When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
It's a long story, so to keep it short. I've replaced the entire front suspension with the exception of lower ball joints. For some reason the car is sitting about 3 inches high in the front than another other one I see. This is ruining my tires, it pushes hard while cornering and driving in the rain dangerous. Struts, upper lower control arms, sway bar links, tie rod ends, and CV axles have all been replaced over the last few years. There were all the correct parts and installed properly. Any ideas on why it sits so high would be greatly appreciated. All the parts are all stock.
Last edited by Dockboss; Dec 5, 2018 at 12:51 PM.
Reason: Update
I think this is not common on civics, but with car on stands, no wheels, put the jack under the ball joint and lift it until car lifts a bit.
Then torque the bolts holding the control arms.
depending on bushings, they could have been torqued with suspension extended so it will not go down. Warning, this is common for miatas, not sure if common on 6th gen civic (I have a 7th gen, so different suspension)
or maybe the ball joints are not all the way in. Who did the job? If yourself, lift, check again
If shop, take it back.
I think this is not common on civics, but with car on stands, no wheels, put the jack under the ball joint and lift it until car lifts a bit.
Then torque the bolts holding the control arms.
depending on bushings, they could have been torqued with suspension extended so it will not go down. Warning, this is common for miatas, not sure if common on 6th gen civic (I have a 7th gen, so different suspension)
or maybe the ball joints are not all the way in. Who did the job? If yourself, lift, check again
If shop, take it back.
I did the work myself, I did have it up on stands when I did the lower control arms. I really don't see how it could have made that made that big of a difference. I did torque them all the way down, but i can't see how it would be 3 inches higher. Passenger side has original spring with a newer strut and driver's side has a full strut assembly(because the old spring was warped) but both sides sit the same height.
If you think a good mechanic is expensive, try hiring a bad one
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 32,017
Likes: 256
From: Midwest. Aiming about mid-chest
Rep Power: 518
Re: Front suspension sitting high
Can you even bounce the front of the car?
Did you have both struts disassembled?
I'd guess maybe you did not install the strut wishbone in the correct location? It's gotta slide a ways up the strut to the collar (or the spot where the dimple is for the bolt) before you tighten it.
Here's the latest update. After a long debate with myself and some other people yesterday I took it to the dealership. They looked at everything on the installation of all the parts and determined that the everything is installed correctly and that I must just have bad struts so they've instructed me to buy new struts. I don't have a spring compressor readily available and the spring compressor you can rent from AutoZone will not fit inside of these tight coils. Does anyone have an opinion on the KYB Strut-plus fully assembled struts?
I really don't see how it could have made that made that big of a difference. I did torque them all the way down, but i can't see how it would be 3 inches higher.
Just to explain, not sure if this is the case for 6th gen civic:
the bushing on the miatas are bonded to the central metallic sleeve. if you torque the control arms while the control arm is extended, the central sleeve is locked in that position, and the bushing as well. So the bushing does not allow the suspension to move down until the bushing breaks off from the sleeve.
I run the KYB Plus setup on my Civic, it was easy to do and it's been a great riding car with them installed. I also changed the upper control arms at the time which also helped quite a bit. I wouldn't be surprised that having two different springs could be the issue. They might be the same height, but they won't have the same strengths, so one side will bounce a lot more than the other.
Latest update. I have installed the KYB Strut Plus assemblies, got new tires and a front end alignment. They said some things were quite a bit out of line. It does ride much better now, but still seems like the front should come down another inch or two. The shop that did the alignment looked at everything and told me it was all installed correctly and tight. They suggested adjustable struts if I wanted a lower ride height.
