[removed1]

Hi Guys,

Just wondering to all those ith Siera's and Jimny's out there with steering shake what you did about it???

I've had the "WORST" spate of bad luck with mechanics and the like to fix my steering shake that gotten wors in my little Jimny since the day I got it...

I've had the king pin replaced on the right knuckle as there was vertical movement..

I've has the trailing arm mount bushings replaced under Suzuki's 'Secret' fix buletin... Otherwise I wouldnt have known about it???

I've finger plate ballanced the wheels 'BFG's TA/KO' three times at $145 a pop...

Changed mechanic's three times... Third Zupps location had a decent service advisor and a decent mechanic (Helensvale)!!!

I've had the shims added to the King pins top and bottom, this was after all the huff and puff that I had to do to Suzuki Queensland...

And lastly the brakes were machined to be sure that they were not affecting the shake... And I gotto say that they are heaps better!!!

So for a Jimny thats 40300km's old she's not done a great amount of 4by'in but just been babied her whole life, i need to say that this whole event has been less than promising for the next 40,000kms of her life...

What are the general peoples ideas and thoughts about Suzuki and their ways that they go with fixing things??? Are they as hopeless as I thnk or is it just me thinking too much of whats happened???

Thanks guys.

[BlueSuzy]

40'ooo kms?

Not still on warranty?

Sounds like the car is brand new! Nothing should be worn!

[royce]

try some different tyres, see if you can borrow a set of anything for it

fit a steering damper

[BAZZOOK]

my shake stopped when I got the front end aligned.

[ninjadaniel]

tyres can cause the shake due to bad moulds

[vermin]

Mine shook so I get an alignment done and that worked...when I let my tyres down and then re-inflated the problem came back.

I figure it is just a part of driving with low pressure...5psi at times.

[steak_knife]

Steering dampener's help hide the problem, not fix, but it dose reduce it a considerable amount.
By the sound of what you have had done, the only thing left on the " secret" fix buletin is the rear control arm bush's on the front radius arm's ( control arm's), I have found that taking the weight off the front end & loosening then tightening ALL the bolt's on the front end has made a difference to.

Wheel alignment to toe in of 0 or 1 can help.


Hope this help's.

[harvey01]

i would put the rear tyres on the front. one of the weights has prob come off it happened too mine the other day.

vermen: i think this is from when you let you tyres down too low pressure the wieghts can come off the rim.

[greenzook89]

I'm going thru the same problem with my jimny atm, I've fitted offset camber bushes and got an alignment done, also a balance, the wheel guys said that BFG's do have some problems with wobbles.

I'm inclined to believe it as the maxxis on my old jimny never wobbled....ever!

so far the bushes and alignment have helped considerably (its not dangerous to drive anymore!) and I'm going to get a steering damper then fit new rotors and pads.

After that I'll try a different brand of tyre if those dont fix it!

[andrew88]

sorry to hijack the thread. but ive got 235 75 maxxis bighorns on my jimny and i find that when driving on the highway it tends pull quickly e side, but its just randomly. anybody know of what could be causing it. i got a wheel alignment done when i got the tyres and since then i put a steering dampner to reduce the problem but still happens. only have 100,000 ks on it aswell. any ideas

[greenzook89]

I found the same thing with my Jim, fitted castor correction bushes and the problem went

[steak_knife]

andrew88 wrote:

sorry to hijack the thread. but ive got 235 75 maxxis bighorns on my jimny and i find that when driving on the highway it tends pull quickly e side, but its just randomly. anybody know of what could be causing it. i got a wheel alignment done when i got the tyres and since then i put a steering dampner to reduce the problem but still happens. only have 100,000 ks on it aswell. any ideas

That sound's more like tracking, have a look at the road surface & you will see the 2 indentation's left by heavy vehicles & stupid amount's of use, than look at the width of your car, yours won't fit in those rutt's, so your constantly shifting from rutt to rutt.
High wind move's these lil thing's round a lot to.

[royce]

andrew88 wrote:

sorry to hijack the thread. but ive got 235 75 maxxis bighorns on my jimny and i find that when driving on the highway it tends pull quickly e side, but its just randomly. anybody know of what could be causing it. i got a wheel alignment done when i got the tyres and since then i put a steering dampner to reduce the problem but still happens. only have 100,000 ks on it aswell. any ideas

hows your camber? I have found uneven or positive camber makes the car follow the ruts in the road

[andrew88]

yeah i had a feeling it would be cus of the rutts from trucks and have noticed on a windy day its a pain in the ass to keep the car straight. im pritty sure the camber is sweet but i know the castor is out, due to having suspension lift. would putting castor correction kit help considerably, eg stop the sharpness of the pulling either side?

cheers andrew g

[steak_knife]

andrew88 wrote:

yeah i had a feeling it would be cus of the rutts from trucks and have noticed on a windy day its a pain in the ass to keep the car straight. im pritty sure the camber is sweet but i know the castor is out, due to having suspension lift. would putting castor correction kit help considerably, eg stop the sharpness of the pulling either side?

cheers andrew g

Yep.

[greenzook89]

I got my castor bushes from suzi sport, and changed them myself with a press,

[removed1]

Hi guys, sorry about not getting back earlier... Been at..... work....

Anyhow, yeh it was "just" still in warranty although they were "really" not that keen to fix it, I had to honestly pull their chain by saying that I'll go straight to Suzuki Japan with the problem and see where that will put them... That got them moving!!!

Anyhow I'v done the following...

1 - Replaced one really worn king pin... after 36000kms ???
2 - Had everything tightened up in front end...
3 - Suzuki 'Secret' Fix with trailing arm bushings.
4 - Steering alignment through Jax... twice (different occasions)
4 - Had BFG's Fingerplate aligned (3 times) no loss of weights and so forth... they wrote a report stating that any wobble now resulted to mechanical fault, which it ended up to be...
5- Went to another mechanic... "A better Zupps" - Suzuki Queensland recomended them...
6 - Had the shims installed (twice) because Suzuki parts picker couldnt read...
7 - Disc's in front end machined (last friday) now I got 50% of my usual brakes even with Bendix GCT pads??? I guess untill it all faces up...

Now I can honestly say that the car drives like it did 'to a degree' when i first got it... I forgot to say that she is three years young and going on her 4th, so she's been round and been here and there, although not seen the rough and tumbles as most of you guys do with your Sierra's and Jimny's... Although she's shown her worth doing things other people cant do, like drive over foot bridges and pedestrian tunnels, climbed embankments getting off the M1 when its at standstill (via bushland and fields) and fit between tree's (only just)... lol...

The BFG's are a heavy tire and they do have alot of handle over the things like steering, although no other tire seems as strong nor as safe in my oppinion... I had these tires on because of the OEM Bridgstones HT's that were like being in a Drift Comp every time it rained... So now manditory Drift Toy hand from her bum...

Anyhow guys, it seems that they are ignoring the problem in the whole respect... But either way thats my rant and yeh if anyone can benefit out of my pain that would be a step in the right direction...

[zukenutter]

Hi Slazmo, I feel your pain. I went through the motions a few months ago too regarding the problem. We have 2 Jimnys, one is very modified the other is a stock 2006. A steering dampener kit is a worthy addition if you don't already have one, lots of people say it just hides the problem but if it's not doing it doesn't it mean that it's fixed?

My wobble recently returned and so I did Steknig's tighten everything fix + I replaced all the worn shock bushes and replaced the 8 year old steering dampener and now it's perfect again.

This is definitely an issue that Suzuki need to address fully to ensure keeping the Suzuki name in good stead.

[removed1]

Yeh i think i will get a dampener, although i've gone through too much to honestly care any more... me mates 20 year old cruiser feels smoother than this jimny, and to which its done bugger all, whereas the cruiser lol...

I think when it comes time ill just pitch it, and go back to a buzz box...

Now i'm having issues with the discs not bedding right and yeh slowly destroying $98 Bendix GCT pads... I cant win can i?

[BJPK]

so what is the actual problem with the jimnys?
is it the kingpin bearings needing to be shimmed or is it just a caster problem which will be sorted with offset bushes? or is it something else?
only reason i ask is iv been thinking bout getting a jimny! but while im willing to press in some aftermarket bushes im not keen on rebuilding the swivel hubs on a near new vehicle, cheers guys.
also is this shake there all thet ime or just over harsh roads, ie railway crossings etc?

[losfer]

the problem with jimny's is ..... they are shit. well i take that back they arent too bad , they just have a shitty suspension setup.

theres 2 type of wobble , one that is always there , comes and goes at the same speeds , this is a rotational wobble (wheel balance or disc problem usually)
the second one which is a scary death wobble that can happen randomly when hitting a bump , going up or down a hill , or a rut in the road , which results in a terrible shake of the steering wheel that can only be stopped by slowing to , or almost to a stop. this is 95 percent of the time a castor issue , and while steknig said , a steering dampener will mask the problem , but not fix the cause . IF you have lifted coils , you need the castor offset bushes , if you are on standard suspension , you need poly control arm bushes (on the front control arms anyway).

you may say , but my car only has 40000 km's and the bushes look fine with no cracks or signs of wear, well i shit you not ive seen this with cars that have about 15000 kms on them.

[zukenutter]

losfer wrote:

the problem with jimny's is ..... they are shit. well i take that back they arent too bad , they just have a shitty suspension setup.

Losfer, don't know where you get this from. The Jimny is actually really well set-up suspension wise. Anyone who's seen my Jimny offroad will attest to that.

As for the wobble you've got everything spot on info wise. We have 2 Jimnys, one totally stock and never off road, the other is rather modded. Both have had the wobbles which, as you mention, come from a number of sources all contributing to a degree.

I don't think castor is the issue because if so why do stock Jimnys have the wobble?

I think 9 times out of 10 the King Pin bearings are replaced unnecessarily when a little shimming would have removed the freeplay and added enough friction to the steering to absorb any road feedback. The addition of a dampener will add to absorbing the feedback (Sierras have a Dampener fitted as standard so really it's only logical that a Jimny should have one).

I have recently had the wobble re-occur after fitting wider rims and aggressive tyres and had to jump through a series of hoops to stop the wobble. In the end a new steering dampener fixed it.

[royce]

Why do Patrols and Cruisers with the same front suspension design have a damper if its a band aid?

king pin bearings dont absorb anything, they should offer bugger all restriction otherwise you have too much load on the bearings and they will fail, the rubber scraper seals on the other had do offer some resisitance and is also why suzuki say to replace them every 5000km in muddy conditions, cause worn ones help to allow wobbles

Bricks taped to the control arms, thats where its at

[BJPK]

i think it bullshit having to add shims, to correct this steering shimmy!
iv rebuilt cruiser swivel hubs only because they were leaking at 300k on the clock, and never had to re shim them
as said a damper shouldnt have to be installed to mask the problem!
surely steknig has some more info on this problem?
otherwise from what people are saying no one knows the actual cause???

[zukenutter]

Suzuki official fix includes;
- adding shims to the king pins
- replacing control arm bushes
- balance and alignment
- tighten all bolts etc
- if wobble occurs during braking they also suggest brake disk machining

I think there is mention of wheel bearings as well

[steak_knife]

BJPK wrote:

i think it bullshit having to add shims, to correct this steering shimmy!
iv rebuilt cruiser swivel hubs only because they were leaking at 300k on the clock, and never had to re shim them
as said a damper shouldnt have to be installed to mask the problem!
surely steknig has some more info on this problem?
otherwise from what people are saying no one knows the actual cause???

The thing's I post is what I have found myself or bit's that are supplied to me.

Royce once said something that has stuck in my mind, "Get a wheel & tyre & try to keep it in a straight line while rolling it". It take's a lot of force to to keep said wheel moving in any direction, x that by 2.

Glad you mentioned the bigger 4by's, a pootrog with std shock's & springs, fit a H/duty dampener, you have the same problem as Jim's do.
Drive fine till you hit a big enough bump to start the "oscillation" effect, it's not just one part that move's to cause this wobble, as has been mentioned, just going over all the suspension bolt's & nipping them up every service make's a huge difference.
As for bullshit adding shim's, thay create drag on the hub's, YES??
So less movement, YES??

It is my opinion that Jimny's SHOULD of come from the factory with dampener's, but I don't have any pull in the fitment of part's in Japan or on the dock's in Aus.

[steak_knife]

http://www.auszookers.com/index.php?nam ... ic&t=10348

Another example of the smallest change making a BIG difference.

[BJPK]

i mean its bullshit having to add shims to a new vehicle.
not saying it doesnt help fix the problem.
how many vehicles are effected? all of them or just the odd one? sort of suprised that suzuki doesnt recall them and fix this.

[steak_knife]

BJPK wrote:

i mean its bullshit having to add shims to a new vehicle.
not saying it doesnt help fix the problem.
how many vehicles are effected? all of them or just the odd one? sort of suprised that suzuki doesnt recall them and fix this.

I have seen car's do it straight of the boat, I have had car's not do it at all even with high usage in " off road condition's", I drove a Aus post car that deliver's to remote farm's & spends most of it's time on dirt, NO wobble.


It's the same thing as why don't all Jeep's burn to the ground?? ( we can only wish)

[zukenutter]

BJPK wrote:

i mean its bullshit having to add shims to a new vehicle.
not saying it doesnt help fix the problem.
how many vehicles are effected? all of them or just the odd one? sort of suprised that suzuki doesnt recall them and fix this.

I reckon 7 out of 10 Jimny owners I've spoken to have experienced the wobble to some degree.

And yes I think it's about time Suzuki do a 'Toyota' and recall that which needs to be recalled.