[Guest]

I have had an ongoing battle with the front end of my car. Put in the Eibach springs in August and got the car re-alligned. In September, one of the shims fell out and I had to go back, get it put in, an re-allign. Guess what? It is November and the front end is clunking and banging again just like when the shim fell out. Question 1: Just how the Hell does a shim "fall out".

2: Is this an indication that something else in the front end is screwed up. 3: When I talked to the guy on the phone that did the first 2 allignments, he said "we'll put some locktite on it this time" WTF? That don't sound right, is the front end of these cars so poorly designed that we have to resort to superglue?

Please help if you have any ideas or advice.

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Eric Maxwell
96 MySStic
SOCALSS
Bcoddington Daytona's 17x10 Rear, 17x8 Front; SSRI; Exaust dumped after mufflers; Bilstien 1516/1517 shocks, Hotchkiss upper and lower control arms.
www.geocities.com/tirpitz_2000.html
www.members.home.net/turpitz2000/
[email protected]

 

[Guest]

Hey TIRPITZ,I am not an expert on this,but are'nt the shims for the rear. At least that's what my guys told me when having an alignment done recently. Maybe,both of our guys just don't know what the hell they're doing. Have to go back there tomorrow to see if they can correct putting the tires on the front the wrong way. Maybe,since they goofed they'll feel like they owe me one and let me get those b-body SS alignment specs done. I'll have to pray on that one. Man,dude you just don't know how much I hate having someone work on my baby,other than me. Hey,check this out. My wifey wanted me to go shopping while they worked on my car. All I could say was "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR F*^%in mind". Needless to say I have'nt gotten some in a while,but it's bearable knowin that at least my baby is here for me. Talk to ya.

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Heavy

 

[Guest]

They are correct in that there are shims in the front. Many manufactures use the "Ackerman" style front suspension, 2 control arms and a spring in the middle, so I don't believe it is a design flaw. I can tell you from experiance that aligning these style of cars is a pain in the a**. If the shim keeps falling out it seems that the tech needs to lift some weights or get a new impact gun. Lock tight would sure help if it is the only resort. Hope it helps

 

[Guest]

Jeez, man. Remind me never to ride in your car. That is unless I lose some weight.

Mike

 

[Guest]

Eric
I believe these nuts that tighten things down are self locking. If they are worn, they could work loose. I would replace the nuts with new ones AND put lock tight on it.

Lock tight is often recommended on Many bolts /nuts where they can vibrate loose or where it is critical that they remain tight.

Good luck.

Tim

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Torquemaster
1995 Caprice LT1

 

[Guest]

Eric:
Is the shim coming out on just one side? Or has it occurred on both sides? Might be solved by above suggestions, but....
Makes me think it could be something in the Eibach spring design. Maybe, maybe not??? I want to put some after market springs in but, am now most concerned about the spring rate variances reported with Eibach. What do you think? BG

 

[Guest]

I had it looked at last nite and none of the shims are missing and the car is still alligned right. It was noted that the front brake pads are "walking", moving back and forth in the calipers. Would this cause the noises I have heard? They also did a complete front end inspection and said nothing was wrong.

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Eric Maxwell
96 MySStic
SOCALSS
Bcoddington Daytona's 17x10 Rear, 17x8 Front; SSRI; Exaust dumped after mufflers; Bilstien 1516/1517 shocks, Hotchkiss upper and lower control arms.
www.geocities.com/tirpitz_2000.html
www.members.home.net/turpitz2000/
[email protected]

 

[Guest]

Yeah, it's possible that if the pads aren't secure in the calipers that you could get some clunking noises. Most commonly, it will set up a squealing noise, too. A visual inspection of the front end probably wouldn't reveal any sort of brake pad "walking" problem, since everything will appear normal. If the pads are good, you might try adjusting the "ears" on the pads to get a better fit.

BTW, the shim method of aligning GM (and others) front ends is ages old.

Clay