Severe (!) Inside wear on front tyres

[istari]

G'day all,
Brand new member here.
I am looking at buying my first Patrol this week. 1989 SWB GQ (Safari) with the TD42. Supposedly only 180,000km on the clock (but I guess you never can tell with Japanese imports). Mechanically it looks and sounds in great nick, however I noticed that there is severe wear on the inside of both front tyres. I am pretty sure I will buy it anyway, but am interested whether it could be anything VERY expensive or just likely to be a wheel alignment or control arm bush issue.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Cheers

[AB]

Hi mate, has it got a 2" lift or more on it?

[istari]

Hi AB,
Nope - from the looks of things, everything is pretty much factory standard.
No lift that I can see.

[patch697]

G/gay Mate & welcome to the forum, As long as the front end components ain't flogged out it will more than likely be tow adjustment & can be rectified to some degree but you will never get rid of it completely unless you get caster correction kits fitted & someone who can wheel align it properly.

Hang out for a reply from YNOT though, he may have more info for you as he's pretty switched with this sort of thing.

Cheers
Paul

[istari]

Thanks Paul,
I'll probably get a price on a caster correction kit anyway for my own reference. I assume that this is the same as a "geometry kit" I have heard mentioned.
Part of the reason for buying the truck is so I can start working on the car myself again - I sold my 2yr old Triton Dual Cab as I wanted to have something I could get dirty on again.
Fitting a caster kit may be a good first project!
Cheers

[patch697]

Feel free to ask any questions on here mate if you find yourself having any, we are always willing to help.

Cheers
Paul

[istari]

Thanks Paul,
I was drawn to the site as I saw how many people were on line at any given time - its good to see such a strong and supportive community.

Between buying a new shortie and deciding to take up a bit of 4x4ing - I am sure thre will be plenty of questions and stories.
John

[patch697]

This forum & its members prides itself on being welcoming, friendly & a willingness to help others so just join in, you will always be welcome.

Cheers
Paul

p.s plenty of pics to John, We like pics here....lol

[YNOT]

Inside edge tyre wear will be caused by either excessive negative camber or excessive toe out. Either way you will need a wheel alignment.
At 180,000km it is quite likely that there will be some wear in the drag link and tie rod ball joints, a good wheel alignment tech will check for this before doing the W/A. The ball joints (rod ends) on the tie rod can be replaced seperately.
Drag link rod ends are part of the rod, so if they are worn you will need to replace the complete drag link. If the drag link does need to be replaced, consider fitting an aftermarket heavy duty adjustable drag link. The adjustable arm will not only be stronger and have replaceable rod ends, but it also gives you adjustment for centering the steering if you do a suspension lift down the track. Aftermarket heavy duty adjustable arms are usually cheaper than the original Nissan part.

If the camber needs adjusting you will need to have offset king pin bearings installed, as camber is not adjustable from factory. If the camber is a long way out you may need to check for a bent diff housing-common if the vehicle has been jumped.

Spend a bit extra now getting the wheel alignment set up properly (by someone who knows what they're doing with live axle front ends), and you won't have to worry about it again for a few years.

Tony

[MudRunnerTD]

Everything YNOT said mate.

To add... If you are intending to put a lift on it then get the lift done and the alignment will be a matter of course.. Good idea on replacing the drag link with a heavy duty one too as they are very exposed out the front.

Obviously the front tyres are now shagged and will need replacing. do that when the rest is sorted and then it will drive like a new one.

If its sitting on 180,000 old springs and shocks now they are likely shagged so time to replace.

THE BIG QUESTION IS???

How High to go!! ;-)

Welcome to the forum mate.

[89GQ]

Good thread! Hope you sort it and welcome! Glad i read it cause ive done all my springs and shocks but no tie rod ends and draglink their 300,ooo ks old! In saying that i have even tyre wear and drives straight should i touch it?Cheers

[YNOT]

I would definately be checking for wear in all the rod ends and replace as necessary. While they may not be causing tyre wear, you wouldn't want anything in your steering to fail.

Tony

[89GQ]

Yeh,Good point,I might save up and just do it. 300,000 ks the joints are not going to be like new and i do a fair bit off road. Drag Link? Any good ones,better than others in adjustable?Cheers

[MudRunnerTD]

Yeh,Good point,I might save up and just do it. 300,000 ks the joints are not going to be like new and i do a fair bit off road. Drag Link? Any good ones,better than others in adjustable?Cheers

Hey mate,

I have Superior Engineerings Drag link on the front of the GQ and the GU. They do a couple of different ones and all are better than standard. but the price goes up too.

I have a chromoly 4140 drag link on the GQ with replaceable grease-able tie rod ends. When i did the GU i got the next step down, a Mcaval?? (spelling) which is supposed to be super tough but it came with adjustable tie rods but no grease nipples and not serviceable. I ended up sending it back and paying the extra for the 4140. Aint Never gunna break that mate. I think it cost me about $360.

You can see in the pic below the 4140 on the front of the GQ, note the steering damper is not fitted yet but the second bar there is the front Panard, also superiors. NOte also that driving down the track it is THE FIRST thing that might hit something and it is common to take a hit and bend on a standard Nissan one. Worth investing in a 4140 i reckon

http://nissanpatrol.com.au/images/Stripping%20the%20GQ/GQ%20Suspension%20Build/IMG_0270.jpg

Also with the cheaper non serviceable ones the tie rod ends were a male fitting threaded into the centre of the drag link rod, note in the above pic that the 4140s are a female tie rod end threaded over the drag link rod and i think much stronger and with the grease nipple.

http://nissanpatrol.com.au/images/Stripping%20the%20GQ/GQ%20Suspension%20Build/IMG_0254.jpg

[YNOT]

I couldn't have said it any better than Mudrunner. Superior 4140 on my Patrol too.
Check out "Suspension stuff", he (Shane) has an online store and freight to most parts of Australia is free.

Tony

[89GQ]

They do look strong!! and need the greasable,also im'e chassis to draglink dampner eye to eye do they come with the U-Bolt on eye bracket? Ill,e have a look on the site. Thanks for ya help!

[istari]

Thanks for the info folks!

Well - it all might be a matter of conjecture now - the dealer sold the truck out from under me!

At least I had my heart set on it enough that I will stick with the plan to get a TD42 GQ.
I may have to pay a bit more than the $5500 I was going to get this one for, but I have seen one with 4" lift already on it. That should be high enough to start!