Hello guys.

I am new to these forums but I hope you can help me out. Recently, during my Impreza restoration I noticed low clearance between rear strut and the strut tower to the point that they come into contact while on the stand and the spring is fully expanded. Of course, when the car is on the ground, this problem disappears, but still right wheel now sits about 0,5cm (0.2in) wider then the left one. Lateral links, trailing arms, strut setup is done as it should so I came to conclusion that the tower itself must be crooked. What do you guys think?

 

Is the other side the same?

 

No, the other side does not touch the wall, which I expect is correct. The crossmember is also properly centered, so no problem there.

 

were the dots on the top mount lined up with the shock mounting points when the suspension was put together

 

Good thought, they were though.

 

Front and rear shock mixed up ?

 

Has it been in a front end accident to your knowledge? edit : just noticed its on the rear end.

 

Not that I am aware of, but during its 25 years of service it might as well have been.

 

I presume all the panels lined up nicely previously to being restored?

 

Well it there was a hit, it was fairly good mechanic to fix it, because colours match and so do the gaps and angles. At least in the front.

 

Do you have the old struts to refit, so you can see whether the problem goes away or not? If it goes away, it is something to do with the strut. If not, then the rest of the geometry needs looking at.

 

No, I have thrown them away. But upon taking them off there were unusal dents in the area marked with red circle, so I am strongly convinced that it's frame or body being uneven, because the suspension is installed accurately.

 

@2pot Anything obvious to you?

 

As mentioned by @Russell38, how did you line up the 3 notches, on the edge of the upper spring perch?

 

If you're convinced that the body is bent, why don't you take some measurements and find out? Distance between strut towers for example, distance from subframe outer edges to inner wheelarch etc.

 

I was thinking about buying/borrowing a strut brace and seeing if it can be installed properly. If it can, than the body geometry is correct. Yes the top spring mount "plate" is set in the correct direction.

 

It is not set correctly in your picture.

 

Oh my, what seems to be wrong?