TL;DR version: What would make my front passenger side wheel look like this?



Background information: This is my 1989 Honda Civic DX. It came with a set of worn out eBay coilovers lowered to leave about a 1" finger gap between the body and wheels. Since this car is eventually going to be my mother's grocery getter, I switched out the coilovers for stock struts and springs. The fronts came pre-assembled and the rears were put together by myself with some assistance from a friend.

Despite having little experience with car work in general, the installation was fairly smooth. However, I was disappointed to see that the front passenger side did not match up with the other corners. It looks like there is about 1.5-2" difference compared to the rest of the car, and the wheel seems noticeably set back (caster problem?)

During installation, I didn't notice anything visibly bent among the various suspension components, but I feel that *something* has to be busted for the wheel to sit like that. Does anyone have any ideas as to what parts might be broken?

 

my friends ek had that problem. first we replaced lower control arm, then subframe, then upper only to replace the lower control arm again because the used one we got was also bad, problem fixed. so my gues is lower control arm, my friends was a caused by curbage from long time ago but wasn't that bad till we lowered his car, then looked just like that.

 

The car actually did hit something in that area at some point in time... guess the previous owner didn't fix it properly

Thanks for the input, I'll try to check it out sometime tomorrow once the rain clears up

 

i would also check the bushings or placement of the radius rods on the crossmember. i had the same issue with my crx and it turned out to be my radius rod was f$*&ed annnd the bushings were shot

 

I have same problem from when I hit curb.... I replaced entire front suspension....it seems that the fron radius arm is putting pressure on the LCA pushing it back and it is not adjustable.; I would say get a new front cross member or do what I am doing and use it as an excuse to get a tractoin bar

 

Yeah your caster is off pretty bad. The radius rod is what keeps that in check, so look at the rod and also the the ends of it where it bolts to the LCA and the front crossmember. Also check the radius rod bushing...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gnar kill &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I would say get a new front cross member or do what I am doing and use it as an excuse to get a tractoin bar</TD></TR></TABLE>

Im sure his mum would love that lol.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gnar kill &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">do what I am doing and use it as an excuse to get a tractoin bar</TD></TR></TABLE>Boy thats a great excuse isnt it?!?!? thats right up there with "MY motor is leaking oil, ......time to get a b-series........i swear sweety, getting a bigger motor in a smaller car saves tons on gas, it'll all pay off eventually!"

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by I CRX I &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Boy thats a great excuse isnt it?!?!? thats right up there with "MY motor is leaking oil, ......time to get a b-series........i swear sweety, getting a bigger motor in a smaller car saves tons on gas, it'll all pay off eventually!" </TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly...

My zc was using a lot of oil....so I got a B16A.....hehe...but srsly,

 

lol...yeah I just got me ETD traction bar I won't have time to install it till after finals week but I will take pictures and do a write up on it to let you know if it helped.

 

Yea I had the same problem.. I just got another crossmember my bushing were shot.

 

could be the bushing not sure

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hai_tech &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">could be the bushing not sure</TD></TR></TABLE>

i had that problem whe i got my sedan..turns out to be the radius bar..to the cross member..and no bushing!

 

MY firends 90 integra had the same situation. Turned out the front cross member around the radius rod had been pushed in, as if it drove into a rock or something. The whole cross member in the front was pushed in and had ripped open.

New cross member fixed it right up. Time for you to jack your car up as high as you can and start comparing both sides of the suspension. It will be clear what's wrong.

 

The same thing happened to me this summer after I broke an axle and it shot me into a ditch. My problem was my crossmember bolt holes were stretched causing the crossmember to shift back on one side. As a result my radius rod bent, LCA bent, and the opening on the on the subframe where the LCA connects became stretched. I replaced everything and got traction bars LOL

 

Checked it out real quick earlier, and sure enough - the cross member is pretty beat up on the passenger side. I didn't notice it before because the radius rods looked okay, but now it's quite obvious that not all is well with my poor car. Looks like a trip to the junkyard is definitely in my future!

Also, you guys with the suggestions of getting traction bars for the grocery getter - funny Although I might consider it if the car passes down to me eventually, heh.

Thanks to everyone for the assistance, I really appreciate it!