Cognito UCA dilema..

[slippy]

Hey hellz keep us updated. I play with the idea to get the Uniball UCAs in the far future and this scares me away from them a bit. I would like to think tho its not the UCA but something else becuase i put alot of faith in cognito products, and there is something really cool about that damn uniball.

[Hellz]

well i finally did a tear down on the passenger side.
all the way down to the hub, and removed it too.
also took a wire brush to every mating surface to remove any grime buildup and or rust that may cause an uneven mating surface.

after all put together, i did get some pulling, so i took it in for an alignment.
still pulls.....
this has always been a strong pull to the right.
even if the road crown is to the left, it will pull right.
If i was in the far left lane on a 3 lane hwy.. within 7 secs i would be fully in the 2nd lane and prolly crossing into the 3rd.
this only happens while the vehicle is moving. meaning, when i start the H2, the steering wheel doesnt jerk or anything.


so from here, i think i have narrowed it down to the hub.
i didnt get the pulling until i replaced the Hubs on both sides, and the tie rods.
at this point, i didnt have the UCA installed nor the shocks.
i had the steering dampner installed prior to this.
steering upgrades happened after the UCA was installed. PM/IM arms, and pivot bracket. all Moog parts.

so i think after all this, i just got a defective hub.
they were cheapies i got off ebay.. so maybe i will order a new one and send this one back..
my biggest decision right now is if i order just 1 or 2..
the job is so easy to do, it makes sense to replace both, even tho they are both new. i just keep these as backups ( once i get the defective one replaced).

i would like to throw some Timco's back in there, just would rather not spend $500 for a pair when im tryign to save up for a frnt/rear gear change or a complete header/exhaust replacement...

decisions decisions....


after all this, and i replace the Hub, if i still get the pulling, my next step is replacing the Fabtech HD tierods. even tho they are new(ish- put about 5k miles on them now)...
after that, the next part would be the halfshaft(s)..
after that, the whole steering knuckle..
after that.. bang my head against a wall......

[charles06]

Just to add to this discussion, my pulling was only this bad when my tires were worn poorly. I had them rotated, and now all is well. Now, I get typical pull from the road surface. If the road slants to the right, I get a pull that way, and vice versa. That is to be expected from wider tires. My Porsche does this a little as well.

When I get my new tires put on (same tires I have now), I will get another alignment. But that won't be for a few weeks. I'll try to update if this post is still relevant.

[Scarsman]

Are you sure it is not a tire? ires can have what is called a radial pull. It has to do with the the belts in the tire causing a "walking" motion as the tire rolls. It does not happen a lot, but it does happen. You can test this by swapping your fronts from side to side, and see if it pulls the other way. Just an idea.

Also, when you did your steering stabilizer, are you sure it was correct? They should have a "neutral" pull, or stay at whatever point of extension you place them in. Unlike a shock, which is always pushing to extend. I have seen where someone put a heavy duty shock on instead, and it caused a pull because the shock had enough force to move the steering if you let go of the wheel while rolling down the road.

[Hellz]

tires -

i have rotated tires out of the passenger side to see if that was the cause.

steering dampner-

hadnt thought of that.......
when i took apart my steering to replace parts, i did take the steering dampner off, but i dont recall if it stayed neutral or if it pushed out when compressed.

i suppose i could remove it completly and drive around without it on to test out.

good tip.. thanks