[Guest]

Redid my front end recently, and I'm thinking I may not have gotten the insulators to sit properly. I was gonna drop the arms and recheck them but just wanted to know if I needed to get an alignment after this. Also, what would be the symptoms of the insulators not sitting properly?

 

[Guest]

Yes, you need an alignment when adding lowering springs/new front end parts. Caster/camber angles have changed. As for the spring isolators being in wrong, you will notice that one side of the car is much lower or higher than the other, or that there's a popping noise in front end from spring not seated properly. You also might get squeaking because the metal spring end is making contact with body of car. You CAN check the position of them without removing the springs again. Get a floor jack under the control arm, hoist the control arm an inch or two. Remove the shock completely. Get your face under the lower control arm hole, and use a flashlight to eyeball the position of the spring up in the center of the pocket pirch. If you can see the little metal prongs (fang shaped) all around the inside of the spring and that there's no rubber isolator deformed or out of place, they're in correctly. If the spring is at an angle/crooked and you can't see ALL the prongs it's probably in wrong and will need to be redone. Don't forget to add lots of grease to both ends of the springs upon installation or you WILL get annoying squeak and need to do the job yet again!

 

[Guest]

Yeah, but I'm not adding anything new but the isolators. That's why I've got the question, I know if I change the spring height an alignment is necessary. All I'm doing is swapping the old out and putting in the new. The springs are seated proper, but I think some of the isolator got snagged and I was too lazy ( read stupid & tired ) to take the whole thing apart again. So, if the only thing I'm changing is the isolator, I need an alignment??