my z has a waddle

[prilofx]

I was finally able to get out and take a drive around the neighborhood last night... very late last night when there was no traffic around. It was AWESOME, first of all, even with its problems (that I have been chipping away at, slowly but surely). One thing I noticed on a straight, flat, recently paved bit of neighborhood street was that the car seems to have what I can only describe as a waddle. Very front-endish. As if the wheels were rotating like something out of a cartoon. That, instead of tracking straight, there is a wobble. Obviously a suspension issue, but can someone give me a heads up as to what I should be looking at first to correct this? Bearings come to mind first, of course... Again, this is a car that just about everything needs to be replaced on, and it's hard to decide what to replace first, but I have a growing list that I keep on hand for when I can run off and buy parts.

Despite the exhaust leaks and the unbalanced carbs, it ran bitchen. I can't wait until i get it running perfect.

Also the steering is unbelievably stiff, even rolling or at residential neighborhood speeds. I wonder if this is related to tire width, but it could be anything, probably.

Edited July 14, 2010 by prilofx
not paying attention.

[gnosez]

We'd need to know quite a bit more about your Z to provide you with any meaningful suggestions.

Such as:

1) recent alignment?

2) ball joints/tie-rods check out okay?

3) steering rack held down tight?

4) steering rack friction nut loose?

5) steering coupler worn/loose?

6) lug nuts tight?

7) correct air pressure?

8) TC rods tight?

9) condition of bushings?

10) wheel bearing tight?

11) sway bar end links and bushings condition?

Go through these and report back your findings....

[S30Driver]

Aside from a major front end component problem as mentioned above, the alignment is high on the list of suspects from what you describe. One tie rod could be way off.

With the steering pointed as straight ahead as you can get it, take a look at the front wheels from directly ahead - does one seem to be angled a little in or out more than the other?

Could be many things, including a bent strut or other front end component.

My guess is it will need ball joints & tie rods unless those were maintained.

[grantf]

I thought that wobble was a natual feature of z's!

[doradox]

Check your tires for a tread separation.

Steve

[mlc240z]

Bent rim?

[jwtaylor]

Out of round tire?

Had this once on an old VW Beetle would only be noticeable at slow speed. Whole front of the car would waddle from side to side or up and down depending on how the tires were phased to each other. New tires eliminated the problem.

[Z train]

check your tires for a tread separation.

Steve

....x2

[prilofx]

no tread separation, tires will be replaced eventually but not hurrying because for the most part it's just sitting in the garage until I save up money to get the suspension worked on/replaced and I do other small stuff to it in the meantime. My guess is that it could be anything mentioned. Tie rods lack bushings entirely on both sides.

Until seats can be bolted down and the gas tank drip fixed it's not going much further than around the block, anyway. I was going to do these things to it a couple of months ago but, as is what often happens, something else needed money thrown at it that I had put aside for the Z. Thanks all! Bookmarking this thread too for future reference.

[twsutt]

My 280 had a terrible wobble when I first got it even after replacing all struts, bushings, checked alignment, ball joints, tie rods etc. The problem was the P.O.'s cheap, crappy tires (Mohawk-a no longer made tire by Discount Tires) that had possibly been sitting for too long and were out of round. Once those were replaced the car drove much smoother.

[tlorber]

You may want to rotate the front and rear wheels to see if that eliminates anything.

[turbo 260]

One problem I had was using aftermarket lug nuts on a factory wheel. The aftermarket nuts are slightly smaller, thus you end up tightening them off center. To fix this you need at least two factory lug nuts per wheel. It drove me crazy for years.

Jim