after the car is lowerd, BUT the reloc brackets are never perfect because they move the mounting point of the LCA... then you have the rear all out of whack like I do right now.. Did you ever get yours set right?

The adj. PHB did NOT fix my issue. I am sending my brackets back to the manufactor to have them placed in the jig to verify they are not out of specs. If they are out of specs then they will send me a set for free. If they are in specs then they will ship them back and I will order a set of adj. LCA's.

I would have to disagree that the brackets are never perfect. They are made in a single jig that has been pricisevly mesured and if the jig was off then they would alot more than just three or four people reporting our issue. Several manufactors of these brackets sell close to a hundred sets each year.

I also find it hard to believe that not one single manufactor states that their brackets require or may require adj. LCA's after installing them. If the drop springs had any type of influence on what problem we are incountering, the adj. PHB should have fixed it.

-Nick
 

RSKtakR

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The adj. PHB did NOT fix my issue. I am sending my brackets back to the manufactor to have them placed in the jig to verify they are not out of specs. If they are out of specs then they will send me a set for free. If they are in specs then they will ship them back and I will order a set of adj. LCA's.

I would have to disagree that the brackets are never perfect. They are made in a single jig that has been pricisevly mesured and if the jig was off then they would alot more than just three or four people reporting our issue. Several manufactors of these brackets sell close to a hundred sets each year.

I also find it hard to believe that not one single manufactor states that their brackets require or may require adj. LCA's after installing them. If the drop springs had any type of influence on what problem we are incountering, the adj. PHB should have fixed it.

-Nick

All the adj PHB will correct is the axle shift left to right..over the past couple weeks we have been keeping this thread up, I have learn quite a bit about the rear end in my car.. I even pulled all the dimensions al lthe way around the rear, and drew it all in AutoCAD so I could see just how far its off..ended up being just short of 1 degree.
 

ZXMustang

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What I dont get is why you guys are using LCA brackets or adjustable lcas/uca?? There is no need for that. With lowering springs, you are not nearly out of wack to need this stuff. The only adjustable item you need is the PHB. Thats it. The LCAs dont need to be adjustable and neither does the UCA. I have done springs/lcas/uca/phb on 3 different S197 cars and NONE of them needed adjustment accept the panhard. My 09 shelby was one of them and didnt need anything accept a small adjustment with the phb. This was with the sportline springs too. Thats the biggest drop you can get from just springs. Now if you were going to be dropping it to the ground with coilovers then I can understand. Just ditch the brackets, YOU DONT NEED THEM. Get standard LCAs with solid ends and the solid UCA designed for lowered cars....case closed. You can get them here....

http://www.massivespeedsystem.com/_..._satisfaction_system/mass11027x/i-307682.aspx
 

BMR Tech

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It simply sounds like the arms are changing effective lengths when lowering them further downward in the LCA Bracket.

This is not very common, but does happen, unfortunately.

You will need adjustable LCA's to correct the issue.

Always ensure the rear axle is centered within the chassis....first. A misalgined rear axle can and will lead to unwanted suspension geometry and effects. (drivetrain bind/misalignment, bushing/LCA/UCA binding-misalignment)

Please let me know if you have any questions for me.

Thanks!
 

RSKtakR

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OK got the adj LCA's on. right now I just set the length the same as the stockers, the car is still in the air so I can get the X-pipe and adj PHB on when they get here. When I installed the LCA's I DID put the jack under the rear end and lift it into the "loaded" position, before installing each LCA. When I start adjusting all these (LCA's and PHB) should the car be on the ground, in the air under the "loaded" position again when adjusting everything? If in the loaded position will that be hard on the threads of any of these parts?
 

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