front suspension/shock/camber/ride height problem
 

I notice a few months ago that my front left tire stuck out about an inch or 2 compared to the right side and when I go over a bump or took a hard right it would rub on the fender. And the had the old original steering and suspension components still so I went ahead and replaced both lower control arms, which came with new bushings and ball joints, new inner and outer tie rods, new sway bar end links(not yet installed, I'll explain why soon), new nub shocks and strut mounts. And after mounted the strut and hub assembly back on to the car with new strife back on the car I was going to install the new sway bar end links and bolt the tension rods back on to the lower control arm but now the car sits quite a bit higher and there's too much space between the sway bar and tension rod ends to connect them to the lower control arm. And my initial problem with the front left sticking out is still an issue. Not to mention it sits like a monster truck now... Someone help me out please. I'll try to post pics.

its kinda hard to tell but theres about 2 or 3 inches of space between the sway bar/tension rod end and the lower conrtol arm. the other side is worse.... ill take a pic of the other side and such when i get another chance

oh yea and both of my bleeder screws broke when i tried loosening them so i could bleed the brakes... just my luck

Did you tighten all your bolts while the front was still in the air, and the struts fully extended? I'm not 100% sure, but maybe this is your problem. Shouldn't everything be tightened with the full weight of the car on the suspension/steering parts?

I had a similar problem with my rear end when I installed my new shocks and coils a few years ago. I don't think it was that bad though.

yeah the bolts should all be tightened with the car on the ground. i'd also suspect that either there is a bent strut, and or something else.

Its usually proper to tighten all the bolts down while the car is on the ground, but tightening them while the car is in the air should not cause this kind of problem. This is probably a stupid question, but are you sure the front of the car is straight? Its possible you are seeing the results of a previous accident that wasn't repaired right.

Here are a few other things that could be the cause. Ride height problem could be result of springs that are too long, not right for the car. The tension rods might just need to be loosened off to get them attached to the control arms.

The positive camber could just be from the car sitting so high. The way the suspension moves on these cars the camber goes positive as you lift up off the suspension. You can see this as you lift the front end of the car with a jack. Also, the strut tops are not symmetric. Turning the strut top to mount in a different orientation will increase camber/caster from stock. The strut top center hole should be offset inward and toward the rear of the car I believe.

Yea I did tighten them down while it was on the ground, but only by had. Should I do it again with an impact. I did think about if my chassis or cross member was bent but everything looks straight from wat I can see. i REALLY hope its not bent. and what is this strut center hole u speak of? I heard about that but I couldnt see or figure it out. If u could post a pic and show me that would be amazing.

And thanks for advice guys!

What struts did you go with? KYB's have been known to cause excessive ride height issues after install in not just rx7's, but other models as well.

Oh shit really... thats wat I got....

I've used KYB's without issue before, though not on an RX-7. Did you drive the car around after all the work?

Looks like your swaybar is installed upside down. :)

It looks like you have a Racing Beat front bar (but, hard to tell), which would make it even more likely that it is upside down, since they have for years placed their decal upside down...




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No i haven't driven it around yet Bc i haven't been able to hook up the hook up the tension rods and sway bar.
Lol its not a racing beat or upside down in pretty sure. I never removed it or put in a racing beat sway bar. All I did was remove the old original sway bar bushings which the bolt that goes thru them broke in half from being so old. It's just that now that I'm reinstalling everything that I'm having issues. And I think the higher ride height is part of the problem. And i think I have to get new tension rod bushings and remove the rod to realign it to the LCA. My other concern is that the front left tire still sticks out about an inch more that the other. I'm praying that the chassis/cross member isn't bent, which it doesn't look like it is. I'm going to get new calipers now Bc the blessed screws broke off inside the old ones. Then ima continue to mess with my many problems. I'll keep u guys posted!

This is a pretty strange problem. If the control arms are the same length, then even if there is something odd with the struts, the wheel won't stick out that much...

Only other thing I can think of is something odd going on with the hub maybe?? I have not had the pleasure of taking my front end apart yet, so I can't comment on specifics, but perhaps others here might have some input to that?

Honestly, that's the only thing I haven't thought of... And its deff a possibility. I've never taken the hub apart. Is there a chance that hub isn't secured down or the bolt/whatever that's inside there just needs to be tightened down and that will fix my problem????
Another thing i just noticed is that my front left its about 1/2 or 3/4 in lower than the other side... And a lil stiffer.... Does this happen with old springs? I keep on finding shit wrong with my car :(. And I'm only on a walgreens budget lol

Yeah, I'll bet you need new springs too. My car is the same way. Sits lower on DS than PS. I have worn struts and springs and need to replace them, but I'm also on that walgreens budget. :-)

I like your wheels.

i just finsihed installing everything and it sits even now, but its still a lil stiffer on one side than the other. and my original problem that one tire sticks out about 3/4 in or so more than the other. but thanks, i love my weds. someone around my area had them for sale from his fb and i couldnt pass up the opportunity. i gotta clean them up tho. what springs do u plan on getting? im not sure what to get yet.

I have installed new kyb shocks in my 83 as well and the driver side still sits lower than the pass. side. i have tried turning the strut mount to bring up the drivers side but no luck, could it just be wore out springs?

Any chance that they made different control arms for different years (different lengths)?

Or, does a big bearing hub stick out more (or less) than a small bearing hub?


Honestly, I can't think of anything else it could be that wouldn't involve obvious damage to the car...

Right Kentetsu, that's what I had in mind about the hubs. But wouldn't the bolt patterns be different, or can you do the big bearing hub and keep the old bolt pattern? I guess I could look at the service manual and see, but I'm lazy and probably will not...

It would be odd to have two different control arm sizes.

Henry, have you measured the length of the control arms? Also, I believe I remember your thread on this earlier, and at the time you had stock wheels, correct? I'm just wanting to make sure the wheels are the same offset and that isn't your problem.

I'd say if you can't find it by measuring the control arms, then you need to disassemble the hubs and check it out. If that's fine, then it must be the body somehow.

The bolt pattern did not change between small/large bearing changeover (discounting SE).

I would start with a quick measurement of your control arms...

before i did all this i still had that problem with the spacing and that was with the original LCAs. i just replaced them with brand spanking new LCAs from mazdatrix ($167 each) and all LCAs from first gens measure the same. when i ordered them all that i could order was if either they were for the passenger or driver side. but the hubs is a possibility and when i get it back from the body shop today or tomorrow ill take the tire off and try to dissassemble the hub. oh and i had this problem when i either had the stock wheels and my weds. it was just more noticable with weds since they are wider and rub the fender when i go over a bump or so on. sooo it looks like its either the hub, or something is bent somewhere, i just dont get how bc if something was bent wouldnt it be impossible for me to replaCE the inner outter tierods, sway bar end link bushins, reconnect the tension rods and so on bc none of it would line up since its bent right? this is giving me a big headache :( i was also considering that my cross member is bent? then i would have an excuse to get the sexy respeed cross member lol.
thanks for all the help and advice guys!! and thanks for caring :)
ill update u guys soon and add more pics!