Death Wobble R34 Gtt. Pls Help!

[Rychiie]

Hey guys I really need some help here. My r34 has a bad shaking or wobbling of the front wheels and steering wheel. It shakes even on low speeds or on jack stands.

Check out this video of the wobble.

Any idea what is causing this and how I can fix it?

[Ben C34]

One would imagine its the power steering rack. It's not magic.

[The Bogan]

Is there fluid in that puppy?

From googling it could be contaminated power steering fluid, flush it and see...

 

BTW, that's freaking awesome

[Slap]

Maybe slip the belt off the power steering pump and see if it stops to check the pump.

Its shaking alot for steering could also be a missalignment in the steering, probably the steering wheel to steering rack or rear toe causing the hicas to spaz out trying to do its job. See if ya can pull a fuse out for hicas to stop it and see.

Check steering rack mounts and rubbers.

Check k frame bolts

If not steering ive had some bad shakes 9ver my years driving all different cars from missfires (plugs/ leads /coil & packs) , torque converter and flywheel issues, unis , tail shaf issues, timing belt zorst issues,.....ect.

Because it shakes at a stand still that narrows it down a bit.

Good luck mate.

[Rychiie]

I've had the power steering system flushed and bled out the air. Before I bought the car there was very low fluid in the power steering. Do you guys think the problem could be the power steering pump itself?

Edited June 3, 2019 by Rychiie

[Slap]

To many variables not enough background for an internet based answer.

 

Take the ps belt off and see if it stops.

If it does stop it could be pump/rack/lines/fluid type/belt tension.

 

If no then its probably hicas spaz (pull out the fuse to lock it straight) or loose rack or similar if its steering related.

 

If its not then look else where.

 

In the video it sounded to me like it was running on 4-5 cylinders but i did watch it quietly. Maybe its just the shaking making it sound that way.

 

 

 

[The Bogan]

I would say the pump has dropped its showbags, bleeding past the seals or some weird hydrologic black magic.

I could be totally wrong though.....LOL

[GTSBoy]

10 hours ago, Slap said:

If no then its probably hicas spaz

HICAS has no ability to make the front rack move. It won't be that.

My money is on the pump and/or rack being in a bad state from running dry.

[Slap]

If the back wheels are shaking enough it could shake the front wheel while on the stands or even possibly sending feedback through the lines if the pump is weak.

HICAS has no ability to make the front rack move. It won't be that.
My money is on the pump and/or rack being in a bad state from running dry.

I believe it to be the rack or pump.

Ever herd of possibility or possibilities?

They can happen.

[GTSBoy]

Possibilities can happen. But impossibilities can't.

[Slap]

True but i see no impossibility in the thread.

Possibilities can happen. But impossibilities can't.

[GTSBoy]

I see the HICAS rack putting enough energy into the rear end to shake the front wheels like that as being about as possible as moving the G&L Mardi Gras to Mt Isa.

[Slap]

But its still possible. Ahahaha

[NEO25T]

Hicas is electric on the rear of a 34.

Mine had an air lock and shook like that, going from lock to lock on the stands made it better but had to sit it on the ground  and do it again for some time before it went away.

My car only goes for short periods so may have this problem next time it runs again.

[niZmO_Man]

I'd start by flushing the power steering system (with new fluid).

[Mick Dean]

So, my 34 is doing this now. Did you manage to resolve the issue? By the way I no longer even have hicas. 

[GoHashiriya]

 

1 hour ago, Mick Dean said:

So, my 34 is doing this now. Did you manage to resolve the issue? By the way I no longer even have hicas. 

 

I had this issue - albeit less severe - during tight low speed corners and very, very, occasionally at idle. I could feel it through fast sweeping corners if the engine speed was low enough. My PS fluid was old - like piss, you could say - so I replaced it which essentially fixed the problem. However, the rack was leaking quite significantly so I replaced the rack anyway, as I'm in Japan and the racks are cheap.

First port of call is to replace/top up the fluid.    

[Mick Dean]

Ok so I have finally sorted the issue. Just a recap for anyone searching this in the future and if the above video doesn't work, the steering wheels were basically just chattering back and forth totally out of control all on its own. I put my car on my hoist and started it and the steering went crazy. So after alot of unsuccessful researching and a few trips to steering specialists it turned out to be the star shaped nut at the back of the rack know as the "preload adjustment". I initially tightened it creating heavy steering and also accentuated the shudder so I loosened it an 1/8 of the rotation from the stock position. This solved the shudder and the heavy steering completely. I recommend marking the stock position prior to messing with it and don't forget it has a lock nut that needs to be nipped back up after. This is something you could probably do without jacking the car at all. A 12" shifter will do the lock nut and a 1/2" ratchet drive will fit in the star nut to adjust it. In my searches I saw alot of people experience lose or sloppy steering so naturally tightening this nut will help with that.

[joshuaho96]

On 7/12/2023 at 7:35 PM, Mick Dean said:

Ok so I have finally sorted the issue. Just a recap for anyone searching this in the future and if the above video doesn't work, the steering wheels were basically just chattering back and forth totally out of control all on its own. I put my car on my hoist and started it and the steering went crazy. So after alot of unsuccessful researching and a few trips to steering specialists it turned out to be the star shaped nut at the back of the rack know as the "preload adjustment". I initially tightened it creating heavy steering and also accentuated the shudder so I loosened it an 1/8 of the rotation from the stock position. This solved the shudder and the heavy steering completely. I recommend marking the stock position prior to messing with it and don't forget it has a lock nut that needs to be nipped back up after. This is something you could probably do without jacking the car at all. A 12" shifter will do the lock nut and a 1/2" ratchet drive will fit in the star nut to adjust it. In my searches I saw alot of people experience lose or sloppy steering so naturally tightening this nut will help with that.

I'm surprised setting preload can be done on the car, factory service manual procedure has a specified measurement method for it and it looks like it has to be done with the rack out of the car. I had a tiny, tiny seepage coming from that adjustment and I ended up just ignoring it because I didn't want to mess with the adjustment at all.

[GTSBoy]

3 hours ago, joshuaho96 said:

I'm surprised setting preload can be done on the car, factory service manual procedure has a specified measurement method for it and it looks like it has to be done with the rack out of the car. I had a tiny, tiny seepage coming from that adjustment and I ended up just ignoring it because I didn't want to mess with the adjustment at all.

You probably can't do it reliably. But you can either;

a) get lucky and somehow get it right, or

b) get it wrong and not notice.