Having some problems diagnosing a problem with my 1200 Coupe.
At highway speeds it seems to tramline over bumps and i have to counter steer to correct it and back off speed.
I adjusted the steering box, replaced sway bar rubbers, replaced castor rods and halved them to give more castor and also checked the wheel alignment (drive way job)

I cant find any movement in ball joint bearings or any steering linkages.
only movement i can find is when on jacks i can move the wheel up and down on the strut and 1/2 inch with out resistance.





What does the bound bumper do? Could this be the cause?

Sounds like you are either suffering from bump steer (change in toe angle when the suspension moves up and down) can be caused from lowering too far or putting different wheels on. Or if it is floaty at higher speeds and you need to turn it could be worn out shocks.

Bounce the front of the car and if it rises and settles quickly shocks are all good, if it continues to bounce they may be worn out. If its the original suspension in the coupe the strut tube is just filled with oil, So under a lot of up and down it can aerate the oil making your shocks useless.

It would be hard to tell without seeing and driving the car to exactly pin point the issue, but that's a start.

The bound bump is just a bit of rubber stopping the strut from completely bottoming out.

Quote:So the wheel moves up and down on the strut? That sounds like a major no-no

Thanks for the replies.
Bounce test is fine... well i have driven a Datsun with way worse lets put it that way.
I do have 13" wheels on it but standard ride height.
Yes it doesnt seem to have the slop when on the ground but just when on jacks and lifting the wheel by hand.

Yes, the way to check for ball joint or steering linkage slop is with wheel jacked off the ground

To pinpoint the slop, lie on the ground watching the steering linkage. Reach up through the open door and turn the steering wheel to and fro
* If the steering linkage moves up and down even a little bit, that's bad slop. If it is the idler arm moving up/down, new bushings are about $10 and can be replaced with hand tools
* if the tyre moves up/down but the steering linkage does not then it's either bad ball joints or loose wheel bearings. Try adjusting the bearings. If the wheel doesn't spin smoothly pop of the grease cap and see if the bearings are dry

May have found the problem. Seems the front brakes are are on. Have removed the pressure valve thing in the master cylinder and am now pulling the calipers apart to make sure they are stuck.

How expensive is Australian parts! Cheapest set of brake pads at Supercheap are $43

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/nissan,1972,1200,1.2l+l4,1208483,brake+&+wheel+hub,brake+pad,1684


$4.41 in America!!

Australia tax, I've come across that before, one particular timing belt kit was 400+ in Australia, same car, same company (Gates), different (UK) part number, 110ish delivered from the UK. I really prefer to buy locally as much as I can but that kind of mark up is ridiculous! And the mark up is with the distributor, not the retailer.

Rockauto price is closeout price. Normal brake pad price from a local auto part store is much more (around $20)

I have the brake's done now. Still have a problem just a lot less.
Happens when going over rough surface the car gets very twitchy.
You can feel it in the steering . I am wondering if the oil level in one shock could be down
as when the wheel is off the ground on the jack you can lift it fairly easily on passenger side for first 1/2 inch

lol support local so the corrupt system of politics
can have our spare change apart from all the other kickbacks?

If you want to support local try a brake place that relines
almost anything for cheap otherwise supercheap auto can get
some good prices at times for old parts.