Patrol Front Suspension & Tyres

Submitted: Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 08:52
ThreadID: 10746 Views:2342 Replies:7 FollowUps:4
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I have a 2001 3.0litre Turbo Patrol and I have some problems with the front tyres. Specifically the front left tyre wears out the outside edge of the tyre very severely. I have had a wheel alignment done by a reputable 4WD & truck specialist and they recommended installing an adjustment on the front left which will assist in the correcting the tyre wear. I am relatively new to 4WD's and I'm looking for some advise from other people who have had the same problem and what they have done to correct it. I am cautious about front end adjustments as I did something similar with another car (not a 4WD) and it made things worse.

My patrol has standard suspension etc and no modifications have been made. Any tips would be most welcome.
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Reply By: Member - Cocka - Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 09:16

Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 09:16
2 Qs. Does the vehicle run straight on a flat road with your hands off the steering ??.
or does the vehicle pull to the left (or right) when you brake ?? Carpe Diem
AnswerID: 47833

Follow Up By: Bob on Patrol - Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 09:35

Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 09:35
It pulls to the left in both instances and the company who did the wheel alignment said there was very little that could be done about this.
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FollowupID: 309778

Follow Up By: Member - Cocka - Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 12:50

Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 12:50
The Captains reply (below) is what I was aiming at. Try to make sure there is no brake pad error to start with, having eliminated that factor make it easier.
Trying to find someone professiuonal who can think it through with you is hard these days. I used to have an "old timer" who could drive the vehicle 100meters down the road and back , tell you everything that was wrong, fix it in a day and never charge you enough, Gee they're hard to find now. The tendency is to keep throwing money at it until the problem is eliminated.
good luck Carpe Diem
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FollowupID: 309802

Reply By: Member - Brad - Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 09:49

Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 09:49
I had a similar problem with my 100s after a suspension upgrade though. I had the 'toe' checked and adjusted and it has been ok since.
AnswerID: 47837

Reply By: Roachie - Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 10:32

Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 10:32
Bob,
This might be totally irrelavent, but have you rotated tyres etc and tried a different one on the front left? If so, did it wear unevenly too? I'm just thinking that sometimes certain tyres can be "out of round" and cause all sorts of dramas....Other than that, I can't think of any other solution except to to consider the "adjuster" that was recommended......if the mob that does the job is worth their salt, they should be able to install such shims &/or adjustable drag-links or whatever it takes, to get it just right.
Cheers,
Roachie
AnswerID: 47845

Follow Up By: Bob on Patrol - Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 11:23

Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 11:23
Rotating the tyres does help to some degree. I have had a mixture of new & old tyres and I keep switching them around every few thousand K's and the wear pattern is not as obvious as all tyres are sharing the load. I have seen various articles in magazines where full suspension upgrades have been done and camber/ castor (not sure which) kits have been installed as part of the suspension overhall. It is never made clear whether this has been done to address problems like mine or whether is is a standard practice. The difficulty is cutting through all the bull and the tendancy for people to recommend enhancements which they have a vested interest in, this is where I got caught out last time where the change addressed one problem but caused more.

I'm not in the position to upgrade the whole suspension at this time but this will occur sometime in the future as I'm into 4WD for the long haul. Thanks for your thoughts and I will consider all suggestions.
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FollowupID: 309789

Reply By: Member -Bob & Lex (Sydney) - Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 11:32

Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 11:32
Bob , I have a 2000 model & got the caster bushes replaced as the guys told you with the adjustable ones & it fixed the problem, not cheap but neither are tyres.Regards Bob
Where to next
AnswerID: 47859

Reply By: Member - Captain (WA) - Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 11:45

Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 11:45
What were the results of the wheel alignment. You should have recieved a print-out of the before and after figures of toe-in, camber and caster. On a live axle only the toe-in is adjustable without resorting to adjusting kits (camber and castor are fixed by axle geometry).

As you have a pull left while driving and under braking, I would hazzard a guess that IMHO you have a camber problem on the LHS. Putting an adjustment kit is only a band-aid. You need to find out what has caused it ie... bent axle, worn king pins etc...

Cheers

MarkNissan 2003 GU 3.0TD
Windsor Rapid Offroad
AnswerID: 47860

Reply By: the puddle duck - Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 18:05

Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 18:05
gday bob.
as your aligner said patrol or any think with a live front axle usually have not enough camber (leaning in) and with all the weight of theese things turning dosnt help.there is a kit you can get fitted to 1 side only if needed that will fix both your camber and caster.should be about $300ish pretty big job.just get your alignment specs before because there is different degree kits available.
i have fitted plenty of theese kits and usually fixes the problem and tyou wont have to worry about it again.
cheers]
didnt survive duck season
AnswerID: 47908

Follow Up By: Member - Rick (S.A.) - Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 20:37

Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 20:37
My two bobs worth is.............

The puddle duck, The Captain & etc are right about the need for a kit.

How do I know?

Well, in 1998, my GU was brand new & suffered the same fate.
Took advice from the RAA after nissan said it was in spec. (read: Nissan are not interested in helping you on this matter).

Eventually, in went a three -quarter degree kit on the LHS, at my cost. Problem was less pronounced; yanked it out & tweaked it up to a full degree. It was worse. Yanked out out & reinstalled it at 3/4 of a degree. Each fiddle necessitates an alignment.
Since then (i.e. at 10,000 km) it has been left at 3/4 degree.

But the final solution was a return to centre steering damper. It has an external spring - I think it is a '4 - way Suspension' branded unit. I reckon the external spring steering damper is the one to get Vs any old after market brand.

All up spent > $ 550 and two scrubbed tyres.
But it is now driveable.

Unfortunately this has put the moccas on a lifted / heavy duty spring kit on the front.

But I have upgraded the shocks to 'Ride Pro' brand, & am very satisfied with them.

Cheers
Rick ( S.A.) - " Why explore? It is as well as for those who ask such a question that there are others who feel the answer and never need to ask."
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FollowupID: 309865

Reply By: Pete G - Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 20:52

Tuesday, Feb 24, 2004 at 20:52
Bob,
My 2000 has done 160k's on 2 sets of tyres and never aligned from new, and tyres not rotated (need some for trailer). The fronts appear to wear marginally worse on the inside. Since new no alignments have been made. Suggest very strongly that you try another aligner as in my experience there are some variances in ability. IMHO a good aligner should be able to make adjustments to suit hte vehicle by looking at the wear pattern on the tyres = this is how I prefer to select my aligners!!!.

Regards
Pete G
AnswerID: 47937

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