Jacked up front end.....did not settle back to set ride hight

Mattcamp · 07-18-2008, 08:20 AM

I got new tires put on yesterday.......Front end was jacked up first and I was there to supervise. We put the car back down and the front end was about 1 1/2 inches higher than before. I figured that it would settle down after it rolled a bit but after 30 min. on the freeway it's still stuck up in the same position. My steering wheel is not perfectly straight as it was and it feels floaty on the road. What the hell???? Anyone ever have this happen to them?

toddu · 07-18-2008, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mattcamp

Front end was jacked up first

How did they jack it up? And from where?

Todd

cgarr · cgarr's Garage

Sometimes the torsion bar caps (adjusters) can come loose when you take the weight off them.. Jack it back up and make sure they settled back in place.

dshepp806 · dshepp806's Garage

"floatiness"could be the tires not yet breaking in, so to speak...I'd like to know the jacking points, too.

Best,

Doyle

Mattcamp · 07-18-2008, 08:38 AM

They jacked it up with 2 floor jacks. One on each side under the front controll arm pivots. I helped line up the jacks. It all looked good to me.

tcar · 07-18-2008, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cgarr

Sometimes the torsion bar caps (adjusters) can come loose when you take the weight off them.. Jack it back up and make sure they settled back in place.

Agree. +1

Mattcamp · 07-18-2008, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcar

Agree. +1

Do they move around in there? Is the end of the adjuster bolt off to the side maybe or is there some kind of divit or cradle that the bolt is suppose to sit in?

rsa · 07-18-2008, 08:55 AM

The same thing happens every time I jack it up. But after a few hard braking nose dives it goes back to normal.

berettafan · 07-18-2008, 08:59 AM

Mine has taken some time to settle after being in the air for quite a while.

Mattcamp · 07-18-2008, 10:42 AM

Just got back from the allingment shop and the adjuster seems to be in its right place......We jacked up the front and put some anti-sieze between the adjuster bolts and their stops. Same story; The thing is still sitting up and won't settle back to its original setting. WTF?????????????????????????????????????????????

tcar · 07-18-2008, 10:50 AM

You might try a few 'panic' stops with a full gas tank, see if that works...

Or have Tubby and Little Lotta sit in your trunk...

Mattcamp · 07-18-2008, 11:21 AM

I've tried the pannic stops but not with a full tank of gas yet........That's next on my list.

cgarr · cgarr's Garage

I have to ask, not being a smart a$$ but is the car really 1 1/2 inches higher if you measure the front bumper or wheel well or is there just a bigger gap between your fender and tire? and I assume the new tires are the same profile?? A picture would be nice because I cannot get that much adjustment out of mine without re-indexing the bars.

Mattcamp · 07-18-2008, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cgarr

I have to ask, not being a smart a$$ but is the car really 1 1/2 inches higher if you measure the front bumper or wheel well or is there just a bigger gap between your fender and tire? and I assume the new tires are the same profile?? A picture would be nice because I cannot get that much adjustment out of mine without re-indexing the bars.

The gap between the wheel (not the tire) and fender is how I noticed also the front valance is way higher off the ground. Tire size is exactly the same. What year is your car because there is a ton of adjustment in the front end of my car. No re-indexing needed.

burgermeister · burgermeister's Garage

The front bushings (if they are still stock rubber pieces) will eventually slip on the A-arm once it is rotated enough (somewhere around 25+- degrees on mine). The bushings probably provide 10% of the wheel rate in front, so a slipped bushing from jacking up the front end could cause your issue. A few good bumps with a full tank should re-slip it where it belongs.

You could always lower it a couple of turns via the adjusters, and when it ends up too low raise it back up. Seems odd that this would happen with the strut still attached - the rebound stop in the strut doesn't allow that much travel (I think around 4" of rebound from design). Or is your car dropped to the weeds (aka "euro height" or lower), which would give you 5-6" of rebound and 2-3" of jounce?

I also have noted a 1/2" to 3/4" variation in front end height going from a full tank to almost empty.

Mattcamp · 08-18-2008, 07:47 AM

I just needed to update some facts about my front end........All is good. I got in a pinch and needed some tires for a weekend trip as mine were getting pretty thin and I was going to the coast with my wife. I didn't want to chance anything since I was going to the coast by way of Bear Camp Road. Any Oregon local will understand why I wouldn't want to take that road on nearly bald 12 year old tires. There was a shop in Medford that had tires that were the correct size and they could get them mounted before I had to leave the next day. Never heard of the tire but they were cheap. Anyone ever heard of Nexen tires? I never want to hear of them again. On the drive home my Porsche felt like a wrecked VW bug.

After putting 500 miles on the tires and going to the alignment shop to get the front end checked out; I realized it was probably the cheap tires that were the cause of the problem. The ride hight issue was just from a different OD on the new tires. The company I got the tires from were very good about taking back the tires I got from them and I'm now rolling on Michelin Pilot sports. They ordered them and had them in 3 days. An extra $380 and everthing is glorious.

Wil Ferch · 08-18-2008, 10:18 AM

All due to OD differences?...what were the sizes used?

Mattcamp · 08-19-2008, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wil Ferch

All due to OD differences?...what were the sizes used?

The Handling problems weren't due to the OD..............The ride hight in question was due to the OD. The problems in handling was directly related to the cheap tires I had put on. The size of the tires were the same as the new Michelin pilots I put on. Stock. 16" 205 55's in the front....225 50's in the back. I think there can be some differences in actual size between manufacturers even though they have the same sizing printed on the tire.

fbarrett · fbarrett's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mattcamp

I think there can be some differences in actual size between manufacturers even though they have the same sizing printed on the tire.

Matt:

As my high-school science teacher used to say, "This is true." You'd be amazed at the difference in actual vs. stated sizes between different tires and brands. Where's the Bureau of Standards when we really need them?

Frank

Mattcamp · 08-19-2008, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fbarrett

Matt:

As my high-school science teacher used to say, "This is true." You'd be amazed at the difference in actual vs. stated sizes between different tires and brands. Where's the Bureau of Standards when we really need them?

Frank

No Doubt.......