Just changed front struts--now car is undriveable..

[91Bomb]

I'm assuming the alignment is off now, right? Because the car is not really road worthy at all but should i drive it 20 mph to the nearest place to get it alligned? I mean the thing is making all kinds of noises under there especially when I turn the wheels. Drove it 4 blocks and had to turn around and come back home it was that bad

 

[Bud92gsx]

Anytime after any suspension work..A 4 wheel allignment should be done..If the nearest place is a couple miles away you should not have to worry..

Just hope nothing got screwed up when changing the struts..There should not be any noises tho..

 

[pos4g63]

Shouldn't be out of alignment with struts replaced . You must have messed with something else.

 

[91Bomb]

Car is FWD so I believe I should need the front wheels alligned only.

 

[greengoblin]

I'm assuming the alignment is off now, right? Because the car is not really road worthy at all but should i drive it 20 mph to the nearest place to get it alligned? I mean the thing is making all kinds of noises under there especially when I turn the wheels. Drove it 4 blocks and had to turn around and come back home it was that bad

It sounds like you have way more than just alignment issues.
You need to go back over your work.

Kevin

 

[Bud92gsx]

Car is FWD so I believe I just need the front wheels alligned..

Yes..But for added safety and security..A 4 wheel alignment is the way to go..

It sounds like something may be off..There should not be any noises..

 

[DOHCeclipse]

I don't believe there is any adjustment on the rear of fwd 1g's..

 

[RamenPride]

I don't believe there is any adjustment on the rear of fwd 1g's..

You are correct. Anyway, if the car shouldn't drive that bad if all you did was replace the struts.

 

[TSIturbo91]

How much did you take apart when changing the struts? I've done over 6 jobs on several different FWD vehicles and never had a noticeable change in alignment after. I'm assuming you are sure the part fits well and has no clearance issues?

 

[crash89]

Can you be more specific? Where is the sounds coming from, what is making the sound? Only at certain speeds.. Anything!?!?

As stated above there really shouldnt be a noticeable alignment change just from new struts. Now, If you change ride height you MUST get a 4 wheel alignment..

 

[TNTDSM7777]

Check to see if your lug nuts are tight. I have changed struts multiple times on a 1G. Doesn't seem like you can mess up much doing that. Like everyone above said check your work again. Making sure every bolt is tight.

 

[95talongirl]

Check to see if your lug nuts are tight. I have changed struts multiple times on a 1G. Doesn't seem like you can mess up much doing that. Like everyone above said check your work again. Making sure every bolt is tight.

+1

I.. umm... didn't get the front wheel tightened down enough one time, and it was all sorts os crazy vibrations, felt terrible. So.. wouldn't hurt to double check; sometimes we are in a hurry to finish things up and forget the simple things.

 

[genegoesfast]

Did you mess withe tie rods at all? If it feels real crazy, you could have a toe issue. Toe'ed out feels like you're riding on the rims.

 

[TSIturbo91]

+1 on the loose rim. Had a car that was acting like a CV axle gone bad. But it was really the rim had come loose. With some rims that use aluminium or "special" alloys the up an down temps can cause expansion and contraction. Thus working the lugs off little by little. Also if it was seated improperly it would cause minor to violent effects.

 

[Indian]

Do you have aftermarket brake lines? Make sure your brake lines aren't being smacked by your wheels, just a thought. Although I don't think that would make too much noise.

 

[4g63tc]

when you disassembled the strut assembly to remove the springs, did you reassemble it the way you took it apart?

Does it feel like it's binding?
does it squeak when you turn the wheel?
If you jack up the front end can you physically move the wheel as if you were turning without much effort?

This would be the first place to look.

I had made the same mistake once when changing the struts on my outlander, sure it all bolted up together great, but bound up, and squeaked to all hell, felt like it was out of alignment.

 

[HustlerTalon]

A few years back I did the suspension on my car and forgot to tighten a front wheel, the lugs where only hand tight. When I drove it, it sounded very wrong even on turns. When I got it back to the house to inspect it again I noticed the loose rim. It was vibrating like crazy. Check your work again.

 

[91Bomb]

Found the problem when I realized that I let out the spring compression before tightening the struts retaining nut all the way which allowed the spring to move where it shouldn't. Removed both struts today and did the job right BUT even after torquing those nuts down 1 of the assemblies still allowed the spring to slide around in there a bit making a horrible noise when turning the steering wheel (metal to metal contact where the spring seats). So i put a socket on the retaining nut and tightened a bit more and solved the problem. I think if I had used new coil spring seats with new rubber instead of reusing old ones it would have been a non-issue.

Anyhow car feels good now with GR-2's and allignment is not an issue at all. Once I get the rear struts in tomorrow car should feel quite good

 

[TSIturbo91]

Glad to hear you found the problem. Might as well make this tread RESOLVED! Good luck with the rear struts.