Nickoli Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 (edited) I've owned this 85 EA82 wagon, non turbo, for over a year now, and have just been dealing with this nagging issue. Basically, after turning the wheel hard left, like from a complete stop, the steering continually pulls to the left until you make a right hand turn. Then it tracks straight. Left turns while moving don't cause the issue, only hard lefts. Anything over a half a turn of the steering wheel seems to do it. It pulls under load, when coasting, with the clutch depressed, in neutral, in all gears, it just pulls until I turn hard right. Turning right from a stop doesn't cause it to pull to the right nearly as much as when you make a left, so for almost a year now I've just been making right turns after I make left ones in order to straighten it out.... When I bought it, I thought I had the issue sourced: the passenger side strut mount had lost it's cap covering the bearing, and the bearing was seized and skipping. I figured when I broke into the front end I'd do the strut mount and all would be good. Well, I finally replaced the strut mount today and really thought the issue would be solved. Wrong. I've also replaced the outer tie rods, ball joints, wheel bearings, and the passenger front axle. Tires are <20k miles old, balanced multiple times, professional alignment after all front end work. Steering U-joint tested okay. I just don't know what else it could be. Inner tie rods maybe? The boots on those are blown, but they seem to go so fast on all of the old soobies I've owned. I don't notice any movement in the steering rack when the car is lifted and I turn the wheel. I really don't notice anything odd except the strut mount, so I really thought that would solve it. Would it be worth throwing a steering rack at it? Could it be something with the steering wheel itself? Anyone had this problem before? Edited August 28, 2017 by Nickoli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee2 Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 (edited) Problem is also called 'memory steer or steering memory'. Google the terms with/without 'subaru' and you will find suggested solutions. http://www.freeasestudyguides.com/memory-steer.html Edited August 28, 2017 by Dee2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Could be the valving in the power steering rack, if it has PS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colemanapp Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 might also be the steering joint coupler (not sure of the name). I had one go bad and it acted just like that before it got even more seized up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickoli Posted August 28, 2017 Author Share Posted August 28, 2017 Perfect! thanks guys. Knowing it's called memory steer helps a lot. I'll also take a look at the whole steering column again and clean it up really good. I have a good junkyard nearby, so I may just replace the steering U-joint anyhow--i think that's the steering joint coupler? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George1943 Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 I have an '82 Brat that does the exact same thing. Turn right--no problem, turn left and it pulls to the left until I turn right again and it 'fixes' itself. I recently changed from manual steering to power steering. I changed out the rack, the coupler and the whole steering column. The pulling symptoms are unchanged. So changing out those items probably won't help you. My next step is to swap out the struts with the ones from my donor car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvdrt Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Mine was doing this and it ended up being the spring rotating in the perch and not rotating back. The bushings for the strut mount were garbage and binding the spring. New KYB mounts with bearing plates solved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickoli Posted August 28, 2017 Author Share Posted August 28, 2017 Maybe I need to replace the plate on the strut mount too. The bearing in the mount was totally garbage. I'm gonna spray some deep creep and maybe some lube up where the spring seats to see if I can get any response. I have a sinking feeling that's it. Also, It's manual steering so no PS issues. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 I have never experienced this problem, but iluvdrt sounds correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickoli Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 Maybe i was just hoping only the passenger side was the problem, but I need to replace both. Or I needed to sand/clean the spring perch before putting the new mount/bearing assembly on. Only the passenger side was obviously binding, and only the passenger side was missing it's cap and had visible rust in the bearings. Anyone know the torque spec on the top single 19mm nut holding the mount to the spring assembly anyhow? I've searched and searched. I have a FSM coming in a week, but I'd like to make sure I torqued it to spec before I move on. Maybe I over torqued the new mount and fudged it all up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee2 Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 you can use a torque table http://electronicfilters.tpub.com/TM-10-4330-237-13P/css/TM-10-4330-237-13P_105.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvdrt Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 Did that fix it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickoli Posted September 19, 2017 Author Share Posted September 19, 2017 Still no fix. Been busy with work and family stuff. I'm hoping to take the assembly out this weekend and check the spring perch, make sure it's seated properly and not rusty. Also have a new mount/bearing assembly to put on the passenger side just incase. I also can't torque the top 19mm nut to the ~60lb spec, it just spins freely. It's tight, but not 60lbs. Tried using a small cordless impact drill, but it didn't get it tight enough still. Do I need to put a spanner somewhere to tighten it? I figured the pressure of the spring would hold it from spinning. Iluvdrt, did you buy a new plate/pearch or was it just the mount assembly that you replaced? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvdrt Posted September 19, 2017 Share Posted September 19, 2017 My struts were already new, so they came with perch. I just replaced the top hats and got KYB's because they came with a bearing and not a bushing. I also used EA82 wagon springs on the front with EA82 top hats.. Just had to dremel the strut rod hole in them round to fit the EA81 strut. Got a way better spring rate, and a tad bit of lift without using the adjusters on the spring perch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.