aaronc7

iTrader: (8)

I am a total suspension noob and I will admit that up front. I got Tein Flex coilovers from 949racing... in the process of taking everything apart both lower ball joints and tie rod ends needed replaced- so I got those in and swapped em out today. Everything is back together, about to put in the front coilovers (rears are in already)... but something seems wrong with my front suspension/control arms. The left side vs right side is very different in its 'stiffness' or whatever, im not sure what's wrong or which is wrong but something doesn't seem right if they are vastly different.

Let me try to better explain.. (I have a video too). Left side, you push down or lift up on the hub, it moves up and down relatively easy and bounces back into place. Right side... you can't press it down any further than it sits by itself, and its very hard to lift up, so much so that the car lifts off the jack stands a little when I finally apply enough pressure for it to move up (which is what you're hearing in the video).

It's linked to the lower control arm as far as I can tell, because during the whole ball joint replacement, at one point I had the upper arms disconnected and it still had this difference.

Basically: which side is fucked up, what is causing it, what can I do about it? In the video I look at left side first, then right side.

Thanks!

chance91

iTrader: (3)

I'm going to guess one side has bad bushings. You should be able to jack the stiff side up relatively easy with a jack though to articulate the suspension.

May be time to get the energey suspension bushing kit.

Get a flashlight and inspect both upper and lower control arm buschins for cracks and tears in the weak side and the too tight side. They are on the inboard side of the arm.

aaronc7

iTrader: (8)

Yeah, jack is what I used when I did the ball joints and stuff. I don't remember anything that stuck out looking at the bushings before but I'll go double check- thanks

aaronc7

iTrader: (8)

Looks identical on both sides as far as I can see. The tight side is almost feels like there is something constantly applying downward force on the lower arm (best way I can describe it). don't know if that's normal...is indicative of anything, etc, again I am suspension noob.

im so tired of dealing with suspension BS.. I just wanna throw these coilovers on. I just wanna figure out if this is actual issue... don't wanna be tearing it down later down the road etc obviously

hustler

iTrader: (6)

My car did that, the bushings are blasted.

aaronc7

iTrader: (8)

yeah I guess that's all it really could be.. ****. I'm not quite sure what I wanna do from here, thanks for infos

aaronc7

iTrader: (8)

well I sprayed the area with a little WD40, then jacked up the right side, was going to check the entire range of motion and look at the bushing etc.. after putting it through the entire range of motion its 'loose' a little now like the left side... so i think the bushings are fine. im just gonna say whatever at this piont and move on. thanks for helps guys.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

As long as the suspension bolts are tight, you will live to tell the tale. Assemble it and order bushings, that's what you are going to do.

chance91

iTrader: (3)

The side you sprayed with WD probably had rust on the inner sleeves of the bushing to the bolts is all. Its still likely your busings are toast. Torque on the control arms and look for seperation when you move them, both axial and up and down.

A car's suspension is not supposed to do the **** the loose side in the video did. Tts a bad thing. Don't you hear some clunking or funny noises under corner loads when driving?

Like hustler said, the bolt and sleeve will phyiscally save you from death most likely, but the rubber in between the sleeve and the control arm is not doing you any good.

If you're still in there for the project, do yourself a favor and take out a lower control arm or something, and prove it to yourself those things are tore up.

aaronc7

iTrader: (8)

Yeah, I went ahead and put the coilovers on for now... Maybe do the bushing thing down the road, for now I am too fed up with dealing with anything suspension, control arm related. Took me forever to get the old balljoints out, **** doing that **** again anytime soon lol. I'll definitely keep an eye on the bushings and listen for any clunking etc. i was running stock suspension prior to this that was beat to hell, i did hear a lil clunking but its hard to say where it was coming from (was the rear if anything). now that i have new coilovers i can mabye narrow it down more once the car is back on the road.