More problems with my Skyline R34GTT

"Ok this has me pickled! it may be because im a female and as such garages try to fob me off but here is my problem and see what you guys say first. Ok so if i drive stready below 50-60 the car is fine and drives in a straight line and no judder or anything however then if I accelerate towards the illegal side of 70 the rear of the car twitches and the steering wheel moves to the right and forces the car to steer right (so you have to counter steer). But then whats even more bizzare is as i ease off and it goes back past 70 the rear of the car skips to the opposite side and the steering wheel veers to to the left? and if i continue below 50-60mph ish the steering wheel slowly centres itself!! whats wrong with my beast!!! "

"check all suspension joints on the back balance the wheels on the back sounds daft but has our car been in a prang? poor repair will mean your car could be crabbing. has it done it 4 long???"

"thats what i would suggest. sounds to me like the car has been in a smash at some point in its life. and the chassie is twisted causing the car to crab like johny says. im no expert but i think if it is twisted it could possibly be a right off. or if they can fix it itl cost you. my cousin twisted his chassie at front and was quoted £200 to put the car on a jig and then it was £35 every hour it was on and would take a minimum of 7 hours"

Phil Holmes
Philholmes87@hotmail.co.uk
1998 BMW E36 318IS - RED

Check the basics like balancing weights on the inside of the wheel. If in doubt get them balanced! Stupid but check the tyre tread all round and search for uneven wear. Also if nothing comes up jack the car up and turn the wheels over by hand just to make sure you have good bearings and the pads haven't locked up etc

"wow quick replys! i had had the balancing and tracking done but with no joy i checked the tires and they seem fine i took it to nissan earlyer and the mecanic said it could be a steering wheel rack however he mainly deals with more modern skylines and as such couldnt be sure of the issue?? what sort of nissan mechanic is that!!! i dont think the car has been in a prang it had had all the checks before i bought it and nothing like that has come about? how else could i tell if it has been in a crash? also what am i looking for when you say check all suspension joints on the back?"

"Pain in the arse isn't it. I once took my supra over to Toyota near me and they said 'sorry we can't service a car thats not a toyota' I was like right.... If its been in a crash the bodywork may have been replaced but marks on the chassis behind them probably won't. I don't think you really want to start taking panels off to check though. Suspension joints not too clued up with them myself but I suppose check if theres any play or bush's have worn out etc."

"thats basically it any play at all there should be minimal in everything. an old manager at work had a similar problem on a 3series beamer and it was the rear tracking - which i though was strange but he had it done and it was ok but i'd up until then never heard of it and havn't since. quick way to check for a poor repair after a prang.- an object anything small like a 1p or £1 coin between the panels make sure the gapping is the same all the way from the top to the bottom if its not- poor repair."

"thanks for the comments dazzi and johny. Well there appears to be no ""play"" in any of the wheels! (should of seen me trying to jack the car up etc! haha mechanics is definatly not my speciality hehe) and all the panels appear ok. The thing is if it had been in a crash previously and this was causing this then surely this would of happened from day one of owning the car would it not? as its only recently this has been happening? sorry for being a pain but what with garages saying they dont know has sort of left me in the lurch!! i mean come on if a garage mechanic doesnt know then who else does!! i thought to my self HELLOO your a mechanic its your job to know the problem lol! thanks again"

"thats true allthough a large pot hole can throw freshly balanced wheels out within seconds. so i'd go for that . "

"hmm ok thanks for the advice im getting rather sick of driving everywhere below 60 lol and the car just feels unsafe so all journeys are kept minimul. im going to go to national tyres tomorrow to get them balanced and tracking again and see if that makes any difference."