just came home from kapati in my 1990 escudo it has a 2inch sus lift a 2inch body lift 15x8 wheels with 31.10.5.15 tyres. The problem im having is when i get to about 90kms and start to go around a corner it wanders like a bitch having to correct it and slow down same happens when im going straight and hitting a hole in the road or the camber of the road changes slightly. Has anyone else had this problem? or know any way of fixing it? i might sell it if i cant fix the problem as i feel a bit unsafe driving it up the highway and i sure as hell wont let my girlfriend drive it!!! any help to solve my issue would be awsome.
Did you get a proper wheel alignment (with camber correcting bolts) to fix the camber on the front wheels that was changed because of the suspension lift ? Having that much positive camber would not be good for handling.
What kind of springs were used in the lift ? If they were not original replacement parts, it could be that they start oscillating at speed causing some trouble.
Still running the standard shock absorbers ?
Is that 90km/h on your speedo or GPS ? With 31" tyres your speedo will be reading low by quite a bit if it hasn't been corrected.
the speedo reading was a gps readout and i bought the car already lifted can i tell if it has the camber bolts fitted by looking? if i stand in front and look at the front wheels the camber looks a bit funny?? the shocks are stock standard and the springs are king springs if that helps??
when i first got it the front sway bar links were missing so i replaced them and it was a little better.
i want to sort it out because i love driving it but hate driving it on the motorway or long trips. should i be looking at after market shocks??
Yes, have a look at the two bolts that bolt the front strut to the wheel hub, if both are just regular bolts then it's likely that the camber has not been corrected after the suspension lift was fitted.
The stock shocks (struts) should be fine, unless they are totally worn dead I wouldn't think they would cause your problem. Just something maybe to check - jack up the front and see if the wheel travels down at all before lifting off the ground, with a 2" suspension lift the strut could be near fully extended when just sitting there.
About the only other advice that I have is to go round to a GOOD alignment place, someone like Wairau Alignment on the north shore (Not sure where you are) tell them what's happening and let them check the whole front suspension over.
What your feeling is definitely not normal, I have a similar setup, but only 1" sus lift and 30" wheels and mine is fine on the motorway at 100km/h (when I finally get there!)
Hi. When the Vitara's are lifted you end up with positive chamber. We cut the bottom arms on our Vitara where the lower ball joints bolts on. We added 15mm to the mounting point and drilled new holes. We added gussets to the mount to ensure it had heaps of support. This gave it about 2 degrees negative chamber and it handled a heap better. Maybe the best place for you to start is a proper wheel alignment and then go from there. Cheers Brendon
nova499 wrote:just came home from kapati in my 1990 escudo it has a 2inch sus lift a 2inch body lift 15x8 wheels with 31.10.5.15 tyres. The problem im having is when i get to about 90kms and start to go around a corner it wanders like a bitch having to correct it and slow down same happens when im going straight and hitting a hole in the road or the camber of the road changes slightly. Has anyone else had this problem? or know any way of fixing it? i might sell it if i cant fix the problem as i feel a bit unsafe driving it up the highway and i sure as hell wont let my girlfriend drive it!!! any help to solve my issue would be awsome.
did you check the obvious first?? escudo steering box bolts have been known to work loose ... happened to mine and caused the same symptoms from 70 k's upwards ... tightened them up and away she went again .... just a thought and costs nuffing
get the mrs to wiggle the steering wheel back and forth, put your hand on the box and feel if theres any movement .. even the slightest amount will make it wander ... the front bolts are a real bitch to re-tighten without taking the rad out (had to do mine on the side of a steep hill in the pouring rain ... NOT FUN
RUGARD wrote:hey im looking at putting the LWB Dobisport raised springs in my V6 short wheel base, will this shag my camber up too? ive got aftermarket shocks.
Yes, in the front, you will need some camber bolts and a wheel alignment to correct it again.
Well finally got to taking my escudo to bits and replaced the bottom arm bushes lower ball joins cv boots brake pads and tie rod ends now all i need to get is the camber bolts any ideas were to look? i live in wellington. cheers for all your helpfull advice and comments hopfully she will be back on her feet by next weekend and not driving with a mind of its own lol
nova499 wrote:Well finally got to taking my escudo to bits and replaced the bottom arm bushes lower ball joins cv boots brake pads and tie rod ends now all i need to get is the camber bolts any ideas were to look? i live in wellington. cheers for all your helpfull advice and comments hopfully she will be back on her feet by next weekend and not driving with a mind of its own lol
Brake & Transmission (BNT) have them. I had a set on my old Escudo.
nova499 wrote:Well finally got to taking my escudo to bits and replaced the bottom arm bushes lower ball joins cv boots brake pads and tie rod ends now all i need to get is the camber bolts any ideas were to look? i live in wellington. cheers for all your helpfull advice and comments hopfully she will be back on her feet by next weekend and not driving with a mind of its own lol
Brake & Transmission (BNT) have them. I had a set on my old Escudo.
nova499 wrote:Well finally got to taking my escudo to bits and replaced the bottom arm bushes lower ball joins cv boots brake pads and tie rod ends now all i need to get is the camber bolts any ideas were to look? i live in wellington. cheers for all your helpfull advice and comments hopfully she will be back on her feet by next weekend and not driving with a mind of its own lol
Got mine off trademe, but it doesn't look like there are any one there at the moment. Think I paid about $50 for a set. Have a look at BNT and if they want way more than that, let me know and I can track down the guy I bought mine off.
nova499 wrote:Well finally got to taking my escudo to bits and replaced the bottom arm bushes lower ball joins cv boots brake pads and tie rod ends now all i need to get is the camber bolts any ideas were to look? i live in wellington. cheers for all your helpfull advice and comments hopfully she will be back on her feet by next weekend and not driving with a mind of its own lol
Got mine off trademe, but it doesn't look like there are any one there at the moment. Think I paid about $50 for a set. Have a look at BNT and if they want way more than that, let me know and I can track down the guy I bought mine off.
i rang bnt today and i have an account there with my discount there still 78 bux!!! for two bolts! he told me that cos the bolt will now be 10mm with the 12mm cam they have to be tested for strength reason for them beeing so deer.
nova499 wrote:Well finally got to taking my escudo to bits and replaced the bottom arm bushes lower ball joins cv boots brake pads and tie rod ends now all i need to get is the camber bolts any ideas were to look? i live in wellington. cheers for all your helpfull advice and comments hopfully she will be back on her feet by next weekend and not driving with a mind of its own lol
Got mine off trademe, but it doesn't look like there are any one there at the moment. Think I paid about $50 for a set. Have a look at BNT and if they want way more than that, let me know and I can track down the guy I bought mine off.
i rang bnt today and i have an account there with my discount there still 78 bux!!! for two bolts! he told me that cos the bolt will now be 10mm with the 12mm cam they have to be tested for strength reason for them beeing so deer.
Yeah, they are 12.9 instead of the usual 8.8, so very high tensile strength bolts. Mine are working just fine so far, no complaints at all. This is the guy I got mine off:
Camber bolts all fitted i took the liberty to change my cv boots at the same time as one was torn I also went up to pick a part today and found a lwb escudo with mint monro rear shocks to replace my standard oem ones also took the front calipers as they were bigger and used vented rotors so that will be my next upgrade just hope they clear my new rims. what have u guys been up to any mods today?? btw the escudo at pick a part is a g16a motor 16v injected the heads been removed and placed in the boot looks good no cracks.
escudo steering box bolts have been known to work loose ... happened to mine and caused the same symptoms from 70 k's upwards ... tightened them up and away she went again .... just a thought and costs nuffing 
hopfully she will be back on her feet by next weekend and not driving with a mind of its own lol
I also went up to pick a part today and found a lwb escudo with mint monro rear shocks to replace my standard oem ones also took the front calipers as they were bigger and used vented rotors so that will be my next upgrade just hope they clear my new rims. what have u guys been up to any mods today??