MoreRicePlease

I have been dealing with a terrible front suspension since i purchased my 2002 civic ex nearly three months ago. Some of the problems i had were as follows: When i would go over a decent sized bump, pot hole, or uneven surface in a road traveling at speeds higher than 35 mph, I could feel and hear the right side (front right strut/wheel) wobble uncontrollably. Also, the steering wheel would shake back and forth, which at times, usually when going at high speeds, would cause me to loose much control of the vehicle. After researching forums, referring to multiple mechanic friends, and stopping by the local honda dealership, i hypothesized that replacing the front struts would possibly solve my problem. Furthermore, I performed the "bounce test" to asses the struts and they failed miserably. I finally picked up some new KYB GR2 front struts and had a trusted mechanic install them for me. [In my opinion, the KYB GR2's are a pretty decent strut if you're looking for something similar to OEM. They perform just about the same, perhaps a tad bit better, and they're cheap too.] The install when fairly smooth. And, like i said the guy who helped me install them is a good friend whom i trust. But since the install, I have noticed a few funky things about the way the car drives (not necessarily how it handles). First of all, immediately after the install, there was the "binding/popping" noise that i would hear when turning the wheel while stationary, or traveling at low speeds, through a parking lot persay. The noise only came from the right side. This however, has gone away, and i no longer hear/feel the "binding/popping" of the spring three days after the install. Thank god! I have noticed that the alignment leans to the left. When i'm driving down the street/highway my steering wheel is always cocked about 1-2 inches to the left. If i center the steering wheel, my car will drift off of the road to the right rather rapidly. As well as the alignment being off, i have noticed that my steering wheel is stiffer than it was before the strut install. It seems that it is more difficult to turn the steering wheel to the right. This all is very odd to me. My friend who helped me said that he didn't touch anything that would mess up the alignment and suggests that i go get a proper four wheel alignment. I am just curious if anyone has any idea's what would cause the alignment to go out, and why the steering is tighter than it was before. Any help is MUCH appreciated!

(sorry for all of the reading, i just wanted to make sure i didn't leave out any vital information for the troubleshooting process. also, i wanted to be precise so that others can refer to this thread for their own issues/research)

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

I make it a point that I get a full 4-wheel alignment every time I take off my struts or even just separate my tie rod from my front struts.. Even the smallest thing you do can set it off.

Last time I messed with my suspension (raised it .25" to solve rubbing issues), I took it to a shop expecting nothing more than having maybe some positive camber to correct from raising it. The guy showed me the alignment sheet saying that my front toe was pointed inward, I had negative camber on both the fronts, negative camber in the rear driver, and positive camber in the rear passenger side, and that was all from just taking the struts off and adjusting my coilovers .25" front/.63" rear (to even out the drop)

MoreRicePlease

As usual, thanks for the input Riceboy. I guess i'm just stumped on why he said he didn't touch anything that affects the alignment, and then told me to go get it aligned... I was hoping to avoid an alignment and find an issue with the work that was done, but it seems that the alignment is somewhat mandatory. Suppose i'll hit up the shop.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Lol, yea, no problem. Like I said, if I touch suspension components, my to-do list includes a full 4-wheel alignment. Even installing a strut bar will change your alignment. A small amount, but change it nonetheless.

MoreRicePlease

Better safe than sorry!