Steering Problem?

[dkpath96]

I put on 31's a month ago and have noticed something different about how the pathy turns when making sharp turns out of my driveway on pavement. It's hard to describe but when I make a hard left turn (haven't really tried a hard right turn because this worries me), it feels like the steering wheel wants to continue to rotate counterclockwise, which seems impossible. I have to really fight it to bring it back to center. It almost feels like the right-hand tire is going to fold in or something strange like that. I've felt this before but on a riding mower, when the wheels would turn completely backwards during a really sharp turn (it would end up taking off a front tire).

 

Is this just something to be cautious of with the bigger tires? I know they have quite the positive camber and are most likely trying to roll on the outer edges... Or, do I have something broken? The tie-rods seem fine to me, but what might I look for?

[Acey]

If you went from 235/75/15 tires, they have a different alignment spec for the larger tire pathfinders. I don't know if that is your issue but I know it is different with larger tires. If your camber is off, I can see that happening with positive camber.

[94extreme]

you'll need to get an allignement and you may want to also inspect the steering for anything loose or broken. look through this forum to find all kinds of issues being discussed about mishandling issues. maybe one of them is just like yours. so, the answer may already be awaiting you.

[dkpath96]

Yea, I did a pretty good search but was unable to come up with much, but that's because it's hard to choose a keyword to describe this issue - although 'mishandling issues' may work!

 

Ok, yesterday I took the pathfinder for a spin and tried to duplicate the problem. Every time, all I got was tire rub at full lock, and nothing strange. It seems to only happen at the intersection to my drive, which has a bit of slope away from the center of the road which may be causing or amplifying the issue.

 

I went under the front last night and did not notice anything unusual or loose, so I guess I'll have to wait and see with this - and do some more research. Hopefully nothing major breaks on the trails!

[88pathoffroad]

Alignment needs tweaking. Steering symptoms like that indicate to me that toe or camber needs adjustment.

[sicky]

Sounds like your camber is off. Just go spend the $50 and get a good 4-wheel alignment and all will be better.

[dkpath96]

The thing that worries me is that I had an alignment done the day the new 31s were installed (the first week of June). I looked up the warranty - any issues within 6 months or 6000 miles on alignment and I can have another done for 'free' (nothing is ever free...) so that'll be my next step. While they align I'll have them look for any other problems with the steering.

 

So it is normal for the camber angle to increase as one steers, right? I can visually see positive camber when I park with the wheels turned.

 

"Another reason for negative camber is that a rubber tire tends to roll on itself while cornering. If the tire had zero camber, the inside edge of the contact patch would begin to lift off of the ground, thereby reducing the contact patch. By applying negative camber, this effect is reduced, thereby maximizing the contact patch." -Wiki

 

Thus positive camber makes the contact patch worse?? This doesn't make sense then, if SUVs and trucks have positive cambers - would this not reduce traction? OR is steering ease more important?

[90seven]

I've also have an issue with mine since I had my 31s. My truck pulls to the right so I'm forced to steer the wheel to the left a little, [(\)] just to drive straight. I too had it aligned.

 

I was told that its probably my suspension. Have you checked your suspension lately?

[XPLORx4]

90seven- does your alignment printout indicate if the caster is out of spec? You can actually make small changes to caster angle yourself. On the subframe, just above the swaybar mounts, you can see a little tab with a hole in it that's generally lined up with a hole in the frame. On my truck, the holes weren't lined up at all. It used to pull to the right, due to the right caster angle being lower than the left caster angle. I fixed this problem by jacking up the truck frame, loosening the subframe bolts, and pulling the right side of the subframe forward and pushing the left side backward. I then took it back for a realignment, and that fixed the problem.