Suspension is hitting the fender wall

[BoostInsideTSi]

I've got some 18" wheels which I've had for about 2 years now. After spending 1200 in new tires because of a negative camber issue, i bought a camber kit about 1 month ago( front only). They put it in and adjusted it best they could, but he pointed out to me, that it looks like:

part of my upper control arm is hitting the top part of what i think is called the fender wall. Part of the metal has bent down from it hitting and there is a dent on the inside of the fender.

Anyone know what is causing this or any possible fixes? It appears to be gettin worse.

I'm also noticing a clunk noise, usually when turning hard or braking hard, was wondering if perhaps this is the problem vs. the usual cv joints going bad.

Thanks
Mike

 

[my95tsi]

The clunking noise could be your ball joints or just the uper a-arm hitting the fender liike you mentioned. You need to fix your problem right away. If the a-arm is hitting the fender well wall it could damage both the a-arm and the ball joint over time b/c of the sudden shock. The problem is that you got the wrong camber kit. You got the extreme kit which bumps it out +3 degrees. The a-arm will only move out so far until it reaches clearance issues. So you have several options....

-Bang out the inside of the fender well wall which is a total pain in the ass.
-Back out your camber a bit but it will not be in spec.
-Or you can do it the right way and get adjustbale ball joints, they cost about $85 a piece but will fix you problem right away.

The is no other way around this. Unfortunately many peopel aren't knowlegable enough when it comes to suspensions. It used to be one of those people. People assume you can just lower a car and everything is fine. However you have to do alot of research before going ahead on such a big project. You may need to get anohter a-arm if you damaged it too much already. That will run you about $200 from the dealer or you can find one froma junkyard but good luck. Hope this helps!

 

[nazthug]

yeah, these magical adjusting ball joints bottom out on the inside top of the fender well/frame/body, whatever u call it, the hella hard steel


its ####ing pissing me off, i cant figure out why they sell this shit that doesnt work

 

[Doug99RS]

How much have you lowered the car?

 

[my95tsi]

Adjustable ball joints won't hit the inside of the fender well unless you have a messed up suspension. With my adjustable ball joints set as far out as the could go, they only hit the inside of the fender well when it was moved almost to the very top. So if you have a lowered car and your suspension makes that much travel then you have a problem or just a bad set of srpings and struts.

yeah, these magical adjusting ball joints bottom out on the inside top of the fender well/frame/body, whatever u call it, the hella hard steel


its ####ing pissing me off, i cant figure out why they sell this shit that doesnt work

 

[BoostInsideTSi]

car isnt lowered at all.

 

[Doug99RS]

Check the front shocks/struts. Sounds like you have one that may be blown out if the noise happens when turning and braking. Bounce the front suspension and see if the car continues to bounce more than once or twice.

Also check them for fluid leaks.

Do you have your alignment printout? I can interpret them and give you my opinion on them.
Doug

 

[my95tsi]

well then the adjustable ball joints aren't your problem.

car isnt lowered at all.

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

The clunking could also be bad controll arm bushings.

 

[Doug99RS]

The noise could be any number of things and there's no need for us to keep guessing at it until we get some more answers to the questions already presented. It's time to start ruling out suspect areas unless we want to continue with the game of 50 questions and make the list of possibilities a mile long.
Doug