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View Full Version : suspension/frame nightmare! helppppppp!


jsasrsr
09-17-2008, 03:32 PM
So heres the story. I bought my 95 silvia k's about 6months ago with blown coilovers. Knowing they were blown, I knew the car would handle shitty. I immediately put it on jackstands for about 5 months to really make it into a project......
and now the nightmare begins.... new stance coilovers... new tie rods.... I take them to my first shop to get the car aligned.... I get out of the shop and drive home and have a crazy drag to the left.....
problem 1...now i really get to start driving it.... after about 30seconds, I notice that every time i let off the gas, it make a single clunking noise... not the differential, but more like the subframe smacking against the car....i tap the gas again and the frame smacks? maybe subframe bushings or im screwed?
problem 1.5.... also, when i installed the coilovers, i triple checked they were all even... i start driving and notice my right rear tire scrapes a little on hard lefts... no biggie..... but to add to it, every time i shift into 5th at a low rpm, i get a highish pitch rumble from the right rear-ish area...
problem 2.. I am driving home from work, understeer and hit a curb... it throws my alignment off a little, so I decide to take it to a more reputable shop... they get it and freak out... what was supposed to be a routine alignment, takes 3 whole days to get it almost perfect.... i get it back and both of my front wheels are back towards the fender more, and i cant make a hard left without my tire eating frame...... maybe they messed with my tension rods? not to mention my steering is harder to turn now, and the auto return is getting weaker...
problem 3... the mechanic points out something i never noticed... my rear axle is off... the left rear wheel is about 1in from the fender and the right is about 1 1/2in from the fender... bad shit... and im pretty sure i dont have HICAS.... this is the big problem now... any ideas? he suggests maybe a previous wreck or somthing.... i cant carfax it since its jdm specs and theres no evidence of it happening.
as you can see im in germany, where getting any part for this car is damn near impossible and the last thing i need is to get a new subframe! any ideas would help..

FRoSt415
09-17-2008, 04:47 PM
Im surprised the alignment shop didnt tell you that your car was fucked up and you had to take it to another shop. If i were u i would get some frame specs and measure it out to see if it all is aligned. while yor under there see if anything else is bent. were the coilover blown from an accident can you notice anything on them that can describe an accident occured.

LA_phantom_240
09-17-2008, 04:55 PM
Sounds like maybe you have frame issues... but more likely you have other bent suspension parts, like maybe a control arm or four.

jsasrsr
09-17-2008, 10:47 PM
im pretty sure my frame has some sort of imperfection in it, but where the hell could the noises from problem 1 and 1.5 coming from? and i was thinking bent lca's but the first body shop bitched and said it wasnt... i might go get it lasered to see whats up...

1slowS13
09-17-2008, 10:54 PM
i have a similar problem, but i got my car to toe in properly.

my rear right tire tucks in more than my left
my rear right tire has more negative camber than my left
my whole right side is about 1/2" higher than my left side

my left side has been hit and repaired, and my right side was side swiped. lol

when your steering hardens, that usually means the toe on the front are in spec

LayNLow
09-17-2008, 11:53 PM
1 Sounds like bad subframe bushings.
1.5 sounds like you need to make sure the rim/tire clear the coilovers in the rear
2 They changed your castor, a lot. Get another alignment done and maybe try to get your money back from the first place.
3 I have heard similar things from other people. One wheel being more out than another. Not sure about any fixes for that.