b210 steering blues

[b210in]

fellow bee keepers;

 

so i finally figuered out all of the cars vibrations at high speeds. it turns out that the rear tires were old and out of balance. my car now cruises really nice at like 90 mph with new tires. anyway. i have a new issue now and i wanted to see if any of you had this problem as well. my car's steering has too much play in it. at low speeds it's no big deal and manageable, but when i blast this thing to 100 it gets a little scary. i'm debating wether to replace all the steering components or just switch to a custom rack and pinion set up. i'm worried that if i just replace the steering components it's not going to improve that much. what do you guys think?

[datzenmike]

Have you thought of the lower control arm ball joints? If worn they can also be a source of vibration and wandering on the road. The strut cartrige could need replacing too. It's basically a shock absorber that dampens bounce. The tension rod rubber mounts could also be worn and allowing the lower control arms to wander. None of the above will be fixed by installing a r&p not really designed for your car. Often r&p can alter the bump steer and add problems. Replacing the steering rod ends and idler will always improve the steering. The steering box can also be adjusted.

[Pumpkn210]

Mikes right, need to find where the play is and replace the bad parts! The whole setup can be bought NEW for around $150 :cool:

[datzenmike]

Raise the front wheels off the ground. Grasp the bottom of each tire and pull outward and push inward. There should be no movement in or out. Any movement in/out would indicate a worn bottom ball joint or possibly an improperly adjusted wheel bering pre-load. Have someone wiggle the steering wheel back and forth through the loose sloppy area while you watch the tie rod ends where they attach to the strut. If the rod moves side to side but does not move the strut then there is wear and looseness. Inspect also the pitman arm and the idler arm ball joints for slack. The idler arm should rotate only to transfer movement out to the pass side tie rod. Pull downward on the cross rod between the pitman and idler arm. There should be no movement except side to side with the steering.

 

Rotate and inspect the tire wear. Strange abnormal wear patterns can be alignment, damaged/worn suspension or shocks. Do not waste your money on an alignment unless all the suspension and steering components are in good shape.

[ggzilla]

Yes, do as Mike suggests. You may find other components that are worn. Becuase you can't repair the steering gearbox (not easily at least). Usually they have 1" play at the steering wheel rim -- which is a lot, but that's how they were new.

[Dguy210]

Yes, do as Mike suggests. You may find other components that are worn. Becuase you can't repair the steering gearbox (not easily at least). Usually they have 1" play at the steering wheel rim -- which is a lot, but that's how they were new.

 

I gotta second this, the rubber bits wear out much faster than the steering gearbox. Hell, I had a box with 700k miles on it and the play was minimal. I just did the R&R on this and the difference between new and old tierods/balljoints etc.. is night and day.

[Nicholas7620]

Howdy B210in,

 

I just bought an idler arm for my B210 from Amazon.com for about $63 and free shipping about ten days ago. I've been told the steering parts on a B210 are very beefy for the car and that the idler arm is the first part to weaken.

 

Are you really driving your B210 at 100MPH, sheesh, I would be worried about dropping a valve at that high of RPM. :o You might be hitting 6,000 RPM. :o

 

I try to keep my B at 4,000 RPM or lower. At 4,000 RPM, I figure I'm putt, putting along at 70 to 75 MPH. I'm running 14 inch rims so I installed a tach before the weekend to help me figure out how fast I was driving. I hit 4,500 RPM a couple of times and I'm guessing I was going 80 to 85. :lol:

 

I drove almost 202 miles of freeway driving last weekend and got 35.3 miles to the gallon. I was surprised :blink:, rechecked my math, :rolleyes: and yup I got 35.3 MPG :D .

 

Best,

[b210in]

Yes, do as Mike suggests. You may find other components that are worn. Becuase you can't repair the steering gearbox (not easily at least). Usually they have 1" play at the steering wheel rim -- which is a lot, but that's how they were new.

 

ok. this is what i needed to know. approximately how much steering wheel play it should have from the factory. right now it's definitely a little more than an inch.

 

if this steering system was designed for a slow moving vehicle, having about one inch play in the steering is reasonably acceptable.

 

the bee has no shaking or vibrations at high speeds now. my only issue is the excessive steering play. i can easily buy all new steering components, but am i going to end up with about an inch of play in the steering wheel?

 

this is what i don't want. if i switch to a rack and pinion set up, wont this lessen the amount of play in the steering wheel since it's a different design? newer small import cars with rack and pinion steering have almost no steering wheel play. this is what i want for my car.

 

hey nich, i have a ca18det in my bee with a matching 5spd, getting up to 100 is no big deal.

[]2eDeYe]

Idler arm is a major problem and is the first to wear. I'd have someone turn the wheel back and forth within the 1" play window while you look under the car. Check each joint, if it doesn't translate the motion from the steering wheel it is bad and should be replaced.

 

ie...What Mike said :lol:

[Nicholas7620]

Holy Bejesus, B210in you have a nice set up. A 5 speed with a ca18det, :cool:

 

I'd fix up the the suspension you have, the B210's were beefy and it would be cheaper than doing a conversion. You want strength in your front end, above everything else, especially when you are hitting a 100mph+. I'd trust DGUY, Mike et al, upgrading your ball joints, idler arm, tie rods, cross member will be cheap and make a big difference. What about adding a stabilizer? You want responsiveness at slower speeds.

 

If you want no wheel play at slower speeds and you want to pay big bucks and take on a big project, well ok then :P Rack & pinion it is. Take Pics. ;)

 

I like wheel play but I prefer fore play :D :P Good Luck, check out my new pics in my new look thread.

[ggzilla]

The idler arm uses two synthetic bushings. It is $15 for a repair kit and easy as pie to do, they are not a press fit, just put them on with a bit of grease and it is like new.

 

Remember the B210 was designed back in the day for 75mph freeway. The USA B210s have beefier steering linkage than B210s for other countries. But ... to get extra light steering they have relatively little caster so tend to wander at high speeds. So Datsun fitted radial tires to help track better. Still not great at freeway speeds.

 

Yes, the A14 will cruise all day at 4000 RPM. No worries there.

[Dguy210]

The idler arm uses two synthetic bushings. It is $15 for a repair kit and easy as pie to do, they are not a press fit, just put them on with a bit of grease and it is like new.

 

Remember the B210 was designed back in the day for 75mph freeway. The USA B210s have beefier steering linkage than B210s for other countries. But ... to get extra light steering they have relatively little caster so tend to wander at high speeds. So Datsun fitted radial tires to help track better. Still not great at freeway speeds.

 

Yes, the A14 will cruise all day at 4000 RPM. No worries there.

 

Rockauto has the whole assembly with the arm and balljoint (according to the pic) for $23 right now plus ~$9 for shipping.

[ggzilla]

That's an excellent deal. The stud/ball joint will eventually wear out, so buy an extra one now if you plan to become a Bee keeper.

 

The repair kit only fixes the other end of the idler arm.

[Nicholas7620]

WOW, $23 for an idler steering arm, WOW that's a low price. I'm going to get one for my inventory. Thanks DGuy, I still haven't installed my other idler steering arm. It look's easy. Has any one replaced their idler arm?

[Dguy210]

WOW, $23 for an idler steering arm, WOW that's a low price. I'm going to get one for my inventory. Thanks DGuy, I still haven't installed my other idler steering arm. It look's easy. Has any one replaced their idler arm?

 

I had just ordered one when I saw this thread, it's their closeout stuff. I replaced it on my old B110 (basically the same design) and I remember it being pretty easy once the car was jacked up. Get a pitman arm puller and the balljoints on the front end become a piece of cake.

[Nicholas7620]

I bought one idler arm, (I now have two, :rolleyes: )ROCK AUTO DISCOUNT CODE 5% 38027052985109 Good until 10/17/2010. There is now 1 left. My idler arm has been bad for two years, that's when I was told I should replace the one I am still using. The cheapest I have ever seen an idler arm has been $42 on ebay. I'll rep u DGUY.

[b210in]

i checked my steering components. it turns out that the steering box is the one that has too much play. i turned the steering wheel just on the play and it does not move the idler arm at all. next step is to adjust the box? everything else looks good.

[ggzilla]

Won't hurt, as long as you don't tighten the box. Just take the play out.

 

See Steering Gearbox Adjustment

 

WARNING: Don't tighten it one bit. It must have a miniscule amount of play at the adjustment bolt (and more at the wheel).

 

[deltapeco]

had the same problem with my b210 Had the steering box adjusted and replace all tie rods, Drives strait and true now.

[Nicholas7620]

Tie rods, ball joints, cross members are plentiful and cheap for the B210, the front suspension never wore out because Nissan over strenghtened the front ends. :) I still have all the old parts working after 233K miles and 35 years of age.

[Nicholas7620]

Tie rods, ball joints, cross members are plentiful and cheap for the B210, the front suspension never wore out because Nissan over strenghtened the front ends. :) I still have all the old parts working after 233K miles and 35 years of age.

[deltapeco]

the parts where great, rubber bushings woreout .they are sold as one part so you have to throw away perfectly good hardware because the rubber has failed.it worked for me.