I need help..., front suspension issues Options

[95gtschick]

So last month I brought my car in for an oil change, when I went to pick it up they told me that my front passenger side tire (which has only been driven on for about 5-6 months) has 0 tread. That sparked some questions... why only one tire, and why that side? I've been having nothing but problems since I installed my kyb gr-2's & b & g lowering springs in early 2006, and only with the front passenger side. it makes a LOT of noise when I drive whenever it's cold or wet outside, and when the car is parked and you just push on that side, it makes a creaky noise... like an old mattress... the other side doesn't do it. is it a bad spring, or a bad shock, or both? tonight i'm getting my factory springs put back in because we're taking my car on a lengthy road trip this weekend and i don't feel safe driving on it the way it is... my car is gonna look nasty at stock height, but oh well, hopefully not for long. I've put a wtb thread in the buy/sell section looking for replacement shocks for the front, and tein springs. hopefully someone can help me out with what the problem possibly is.

sorry it's so long!!! thanks in advance

-Krysten

[LewFX]

bad mount can cause creeking, did you put grease on the bearings?

[playr158]

you probably didn't install that side correctly then

a)spring in the right direction?
b) mounting bolts correctly put on/torqued?
c) did you jack up your CV joint while doing the install?
d) did u grease the top of the spring where it meets the upper perch?
e) is the upper perch in good condition?

where is your tire wearing?
evenly?
inside?
outside?

[KaJuN]

as i had a big hand in the install i can field some of those questions.

a) yes
b) yes
c) no..i think
d) no
e) i thought so

tire is wearing on the OUTSIDE as if the car has positive camber

[playr158]

then have you taken it for an alignment?

[KaJuN]

yeah, it has since been for an alignment. we were told that the camber had been corrected, and there isn't any visible camber on the car, so i'm not sure. regardless, i'll take a peak at it tonight

[playr158]

Did they give you a print out of the specifications of the alignment and where it was currently? most places should

if its rocking too much positive camber,
a)cusco strut mounts for the front might help (but this is a last option type of deal)
b)you might not have put back the upper mount correctly

there are a few other things as well.

[95gtschick]

yeah they did give me a printout, but this was back in spring of 2006, i'd have to dig deep to find it. right now it's the positive camber isn't visible at all (when you just look at the car). i guess we'll see what they find tonight when they take everything apart

[KaJuN]

got home a little while ago, took off the wheel, and the inner side of the tire is completely worn down, all the way to the wires. almost looks like the strut housing has been rubbing against the tire, but i know it hasn't. Perhaps the toe angle is out? i dunno, i'm gonna play around with it tonight yet.

edit: the camber is not positive, it's negative if anything. however i do think the springs and shocks are fine.

This post has been edited by KaJuN: Jul 10, 2007 - 4:43 PM

[playr158]

ok so lets stop and clarify things

a) TIRE is worn on the INSIDE EDGE of the contact surface

b) the sidewall on the inside is ok? or rubbed against something?

before you said outter edge...

This post has been edited by playr158: Jul 10, 2007 - 5:23 PM

[KaJuN]

yeah, tire is worn on the inside edge. the sidewall was fine, from what i saw. it's not rubbing against anything. i'm guessing either we got a ****ty tire, or the toe angle is WAY out from improper installation. either way, i'm getting spring compressors and i'm gonna pull it apart tonight, cause we're driving to edmonton (1500kms) on friday!

edit: before when i said outter edge, it was because a shop told us the outter edge was bad, and i didn't bother to look cause i thought they knew what they were talkin about.

This post has been edited by KaJuN: Jul 10, 2007 - 5:28 PM

[playr158]

Ok well just a lil FYI...if your Toe is too far inward, going to stock suspension isn't going to help. your car will still be messed up, unless you take it for another alignment once you put the stock springs back on.

but yea i'm going to vote on this one that your car needs an alignment pretty bad

[KaJuN]

yeah, my friend who is a mechanic came down tonight. we figured out that the toe and camber angles are both very far out. we left the lowering springs in, just going to pick up a front camber kit and throw it in, then go for an alignment. i suppose the place that did the alignment last year, didn't align ****. oh well. i'll bring them the tire and ask them kindly to make sure that it doesn't happen again

[playr158]

lol i wouldn't go back to the same place...

[95gtschick]

Well I ordered my camber kit this morning, it will be here early this afternoon. Matt (KaJuN) and his friend will be installing it tonight, and I will get my wheel alignment tomorrow, don't worry, it won't be by the same place . Then hopefully we should be alright to take my car on a 1500km~ drive this weekend, and back home on Tuesday.

Thanks for all your help playr.

[playr158]

hey i didn't do anything, lol

glad you got it worked out, and good luck

[KaJuN]

hah, after getting the cam bolts, we tried putting em in, and they didn't fit by a mile. so, brought it in for a wheel alignment, and it turns out the toe angle was out so far that it wouldn't even register on an alignment machine, lol. the camber was out aswell, so my buddy just modified some bolts they have at the shop there to make it work. it's all good now though.

[95gtschick]

and we're off.... in....8 hours!