Issue with frame after being on a lift

[HWG09]

Originally Posted by Neilnaz

I had these symptoms one day. I had noticed that the car was not behaving/handling as normal especially over bumps. The car was skittish. When parked up the car had a lean to the front left (driver's side in NZ). The issue was that the driver's side shock absorber had seized.

This doesn't quite look like your issue as you state that your car springs at each corner as usual. However it is more likely that the suspension has not settled back to its normal position than any twisting of the car as you lifted the car squarely and carefully. This further supported by the fact that the car is a Coupe.

Can you investigate further whether the issue is at the front or the rear by lifting at the front - centrally then lifting at the rear centrally? If the car settles level in one instance and not in the other then you have identified the end that is askew...

Hope that helps, Neil

Thanks Neil.

Both look like they're settling pretty normal.

What do you do for a seized shock absorber?

[Neilnaz]

Essentially you will need to change both rear shocks or both front shocks - depending whether it is front or rear that is the problem. Shock absorbers should always be changed as pairs AFAIK.

Your options for changing shocks will depend on what shocks you currently have. As far as I am aware the shock absorbers can have new inserts fitted. Take a look through various threads on shock absorbers and you may establish what you already have and what your options are.

BTW I do not have expertise in this - just my experience. The garage I use diagnosed my issue - I already suspected that my shock was seized. They ordered some KYB inserts in my case and fitted the (rebuilt) shocks for me.

Cheers, Neil

[Derek911]

If it's not the shocks, Why don't you just adjust the lift to even it out and get it where you want it.
If the suspension seems right, then do a height adjustment.

[T77911S]

do like I said, remove the lower bolts on the rear shocks, easy to do.

measure ride height according to manual. measuring fenders to the ground is no good. the bodies were not that straight to begin with. I bet one rear wheel is closer to the outer lip of the fender than the other.

jack up the front, check the "drop" of the front wheels. the struts also bind up.

[boosted79]

Are you saying the fender lip to floor distance is the same on both sides but the rear bumper is 1" higher on the left? The bumper mount holes are large enough to allow the bumper to be adjusted up and down some, try loosening it and adjusting so the distance from the bottom to the floor is the same on both sides. The nuts are under the rubber bumper strip.

[911 Rod]

Put a jack under the motor and see if both sides come up/drop the same.

[gomezoneill]

Broken torsion bar?

[ossiblue]

Does your car have a front and rear sway bar? If so, are the mounts and linkages broken or damaged?

[HWG09]

No sway bar.

Don't think broken torsion bar an issue. There is no sagging and the ride is as normal.

I measured the ride heights according to the manual yesterday. Stock is 308mm from center of the wheel cap to floor and middle of torsion bar expected to be 16mm higher +/- 5mm. I measured around 298.5 with torsion bars just slightly higher so not perfect but pretty close and the same on both sides.

Hard for me to measure because of the body kit on there.

Almost seems as if the bumper is just off but it doesn't move around when I mess with it and also still had the issue not being able to lift the car up again.

My lift is two long slabs of steel so nothing I'm able to adjust.

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by HWG09

No sway bar.

Don't think broken torsion bar an issue. There is no sagging and the ride is as normal.

I measured the ride heights according to the manual yesterday. Stock is 308mm from center of the wheel cap to floor and middle of torsion bar expected to be 16mm higher +/- 5mm. I measured around 298.5 with torsion bars just slightly higher so not perfect but pretty close and the same on both sides.

Hard for me to measure because of the body kit on there.

Almost seems as if the bumper is just off but it doesn't move around when I mess with it and also still had the issue not being able to lift the car up again.

My lift is two long slabs of steel so nothing I'm able to adjust.

What I see as important is that the measurements you took were the same on both sides, yet the car looks tilted when viewed from the rear.

I looked closely at the picture you posted. The "line" between the top of the bumper and the tail lights, rear reflector panel, looks to be equidistant along the entire length. If the bumper was misaligned, the line would be thicker/wider on one side vs. the other. It doesn't look that way, but your could measure the size of the gaps between the bumper and the tail lights to see if they are the same on both sides.

However, the skirt beneath the bumper appears to tilt down on the right side. The skirt doesn't extend as far on the left due to the exhaust cut-out, but the bottom of the skirt does not look to be parallel to the ground. It's lower on the right. (Oh yeah, your license plate is not parallel to the bumper so don't let that throw off your eyes, but the license plate does look to be parallel to the bottom of the skirt.)



Can you measure from the ground to the bottom rear of the wheel well--basically the quarter panel behind the wheel? Are the two sides the same distance from the ground? If so, then there appears to be something askew with the bumper/skirt arrangement and not the body itself.

[T77911S]

check the front struts.

raise the car slowly and see if both wheels come off the ground at the same time.
check the angle of the lower control arms. on the ground and in the air.

[75 911s]

How old is your son?

[smokintr6]

Only the rear bumper is crooked.... You verified the rest with the tape measure. Rear torsion bar ht even left to right, and all four fenders equal, yet the bumper is off a full inch? Bumper problem. The look is exaggerated because there's no lower trim on the left where the exhaust is... looks like the bumper has been up even higher at some point and pushed that tail light up a little higher than the other. You might be able to loosen the two bumper mount bolts and shift it around a bit, unless the mount, or bumper shock (whichever you have...bumper shocks are stock, my carrera doesnt have them anymore) is physically bent.

Is it possible that somehow when the car goes up on your lift its hitting that giant exhaust tip and pushing the corner of the bumper up? Worth rolling it back onto the lift to check it out and see what the situation is.

[HWG09]

Originally Posted by smokintr6

Only the rear bumper is crooked.... You verified the rest with the tape measure. Rear torsion bar ht even left to right, and all four fenders equal, yet the bumper is off a full inch? Bumper problem. The look is exaggerated because there's no lower trim on the left where the exhaust is... looks like the bumper has been up even higher at some point and pushed that tail light up a little higher than the other. You might be able to loosen the two bumper mount bolts and shift it around a bit, unless the mount, or bumper shock (whichever you have...bumper shocks are stock, my carrera doesnt have them anymore) is physically bent.

Is it possible that somehow when the car goes up on your lift its hitting that giant exhaust tip and pushing the corner of the bumper up? Worth rolling it back onto the lift to check it out and see what the situation is.

The car was on the lift before the exhaust was put on. I lifted it to do an oil change and the next day came out to lift again to do the exhaust but couldn't fit my lifting blocks where they had been the day before. Ended up using ramps to do the exhaust.

[Dr J]

This thread may give you clues as to what to look for if the torsion bar failed.

Rear suspension collapse

[JJ 911SC]

As mentioned by quite a few people, if "... Virtually all within 25 1/8 inches however when I measured the rear bumper the drivers side was one inch higher than the passenger side.," your problem is with the bumper...

I had my Cab up 4 months off the floor on a scissor lift and the before and after measurements were the same.

[HWG09]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

As mentioned by quite a few people, if "... Virtually all within 25 1/8 inches however when I measured the rear bumper the drivers side was one inch higher than the passenger side.," your problem is with the bumper...

I had my Cab up 4 months off the floor on a scissor lift and the before and after measurements were the same.

Yes appears to be the bumper. Was out there again last night and put a level on the bumper bads and the right was level but the left was off.

Still I've been pushing and pulling that thing and it doesn't budge so not sure why it's like this or how to fix.

Will probably just ignore it for now.

[75 911s]

Well first, I'm sorry your bumper is bent. And it does appear to be tweaked. A couple questions for you that may help solve this mystery.



1. Is it possible someone else, a family member, took the car out between the time you had it on the lift and when you noticed the damage? *that's why I asked if you had a young son. Lord knows I used to steal my dad's cars occasionally. :-D

2. Is this scrape related to the problem. Is it possible that someone backed the car into a low steel pole and pushed this side of the bumper up.

3. Is the damage related to the bisimoto install? who did the install? How did they handle the clearance? Was the bumper pushed up to accomadate the pulse chamber?

Some other notes.

The bumper is aluminum. It can be bent via the weight of the car.

The bumper can be adjusted via the impact shock bolts behind the trim.

In order to remove the trim, remove the plastic covers for the screw holes. The screws closest to the license plate can be unscrewed. The screws close to the corners need a 8mm box end wrench on the back side to hold the nut while you unscrew. Once the trim is off, you can check for further damage. ie the washer wear marks will show that the bumper has recently been raised on that side. If there are no wear marks, the impact shock may be bent, you can check the shock on that side easily as there isn't much to block it.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

The valance needs to be trimmed or adjusted to accommodate the Bisimoto pulse chamber.

[HWG09]

Originally Posted by 75 911s

Well first, I'm sorry your bumper is bent. And it does appear to be tweaked. A couple questions for you that may help solve this mystery.



1. Is it possible someone else, a family member, took the car out between the time you had it on the lift and when you noticed the damage? *that's why I asked if you had a young son. Lord knows I used to steal my dad's cars occasionally. :-D

2. Is this scrape related to the problem. Is it possible that someone backed the car into a low steel pole and pushed this side of the bumper up.

3. Is the damage related to the bisimoto install? who did the install? How did they handle the clearance? Was the bumper pushed up to accomadate the pulse chamber?

Some other notes.

The bumper is aluminum. It can be bent via the weight of the car.

The bumper can be adjusted via the impact shock bolts behind the trim.

In order to remove the trim, remove the plastic covers for the screw holes. The screws closest to the license plate can be unscrewed. The screws close to the corners need a 8mm box end wrench on the back side to hold the nut while you unscrew. Once the trim is off, you can check for further damage. ie the washer wear marks will show that the bumper has recently been raised on that side. If there are no wear marks, the impact shock may be bent, you can check the shock on that side easily as there isn't much to block it.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

The valance needs to be trimmed or adjusted to accommodate the Bisimoto pulse chamber.

1. I have two daughters ages 5 and 3 as well as a wife who doesn't know how to drive a stick. No one touches Daddy's "red car"

2. Again, Friday night oil change, Saturday morning exhaust install. Only driving was around the block to warm up engine. Nobody backed into anything.

3. I did the install and the bumper wasn't an issue at all. OEM muffler slid out no problem and the new muffler fits in the valence opening without touching anything else. I'm including another picture that shows this.

I'll look into maybe adjusting the bumper as you said.

Thanks!

[HWG09]

Also, that "scrape" is just a reflection of the muffler.