Steering wheel alignment

[dbcjmc]

Hi Folks!

The answer must be simple, but I haven't found it....

I replaced the steering coupler with polyeurathane one. The steering wheel is now exactly 90 degrees rotated.

Simple! I say. I must have the coupler mounted 90 degrees off. So I reverse the coupler, and now it's 90 degrees the other way. The "Z" on the steering wheel turns into an "N" or an upside down "N".

Hmmm. Is the coupler asymetric? What did I do wrong?

[=Enigma=]

I may be possible to allow the upper shaft to slip down enough when removing the coupler so that it is allowed to rotate without rotating the steering wheel. I could be wrong on this but I can't think of any other way for this to happen. Try disconnecting the upper shaft bolts from the coupler and have someone hold the steering wheel at center. Then, making sure that the wheels are pointed straight ahead, try pulling the upper shaft out far enough so that you can rotate it to line up in the correct position.

[dbcjmc]

Thanks Adam,

I'm feeling rather silly... I discovered I had the coupler connected incorrectly. I thought the T-Bar from the steering wheel was supposed to line up with the T-Bar on the steering rod. Doh! :stupid: It's all good now. The new bushings, struts/springs makes it like new!

BTW - i went with KYB gas shocks and Eibach springs. It lowered that car about an inch or so, and rides real nice!! Not sure why some on the forum discourage this combo.

Cheers, db

[Arne]

BTW - i went with KYB gas shocks and Eibach springs. It lowered that car about an inch or so, and rides real nice!! Not sure why some on the forum discourage this combo.

Because KYB says not to use their struts with lowering springs. I ignored that warning once in the past (a non-Datsun) and the struts were worthless after 6 months use. The theory is that KYBs aren't designed to withstand the extra work caused by having less than the stock suspension travel. Here's hoping that yours will hold up longer than mine did.

[dbcjmc]

OOps!

At least I'll know how to swap em out more quickly next time around.

Cheers, db

Edited September 6, 2009 by dbcjmc

[=Enigma=]

I'm glad to hear you got it worked out. The two extra bolts should have been your first clue.

[MEZZZ]

I was going to go with the same setup, Eibachs and KYB but decided against it after reading a similar post by Arne in the past. I went with Eibachs and Tokico Illuminas instead. I just pulled the fronts struts off today and opened them up and my bump stops were totally gone! The biggest piece was about 1/2 inch, most was literally dust!

It will be awhile to get it back together, I figured I might as well do the bushings while I have it down this far. Oh, and the Toyota brake upgrade, new rotors, S/S brake lines, tie rod ends...does it ever end?

Edited September 7, 2009 by MEZZZ

[FastWoman]

The "Z" on the steering wheel turns into an "N" or an upside down "N".

An upside down "N" is still an "N." An upside down "Z" is still a "Z." "N" for Nissan. "Z" for 280Z.

The steering wheel is correct in any orientation, just like the wheel centers.

It's all part of the great circle of life.

Be happy.

[jmortensen]

I ran the GR2's in my first Z with cut stock springs for quite a while until I was rear ended and pushed into head on traffic. That was the end of that Z, but the struts never had a problem. I don't know what "extra work" the struts would incur by being in a different part of the travel. It's still a piston with a stack of shims being pushed through oil. The oil squeezes past the shims, and that's where the damping comes from. This is the same at the top of the travel as it is at the bottom. The thing to look out for is bottoming the struts without bumpstops. If you have bumpstops in place, there really shouldn't be anything wrong with running them in any part of the travel.

[Arne]

Yes Jon, in theory you'd think they should work OK. I'm not a suspension engineer, so I can't explain it. I only know two things for certain:

1.) KYB's documentation is very clear—GR2's are not to be used on lowered cars.

2.) My personal experience backs that up. I put a new pair of GR2s in an '81 Scirocco with a set of VW factory Euro-spec GTi springs and factory bumpstops. Lowered the car about 1 1/4" (30 mm). The car was in excellent condition, only a couple years old at that point. Felt fine at first. But after a few months (about 3000 miles) the front had gotten very pogo-like, as the rebound damping was non-existent.

Others can certainly try them on lowered cars if they want. I do have and like GR2s on my car now, but at stock ride height. I do know that I won't use GR2s with lowering springs again.