Gti Beam On Xs

[Tom Fenton 1,540]

Have you put oil in the gearbox?

[juice willis 2]

yes!

[toolie72 67 1 Cars]

I think the only way your ride height would alter camber would be to give you positive camber (like when you jack car up)

Are you sure wishbones are 205?

You sure clutch bearing etc ok-that's the same kind of area

 

Or you could pretend its a straight cut box lol

[juice willis 2]

Thanks for the suggestions, got some time off work so will be able to get it in the air again. 1 interesting thing: I thought there was camber both sides but after putting a spirit level on the wheels it seems only the offside is out. It's miles out, must be nearly an inch over the span of the wheel. Something must be seriously wrong, I've done some measuring both sides and can't seem to determine what it is. The wishbones were bought as a pair from the local motorfactors, from what I can see the strut looks straight so bit scuppered.

[toolie72 67 1 Cars]

309 wishbones were used to get negative camber on the 205-there's only about 10mm of difference between the wishbones so it doesn't need to be much to make a big difference

My wonky wishbone just had the bores for the bushes off the centre-looked bloody awful, threw steering wheel out so tracking as well

[juice willis 2]

Interesting about the 309 wishbones.. I took both of the new ones off and measured them, from bush to ball joint they were 7mm shorter than the correct ones i had. Managed to buy some more and have fit them but one side is still off. Next thing will be to check all the top mounting parts on the strut in question. It's the only other thing I can think of short of the strut being bent.

[juice willis 2]

original springs back on, ride height still too high! Has anyone put b4's on without lowering springs on a base model? Camber's still there. Thinking the height must be a reason. Going to spend another half day putting the original struts back on next.

[Anthony 1,002]

You did drive the car to let it settle didn't you? They will sit silly height when lowered off the jack but will settle after a quick drive, although that doesn't explain the odd camber side to side?

[juice willis 2]

Yes I gave it a good spin round the block, strangely enough the camber is now even both sides. I'm thinking the extra height is essentially hanging the wheel end of the ARB and causing the camber.

Edited August 11, 2016 by juice willis

[juice willis 2]

More thoughts on this. I haven't put the original struts back on. After speaking to the guy I bought the car off it is apparent that he had problems with camber and said he swapped the front and rear tires from uneven wear. I took one of the struts off and held it up against the original one. It seems the b4's are slightly shorter

 

Am now thinking I might have wrong hubs possibly 306 or 106 206 etc? Am also going to order a set of lowering springs to see if the ride height alters anything. Any recommendations? Don't want to spend loads of money as they may end up being redundant. Unless anyone has any nearby I could try out.

[toolie72 67 1 Cars]

Do the dimensions look the same? Ie bottom of strut to spring cup etc, what's it like with old struts on?

Considering the grief you had with the standard springs summat must be wrong

Most gtis are lowered a bit now tho-they sat crazy high when you look at press photos etc

[juice willis 2]

I haven't put the old struts back on. The fact that I haven't yet seen it with the original steelies doesn't help. Im thinking that like you say they are original height but look different with the pepper pots on. The main thing is the ridiculous amount of camber. I'm going to get a pic up just to show how bad it is

[juice willis 2]

 

 

]

[camgti 56]

Looks like incorrect hubs

 

Find another set thst you know are correct, refit the B4 and you should be right to go.

 

That may explain the droveshafts groaning

[juice willis 2]

I realize this thread is getting rather long winded so will try to wind it up.

 

The front is as so:

 

* New bottom arms

* New track rod ends

* New top mounts, bearings, rubbers, Billstein B4's

* Correct hubs

 

I'm fairly certain there has been this amount of camber since I bought the car. It is sitting on pepperpots which have temporarily replaced the 13" steelies, which I think have made the problem more obvious.

 

Any final thoughts on this? I'm pretty much giving up at this stage. May take it to a garage or even better would pay a local 205 enthusiast to come and have a look! I have a mechanic friend that teaches at the local college who had a look and is as stumped as I am.

[toolie72 67 1 Cars]

Take wheel off and stick photos up off struts, wishbones etc

That way other eyes can look for faults before you spend money

[steve@cornwall 100]

I wonder if the arb has been significantly damaged in the past? Could be preventing the lower arms from sitting correctly I would guess if it's effectively shorter than intended?. I detest working on base model type front suspension.