Adjust steering sensitivity (not my car)

[ChallengerHK]

A buddy of mine was in an accident recently with an 07 (I think) Civic. Pretty bad accident that peeled back the passenger side of his car. I'm surprised that it wasn't totaled.

Anyway, he says that the steering is significantly tighter after getting the car back, making it very twitchy. Can anybody suggest what's likely to be causing this? Any fixes I can steer him toward (no pun intended)?

[FJ5_440]

My guess would be alignment settings or possibly a bad power steering rack.

[GoodysGotaCuda]

I'd expect to see some more negative caster specs than recommended first, also as mentioned, the rack.

[ChallengerHK]

Thanks for the info; I'll pass it on.

Not that I doubt you, but I want to understand your reasoning. What could fail in a rack that would make it feel tighter rather than looser?

[Aussie Challenger]

  If what you say happened the rack may be bent.     A througher check of the front end/steering components need to be made, not just a stick your head underneath look.   

[ntstlgl1970]

I agree with what others mentioned about the rack having issues. Also I would add that maybe the car is bent. If it was not before, I would make sure that the car is put on a frame rack and all the measurement points confirmed. Also contact the insurance company and express your concerns, because the car was not restored to pre-accident condition, and they should be made aware of it.

quote: "...Pretty bad accident that peeled back the passenger side of his car. I'm surprised that it wasn't totaled".

If there was ANY sectioning done on the car, it is important to know that Honda Motor Company does not consider sectioning a valid procedure or approved repair on ANY of their cars.

This sounds dangerous to drive.

[ChallengerHK]

So what you guys are saying is that the steering is not actually responding faster, but this it's binding very slightly, requiring slightly more force to move the wheel for the same amount of tire movement?

[GoodysGotaCuda]

What I was talking about was caster. Positive caster is better for stability, while negative caster will be touchy, and will handle 'better'. Caster places the load of the front to the wheel. (if that makes sense).

This is positive caster (extreme), this will drive nice and easy on the highway. Not really made for quick/nimble turns and such. The load on the front wheel is far back.





Negative caster will put the weight more in front of the tire. Making the steering very touchy, it'll be real nimble, but unfavorable to drive. It's kind of like when you were a kid and tried to ride your bike with the handle bars spun around. You were playing with caster. 

If his alignment is out of whack due to this wreck, it can certainly cause an issue like this.

[ChallengerHK]

Thanks for the info, Goody. Caster was the first thing I thought off. What I had him do is check to see if the wheel was centering itself coming out of a curve, and he seems to think it was much the same as always. Is my reasoning there sound, i.e., is that a good quick check for caster adjustment?

[quagmire]

If this car was in that bad of an accident, it is mandatory to have it put up on an alignment rack and a frame measuring rack to make sure it is okay.  If it was repaired at a body shop I can't think of a reason why they wouldn't check that first.  You could have any number of problems, without verifying that the alignment is within specs you can't do much besides a guess.  I have seen many suspension pieces that were bent enough to seriously throw off the alignment but have no visual indications of a problem like bends, scrapes, or stress cracking.  A few degrees is very hard to eyeball, but is a huge amount of difference in an alignment.  Depending on how and where it was hit, it could have a set back wheel now, which will probably total it if the car was that close already.  That's still just a guess, first thing to do is get it on an alignment rack.

[Chryco Psycho]

f the toe in is too much or toed out it will make the car very twitchy also

[ChallengerHK]

If this car was in that bad of an accident, it is mandatory to have it put up on an alignment rack and a frame measuring rack to make sure it is okay.  If it was repaired at a body shop I can't think of a reason why they wouldn't check that first. 

I agree with you. Unfortunately, I don't think this was a good body shop. He's already had to return it twice for pretty obvious problems (like "you start the car and it pumps coolant into the driver's floor"), so I have no faith at all that they've done it right.

[quagmire]

Yikes! I once had an older S10 that needed a new front end from a crash.  Whoever put it together managed to put my washer squirter on backwards, on top of several other things.  The first time I had to clean my windshield off it sprayed the back of the car in front of me! As potentially dangerous as that could have been if it were nasty out, I couldn't help but laugh when that happened.  I really need to learn how to do my own bodywork.  Most shops will do an alignment check for like $20 give or take, which is refunded if you do the alignment.  Regardless of what's wrong, whether it be a bent part, twisted frame, or a worn steering or suspension part, that car will almost certainly need to be put up on an alignment rack.

[ntstlgl1970]

I looked it up and there is no caster adjustment on this car. If the caster is off, something is bent.

Has your buddy talked to the insurance company about his issues with the repair? That would be a good course of action.

[ChallengerHK]

Has your buddy talked to the insurance company about his issues with the repair? That would be a good course of action.

He's on vacation this week, hundreds of miles from home. He called me from the highway to ask about the steering issues, and I told him I'd get him some ideas to look at for when he gets home.