Ok, so I am running out of things that might be causing my front wheels to smack the wheel well upper - I can see marks on both sides.

The spring looks fine...I have it out and it is solid, no rot, delamination or breaks evident.
The bushings are poly and new last year.
No sign of binding.
Shocks are dry and stiff as heck...I can't move them by hand.
If it is not the shocks I am at a loss.

How do I test shocks? The front end is currently in about 100 pieces in my driveway as we speak.




[Modified by redvette1986, 6:46 PM 8/20/2003]

 

:lurk:

 

Ok, looks like I'm all alone on this one....maybe I'll just have a little conversation with myself. :lol:

Gee Redvette...could that putz mechanic in Michigan have put on the wrong shocks? And if they are only one year old...why are they rusty? And why are the rubber mounts cracked and dry? Maybe he had 'em lying around the shop and charged you full price?

Sooo....now you just have to figure out if they are the correct shocks for that car...if they are too short, maybe that is why you are bottoming out and hitting the wheel well...the front end does look kinda low in your sig...


[Modified by redvette1986, 10:59 PM 8/20/2003]

 

I went from Bilstein to ACDelco...could that be a factor here?

 

I really am of no help here, other than TTT for ya :cheers:

 

Did you change the wheels/tires I had 275's upfront and they rubed the top of the wheel wells.

 

Yes, but this rubbing thing is recent. Also, when I hit a bump now it hits way hard...bottoms out almost

 

Hmm. Even with bad shocks, it shouldnt bottom out with a good spring, if its mounted properly.

I'll think about this and post again when I get home from work.

 

What if the shocks were too short? I am gonna re-assemble without the sway bar and shocks and see if the spring functions properly. Then I will look to see if I can move the shocks by hand (I doubt it). I will also look into new shocks and confirm the physical size.

My thoughts here are that if vette shocks are two way rather than simply one way dampers, and if the shock was too short, wouldn't it reduce available travel or absorbing capability of the spring? A good bump (energy) might need the full range of travel to absorb before bottoming.

After the above is sorted out I will re-install the sway bar when the car is in normal driving position.

I noticed that all the bushings that I have encountered so far were installed without lubricant so when she goes back together I will grease 'em up.


[Modified by redvette1986, 7:33 AM 8/21/2003]

 

I'm going to throw a vote for bad shocks in here. Even though you can't compress them by hand (I don't think anyone could compress a shock by hand!), it doesn't mean they aren't bad. I'd get a cheap pair of shocks, throw them on there and see if it makes a difference. Try the KYB's.

As for the bottoming out problem... well, there should be "stoppers" somewhere (I've never taken a close look at the suspension so I couldn't tell you where the are). Silly question, but has your car been lowered? Do you have the correct front spring?

 

From your description of the shocks you took off, I would say that you got bad shocks to begin with, or they are not the correct ones for the car (shocks are made in different lengths). The bushings should still look like new after that short a period; there should be no indication of cracking or dryness much less rust on the shock itself. Is there rust on the rod or just the body of the shock?

Automotive shocks, especially for street applications, will provide damping in both compression and rebound, so the tires hitting the tops of the wheelwells is a sign that either the shock is not compressing properly, the shock is the wrong one, or the spring is bad.

Spring delamination may be hard to see if it's just starting so inspect the spring very carefully all along the sides of the spring. I don't know how common spring delamination is in early C4's but unless they are abused, I would have to think they should last many years before they get to the point of not being able to control the car.

I would consider getting antother set of shocks given the condition of the old shocks you describe. Summit Racing has Corvette-specific KYB Gas-A-Just shocks in their catalog for $27 (US) and they do ship to Canada. I've used these before and they are a very good street shock for the price. Try http://www.summitracing.com or call them at 1-800-230-3030.

 

ShawnZR!,

I have taken a good close look at the suspension over the last 3 days as it was in pieces in my driveway. I agree that there should be stoppers, but I saw none.

The car has not been lowered and the front spring is correct per the build sheet.

Also, today I took the shocks to a parts shop and then GM as they are AC delco. Both checked them and said they were functioning properly and correct for the car.

At this point I have reassembled without shocks and sway bar and I will take it around the block later this evening to see how she behaves.

:crazy:


C4cruiser,

No rust on the shock shaft, just surface stuff under the upper half. The dry rotted rubber mounts are possibly due to not being replaced when the shocks were?

After this evening I may haed out and get another set of shocks just to be sure....otherwise, this is a real mystery!

 

After looking at your sig picture, the front of your vette looks low to me. It looks lower than my 86 Z-51 was before I replaced the springs. Could be the angle of the picture. I know you said it has not been lowered. Is your car a Z-51? I believe the Bilstein shock is stiffer than the base Delco and that could mean the difference between bottoming or not.

 

C4 shocks should come with installed new lower bushings and the box should have had a package containing 2 new upper bushngs, retaining washers, and a new upper attaching nut. If your shocks were installed by a shop, they may very well have not installed new upper bushings.

New gas shocks are pretty difficult to compress by hand and they should expand back by themselves because of the gas pressure. Standard-type shocks (i.e. non-gas) should compress with some effort and you would have to pull on the ents to get them to expand out.

Driving the car without shocks and sway bars will make it seem like you're in a rowboat in 20 foot seas so expect a very bouncy ride :yesnod: Remember to tighten down the swaybar bushings after you have the car at ride height. The sway bar end bracket bolts should be torqued to spec first, then put the car on the ground and tighten the bolts for the large bushings.