Grinding while turning

[Glliw]

Hey guys, I'm sort of at a loss on this one.  When the wheels are turned to the right and I'm reversing, there is a horrible grinding noise coming from the front of the car.  Could this be a tie rod issue? All the boots under the front look good, although all bushings are blown out and front shocks are blown as well.

 

Thanks

[Miles]

Make, model and year of car would help.

 

Also, state what mods have been done to the car when asking for help.

[BluDestiny]

Are they stock wheels or aftermarket? 

[Glliw]

Sorry about that, I'll add that info to the signature block in a second here.

 

Its a 78 280z, I'm pretty sure its a bone stock car.  Previous owner had no info to give really so just figuring it out over the past few days here.  

 

The wheels are those stock turbine style ones.  195/70/14's

[johnc]

Most likely a tire rubbing on the front valance. Probably the right front.

[Glliw]

I put it to the steering lock and didn't see any rubbing.  That's stock tire size too so I don't feel like that could be it.

[NewZed]

Check your tension/compression (TC) rods.  When they break, the wheel can move forward easily, and backward too if the rod comes out of the socket.  I broke one and the tire left a nice wear mark on the front inside of the fender well.

[cgsheen]

Or if the bushing(s) on the TC rod are gone.  My bet is on the left side lower valence...

[Glliw]

I had a chance to take a look at this again today and no broken suspension parts down there.  Looks like I could use a new boot on the right side of the steering arm though as its got a small tear in it.

 

What I'm thinking after reading through this and the FSM some is that the sound may be from the fact that the front shocks are blown thus causing some abnormal movements, but also all the blown bushings on the car.  It looks like pretty much every bushing has seen better days.

 

Here's some shots of what I saw down there.  

 

I say its a safe bet that some tokico HPs, Eibach springs, and an poly-bushing kit are in the near future for this car.

[Miles]

Things that can grind up front  when moving and/or  turning:

 

• Wheel bearings.
• Loose calipers rubbing on rotors
• Worn pads rubbing on rotors

Put the car on jack stands and check above items.

 

Since this is a 40 year old car of unknown condition  you may want to put it on jack stands and check out everything under the car: brakes, suspension, drive shaft, half shafts etc. Then make a list of all the repairs required to make it reliable and safe car to drive.

 

As a minimum:

• Replace the strut inserts (shocks). Include replacing the bearings on top of the front struts.
• Replace all rubber suspension bushings with polyurethane bushings including the mustache bar and steering rack  bushings.
• Replace old sagging springs.
• Rebuild the brakes.
• Install new ball joints

These items will make a night and day difference in how the car handles and will eliminate a constant stream of annoying problems/noises from popping up on a daily basis.

Edited August 4, 2013 by Miles

[Glliw]

Thanks for all the pointers Miles, though I've looked into those items.  The tire has no play to it on either side so wheel bearings are out of the question, and the pads look next to new, even if they are a crappy pad.

 

Bushings, springs, struts, and pads all around are on the to-do list.  I hadn't considered rebuilding the calipers.

[Miles]

No need to rebuild the calipers.  You can get rebuilt calipers  cheap e.g., A1 Cardone from local parts stores, MSA or Black Dragon. 

 

Did you check the steering rack bushings?  Have someone turn the steering wheel left and right while you watch for movement of the steering rack. When they rot away the steering rack moves around which in turn allows other steering  components to move. If they are shot, replace them with polyurethane bushings from MSA or Black Dragon.

 

I suspect that when you start replacing/rebuilding things you will find the source of the grinding.

[Glliw]

I was able to just grab the steering rod and twist it while I was under the car and didn't see any unusual movements, though I'll replace them anyways as I'll be just buying the master kit of bushings.

 

I agree with you that with such a large number of replacements it will most likely be fixed along the way.

[NewZed]

In the second picture, your steering link and ARB look like they have rub marks on them, maybe from the tire.  Fits the right turn scenario.

[Glliw]

Sorry, but ARB = ?

[NewZed]

Anti-roll bar aka sway bar aka anti-sway bar.  Funny, I asked the exact same question many posts ago, now I'm on the other side.

 

Crank the wheel to the right and see how close the tire is to those parts.  I'm not sure but I think that if you're steering rack was misplaced it would change the "lock" on one side.  The rack bushings on these cars degrade and the rack moves around.  Makes the steering loose.

 

Edit - rack might not be the right word, since the actual rack is inside.  Maybe rack housing?  Anyway...

Edited August 4, 2013 by NewZed

[Tony D]

You're on stock width rims? 5.5Jj?

 

195's WILL rub on the front valence or rear of the wheel well in full lock if you don't have rims exactly as stock in terms of width and offset.

 

With a sagging front end, I gotta ditto John C on this.

[Glliw]

You're right, it is the front valence.  I put it at half way to lock on, cranking to the right and it made some contact.  

 

Rims are the "turbine" style ones, which I'm fairly certain are stock size.  

 

I think the rubbing is more a byproduct of the front end damage the car took from PO.  (reason for getting it dirt cheap too!) So once that gets straightened out, along with an MSA type 1 air dam, she should be all good to go.

[Tony D]

Turbines are usually 6", 1/2 wider than stock, and can put the wheels a little outboard to boot.

 

Trust me, they rub. No front end damage required!