norbus

Hi All:

I have a problem with my 3.0 wandering all over the road. Especially when I come to a stop, the tires will get all cockeyed randomly to the left or right.

If I hit a rut, the tires seem to follow it, and any uneven pavement throws the steering wheel to the left or right.

I've tried brand new tires, had it aligned, made sure the tire pressure was correct and had both the mechanic and the dealer look at the front suspension and they say it's completely tight.

Is there a steering dampener on these cars? What else could it be?

The dealer told me that if I put any tires on the vehicle other than "grandma sedan specials" that the tires will follow the path of least resistance and these cars will wander like crazy.

I have Goodrich G-Force T/A's on it.

Norbus

norbus

BTW, the T/A's are the KDWS series.

norbus

Also--forgot to mention that I replaced all of the struts/shocks w/KYB stock replacements.

rcast1

Bumping this one as I am having the same issue with my 98 2.3. I have replaced shocks, springs (eibach/kybagx), outer tie rods, alignment has been done and still nothing.

The car wants to be all over the road as soon as the pavement becomes the slighteset bit uneven. Is this happening to anyone else ?

It's is pretty frustrating driving the car and having to constantly correct the steering to keep it straight.

Slooo97CL

iTrader: (1)

lower ball joints check em out

Sniper3.0

Bump

having same prob
1997 3.0

the above symptoms especially while braking. (brakes are not warped)

norbus

Hi All:

Yes, the problem is much more pronounced when braking. No warped rotors here either. Problem exists without the brakes, but 3x as bad when the brakes are on.

I again ask-- Do the CL's have steering dampeners? I could look under the hood but I haven't had a chance. My BMW has performance tires on it, and it certainly isn't all over the road with the slightest imperfection in asphalt.

My dealer and mechanic insists there's no issues with ball joint or any other suspension wear.

Hope somebody knows about the secret issue here.

Norbus

Stew97CL3.0

It's called tramlining and its a common problem with wide front tires that have hard sidewalls, especially on lowered cars where the steering geometry is less than ideal.

What size are your front tires?

Having an alignment shop add some camber can help, talk to an alignment specific shop and see what they have to say.

.:bob schmo:.

Erm, I don't think it's tramlining, sometimes mine doesn't really follow anything. It just happends. I was just about to post a topic on this too. Anybody have any experience/fixes for this? Is their a problem or is this normal? BTW, I have a 97 2.2 and it mostly occurs while braking...

rcast1

^^^^ agreed Iam familiar with tramlining and while it might come into play since I have 18's there seems to be more to it than that because ity is really excessive...I will try and ck my lower ball joints this weekend to see what condition they're in.

Slooo97CL

iTrader: (1)

I have the same problem. I ordered ball joints so I will tell you the difference soon.

norbus

Stock wheels and stock tire size for Norbus. Ball joints were checked by the Dealer and another mechanic for second opinion. I've definitely had the alignment done and it's within specs.

So... I would understand if I'd tweaked the suspension, wheels, or tire size. But all I've done is order a slightly more aggressive tire than stock.

Norbus

norbus

BTW, I have a BMW M Roadster, and it has much larger/wider tires, and it NEVER tramlines. The car goes straight down the road. It also has stock size tires. I can't believe that a car with wide tires with hard sidewalls can't not experience this effect.

Again (I've mentioned this earlier) does the CL's have steering dampeners? I haven't gotten a chance to look, but it's a shock absorber type deal that prevents the steering components from shifting left/right quickly.

Maybe that's what's wrong? Or, is there an aftermarket solution to perform a similar dampening? It would definitely fix this type of issue.

Norbus

.:bob schmo:.

Anybody fixed this?

Tonytech

you may whant to check the radius bushings(strut baar bushings)on the front they do came loose

NightRider

There is a concept to explain this problem, it's called front wheel drive! There may be problems associated with specific vehicles, but I have a 2G CLS that does the same thing. Braking especially, you can get pulled a little bit when stopping from a good speed/on a bad road. My 04 TL did the same thing, although to slightly lesser degree. I had a 1997 MB C280 that was similar to "experience" when I bought it as the CLS is now. The MB never pulled around, then again it was RWD.

rcast1

Sorry but I don't buy that, I have been in plenty of front wheel drive cars that do not do this... civics,accords etc... something is not right with this.

I did not get a chance to ck my lower ball joints this weeekend as soon as I do I'll post the conclusion.

Tonytech where are these radius bushings(strut baar bushings) located on the car ?

norbus

I'm still at a loss here. And no confirmation from anyone on whether there's some type of dampener or if one can be installed aftermarket to resolve an issue of this nature.

Norbus

Tonytech

rcats 1 hi...yes they are in the front you may need to remove that bottom plastic splash shield on the bottom of the radiator they are 2 barrs connected from the front lower control arms to the crossmember (or cross beam)they each have 1- 17 mm head nuts a big washer ,a spacer 2 big rubber bushing and then an other washer they at time they came loose or the bushings
just worns out cousing for the wheel to move back ward on braking and that is the pull... ...i have a 01 cl s and you can slam on the brake all day long car stop on the dime and is straight like an arrow ,i also have a 93 maxima and a 97 altima...never had this problem...so mister night rider i dont buy that....sorry

Viscous

i get the same tramlining effect in my 03 CL. It's pretty annoying.

Never happens to the two Maxima's, CLK 320, and LS400 that I've driven either.

rcast1

Well I checked my lower ball joints yesterday and they seemed perfectly fine, there was no play in either the right or left and my uppers are brand new so I know it's not those.

Thanks for the reply Tonytech I will inspect those next and let you guys know if I find anything.

.:bob schmo:.

I really don't believe it's tramlining, sometimes it can be a perfectly flat, smooth road when it happens. Thanks for keeping us updated rcast1. Let us know

Tonytech

lower balljoint will give you noise or the worst case scenario the wheel may fall off....

rcast1

Hey guys, I was able to get under the car and grab the bar the radius bushing secures and they both seemed fine to me. I was not able to move them at all, but unfortunately I did not have time to take off the splash sheild and get a real good look at them. When I get a chance that will be my next step. The only other thing I see as a possiblity is if the bushings in the lower control arm are worn out ?

Slooo97CL

iTrader: (1)

got the balljoints installed no change. Meaning that the problem with the pulling in either direction did not stop.

BUT

when I got my car an alignment, when I come to a stop now I don't pull either way. So in theory im believing that poor alignment of the vehicle is causing the cars to pull. I still have to do more driving to comfirm but it looks like my problem is solved.

SwervinCL

Could be a weak steering rack.

CBloc-CL

Iv noticed the same thing in my 99 2.3 CL, But I just assumed it was my suspension and custom rims that may be doing it, I considered getting an alignment but ima wait till I get my TEIN coil's on it first.

rcast1

How could you check the rack ?

UnPimPMYRyd3

What changes were made to the car when you started seeing this issue? Did you make any mods or adjustments to the car prior to the issue rearing its ugly head? Has it always been this way since you've owned the car?

norbus

When I bought the vehicle, it unfortunately already had the problem. I had assumed it was bad tires, since they were completely worn on the inside. I bought brand new tires and had it aligned. So then I believed it was struts, fixed those. The only thing left would be to change the coil springs. The car does seem to dip more than average when hitting road anamolies.

If I were to replace the springs, and didn't want to be aggressive, who makes slightly stiffer springs that don't rattle your fillings out of your teeth?

Norbus

rcast1

Springs and or shocks will not fix the problem I did both with no improvement.
A good compromise spring I've heard are the eibach pro kit. I have the more aggresive sport kit. That being said... if your car "dips more than average" it's your shocks that may need replaceing

norbus

"Also--forgot to mention that I replaced all of the struts/shocks w/KYB stock replacements"

Third post by Norbus in this thread. Still the vehicle seems to excessively dip and roll with the slightest road imperfection, and it turns the body roll quite pronounced for several degrees, then finally stops. So--could springs fix this?

Norbus' BMW M Roadster does not exhibit these symptoms. Including tramlining even though the tires are 35% bigger or more than the Acura CL 3.0's.

Normally, the tires blipping from right to left with reckless abandon would be kept under control by a steering dampener--a shock absorber type device that is attached to the steering mechanism. I've asked several times in the past, but nobody has answered, and I can't see one online for purchase. Does Acura implement steering dampeners? If not--what mechanism are they using to stop the steeering suspension from wildly jacking right and left under normal driving conditions?

rcast1

Springs will definitely help but at the cost of a stiffer ride it's all a compromise. I did not like the bobing of the factory componenets which is why I switched.

I have a supra with 19x10in' front rims running 265 and it exhibits none of this madness. I do not believe there are any steering dampners made for the cl either.

UnPimPMYRyd3

Anything outside of stock can or will change the way a car handles or responds to its environment.

You did change the tires and suspension so that they are no longer stock, so I would suspect that those components are either the cause or made them more pronounced.

My suggestion here is to take it to a "known good" suspension shop.

JMTCW,
UPMR

rcast1

I'm going to have to disagree ....when I bought my car it was stock and still the same thing.

ingsoc747

My car has always done it too. When I replaced the stock Michelins with Pirellis the effect isn't as pronounced but definitely still there (same stock size tire, FYI). I have kind of grown used to it but the car would be much more enjoyable without having to fight the steering wheel!

lcstyle

I am not familiar with the specific's on the acura cl steering components, so what i am about to say could be wrong, but if this vehicle has an idler arm, you might want to check that out.

suspension is tricky, it might be worth having a suspension shop test drive the vehicle to see if they can replicate the problem..