tension rod and steering nuckle Q

[supreme_1]

anyone know what the purpose of the tension rod is?

long story short, i bought a car that had a bent crossmember and possibly bent the frame as well, but a real small amount. after i swapped in a new crossmember, when i let the wheel go it pulls towards the curb. i know i had trouble putting the tension rod back in as the angle was a little off. would the tension rod be the thing pulling the car towards the curb? i know my alignment is off, but i wanted to get a general idea of what the tension rod does before i get the alignment done.

also i had to remove the steering knuckle to get the crossmember off with the rack, so upon removal i didnt pay any attention to the flat spot on the steering column( the part with no teeth) and i dont know if i put it on correctly. would this also have something to do with the car pulling toward the curb?

[5t341tH]

tension rod keeps the control arm in place. if there wasnt, it the lower arm could be moving around

[supreme_1]

with that said, the tension rod will push my alignment out of wack, and possibly make my wheel pull?

in order to install it on the passenger side, i had to pry it in place.

[5t341tH]

from my understanding it would pull under pressure.

[supreme_1]

damn, no wonder my steering wheel pulls

[supreme_1]

anyone else got anymore insight on this? i need to figure out if the car is even worth getting alignment. my crossmember was pushed to one side, and i had to pry it into place. someone help!!!!

[aznpoopy]

tension rod controls caster, which is nonadjustable with the stock arm

your alignment is off and/or you still have bent components

[DP_Michelle G]

your better off just replacing your crossmember like you should have done in the first place

[Dream240]

You need to replace the tension rod along with the LCA. I'm sure your subframe wasn't the only thing bent.

If you've got frame damage then you'll never get it to line up perfectly. I would go with new LCAs and some aftermarket adjustable tension rods. That should help you get a straight alignment.

[jackjack]

i had the same thing. replace everything that is bent/bad bushings. then get an alignment.

[240on430]

you can get a set of front LCAs with new bushings and ball joints installed for around $110 from pdm-racing.

[supreme_1]

sorry for the misunderstanding but i had changed the crossmember, the steering rack, the tie rods, lower control arm. but i have a feeling the frame is a little wack.

would the alignment possibly fix the caster and camber even if the tension rod has tension on it?

[Dream240]

On a stock setup, the only adjustment that can be made in the front is toe. Caster and camber is non-adjustable.

Measure the fender gap on both front wheels in front of the wheel and in back. This is to check the wheel position of both front wheels in the wheel wells. How far off are the wheels from each other?

[supreme_1]

when you say wheel gap do you mean the gap between the top of the tire and the bottom of the fender lip? or do you mean how far the wheel sits in the fender?

the gap from the top of the tire to the fender is approx 2.5" on drivers front 2.75 " on the pass front, 4" in the drivers rear, and about 4.25" on the pass rear. i bought the car sight unseen and it looked like it was wrecked, so im putting it back as best as possible as i am going to use this as my DD. but the only thing that worries me is that when i let the wheel go the car pulls to the right, kinda hard.is the tension rod the one responsible for doing this? because i thought the toe will do this?

[Dream240]

No, pulling is caused by bad caster not bad toe. And yes the teniosn rod sets the caster, but since the OEM rods are not adjustable the caster will never change unless the car is damaged.

The measurement I'm talking about is not the tire to fender clearance(ride height), I'm talking about the gap in between the wheel and the wheel well in the front and back of the tire. You'll get two measurements per front tire.

The backs aren't a concern at this point. Oh an BTW the rear wheel ride height is WAAAY to high, what do you have for mods in the back?

[supreme_1]

i will get those measurements in a bit, as for the rear suspension i am running some cut springs, as thats what the car came with.

by getting adjustable tension rods will this fix my caster camber issue?thus making my car not pull?a couple of my friends have there tires massively cambering in and they dont have adjustable tension rods. is there a reason why mines is still pulling and theres isnt?or does it just come down to me getting an alignment?

[Dream240]

Caster and camber are adjusted in totally different ways. The camber is usually adjusted by upgrading your front strut mounts to Tein, etc. and adjusting them that way. Also doing this does not affect your caster in any way.

Caster is the adjustment of the wheel in relation to the strut tower, the pic above says it all.

Camber is the inward-outward adjustment of the tire when looking at it from overhead.

Camber does not affect pull, neither does toe. CASTER ONLY!! Also a bad tire can cause a pull but not as severe as your talking.

CUT SPRINGS??? WTF?? Get that shit fixed immediately. Hell even put some stockers back on there to fix it for now.

Sounds like you have little car knowledge and to top it off you have a FUBAR car. A big tip for you, download the FSM and READ IT!!!! Best of luck!

[k's_silvia2.0]

Alright heres my problem.I just replace my my steering rack,steering rack bushings,and inner tie rods but not the outer and got her aligned.Stupid I know but it was because I had tein inner and outer tie rods and I could not get off the stock rods of the rack.So I had to put it together using my old ends.I already replace the cross member.Well now to the problem when im driving and when I make a fast right turn the front driver side dips hard like its tryng to oversteer?I got coilovers so its not a case of blown shocks.Any one know or also have this problem?

[supreme_1]

Caster and camber are adjusted in totally different ways. The camber is usually adjusted by upgrading your front strut mounts to Tein, etc. and adjusting them that way. Also doing this does not affect your caster in any way.

Caster is the adjustment of the wheel in relation to the strut tower, the pic above says it all.

Camber is the inward-outward adjustment of the tire when looking at it from overhead.

Camber does not affect pull, neither does toe. CASTER ONLY!! Also a bad tire can cause a pull but not as severe as your talking.

CUT SPRINGS??? WTF?? Get that shit fixed immediately. Hell even put some stockers back on there to fix it for now.

Sounds like you have little car knowledge and to top it off you have a FUBAR car. A big tip for you, download the FSM and READ IT!!!! Best of luck!

i have a fucked up car, but the car costed me 300$ bucks, 103k miles, 5speed, running, and all legal. i am just starting to work on imports. i have about 6 years or so of knowledge on hot rods, lowriders, and mini trucks. but none of them have this kind of suspension and i have no idea on the concept and what these certain parts do.