Honza Prihoda

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?

JDM_Stig

iTrader: (3)

Is the other side the same?

Honza Prihoda

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

Russell38

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

Honza Prihoda

Good thought, they were though.

Russell38

Front and rear shock mixed up ?

lockheed

iTrader: (1)

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

Honza Prihoda

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

lockheed

iTrader: (1)

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

Honza Prihoda

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.

RetroPug

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.

Honza Prihoda

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.

Laupy

iTrader: (2)

@2pot Anything obvious to you?

2pot

iTrader: (3)

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

RetroPug

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.

Honza Prihoda

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.

2pot

iTrader: (3)

It is not set correctly in your picture.

Honza Prihoda

Oh my, what seems to be wrong?