Need help Diagnosing Steering play - Steering rack & Front control arms
 

Yo fellow Z enthusiasts. I've got another issue with my steering on my 370z where on the straight roads with slight bumps causes the steering wheel to jerk left and right and becomes pronounced under braking to a stop especially on
the same bumpy roads (no potholes just rough road surfaces). It's almost as if the sensitivity of the steering wheel has just increased over time. Most possibly due to my weekend spirited driving up in the mountains haha! This car is too damn fun in the windy mountain roads. I try my best to avoid heavy road surfaces and potholes like 99% of the time.

Also my knowledge on suspension systems is very limited and I've only got about a little over a year's worth of mechanical experience as an apprentice mechanic so any helpful info, tips and advice is very welcome.

Anyway down to the point - My steering rack boots was sweating down to a near drip leak last year. I opened up the boots a little bit to see what the inner rack looked like and found something interesting. One side was filled with lots of grease while the other had very little if not any. I recently cleaned it and rechecked a few weeks later and is dry as a bone externally on the boots.

Also my front lower control arm bushes look like they're starting to leak out or already have. One side had more black liquid marks than the other. Not sure if this is contributing to the problem. I didn't get a chance to check the condition of the upper control arm but I will next time I jack up the car.

What are the long term symptoms and possible damage could I expect If I don't rectify this issue in the near short term?

I've read up into these 2 articles:
http://www.the370z.com/brakes-suspen...ngs-blown.html
http://www.the370z.com/brakes-suspen...uspension.html (Thanks for the great post rusty!)

So yea any helpful input or additional information I'll gladly absorb and learn from you all. Many Thanks!

(Sorry for the long wordy post. I felt I needed to give as much info as possible to narrow down the issue)

Your lower rear impact bushings are shot. 2 choices. Replace the whole lower arm with oem. Or replace the impact bushings with a SPL bushings.

Hey rusty. Fancy seeing you here! hah. Could this contribute to my steering play issue?

And yea I figured another DIY is in order. I was hoping whiteline had something for control arms but It doesn't look like they do them.

:tiphat:

Yea, the lower bushings are allowing the lower arm to move about.

Yea that makes sense. Just out of curiosity, how long did it take you to fully DIY just the lower control arm bushes including the trip to the shop? I'm hoping to do this on a weekend.

You can do both lower arms in a half day. Then it's up to the shop.

Hey rusty. Just a couple more questions relating to fixing this issue with DIY methods.

1. There's this site that sells a sort of "modified" OEM replacement for the lower control arms. But it looks like they just have the bearings replaced under their own brand and im not too sure if the ball joint is replaced/new either. I was wondering if you or anyone know of this and whether they are reputable enough to warrant me to buy these and just replace my old control arms.
https://conceptzperformance.com/spd-...19_p_19062.php

2. I'm most likely planning to replace not only just the 2 bearings with SPL on the LCAs, but also the ball joint. But having read a bit around these forums it seems like it cannot be easily taken out and replaced with a new one. Is there a way around this? Or do you need to buy a completely new LCA just to get a new ball joint? I fear the excessive play on the LCA is wearing out the ball joint as well.

3. Are there any other good bushings brand other than SPL for the LCAs? I'll use this time now to research before I get cracking on the DIYs.

Appreciate all the replies. THanks!

That link is for a complete oem arm. To replace the ball joint. You have to replace the whole arm. No one just makes the ball joint. As for the bushings. Think there are a couple of companies that may make replacements like the SPL ones. you will have to search for them, as I don't have links for them.