Changed my front brakes yesterday, and noticed that the drivers side wheel hangs noticable lower than the passenger side wheel. Is this normal?

And so long as I have you guys here, one more quick question. How can you tell which break is squeaking between fronts and backs. The squeal I had before changing the old brakes has been greatly reduced, but there still is a slight tweet here or there so Im wondering if it's the new brakes settling or the rear brakes needing more brake goo.

Thanks for the Input!!

 

My left nut hangs lower then the right one.

How did you come to the conclusion that one wheel hangs lower? Did you measure the gap while the car was jacked up?

 

 

I KNEW a comment like this was coming.....ok fella's get it out of your system.

And no, I didn't measure, you can just visually tell that it sits a little lower when on jacks. Plus, I noticed that I have to jack the driver's side up a little further than the passenger side to get the wheel off of the ground. I do the work in my garage, so I really don't think it's a uneven platform sort of thing.

 

Anyone?

 

blown strut might be your culprit.

 

Ouch!....two Bad CV joints, now the struts go. I wouldn't be surprised if this is it. Thanks for the input. I'll have to check this out. May be easier to do EVERYTHING all together.

capitone

 

I would do it all at the same time. Save you both time and money.

 

How does a blown strut affect the distance

 

Exactly, it doesn't

I'm pretty sure the poster is worrying TOO much. As long as it's "slightly" more than the other, it's probably just fine. Why else would "njmaxseltd" be laughing, he knows enough about cars to know that this is just someone overworrying too much.

 

I beg to differ. He was making a bust A** joke about my wheels "hangin" he offered nothing to this thread whatsoever.

 

OK here's my .02 on the wheel hang issue.

The struts can only extend so far. There's no way one can extend more then the other. Even a blown strut, unless it's internals have been distroyed will only allow the piston to extend to the top of it's stroke. Next time your car is up on jack stands, measure the distance from the fender to the top of each wheel. I'm sure it's pretty even.

The only other thing I can think of that could cause one wheel to hang lower than the other is your upper strut mounts. Even if you have one mount that is shot, were talking maybe 1/8 inch of play here. Nothing that you would really see.

From what you describe, jacking up the car and needing to jack one side up more to get the wheel off the ground I come to the following conclusions:

a) You worry to much

b) Ever think the wheels are actually hanging the same amount (measure them next time) but one side of the car is slightly heavier then the other? Think about that for a moment. Engine isn't quite centered and the tranny is off to one side. That difference in weight will cause your car to jack up uneven, especially if your using the center beam as a jack point.

 

a) I may not be as mechanically inclined as yourself, but If wanting to know whether or not I may or may not have a problem developing in my car means I "worry too Much", so be it, I'll take that punch.

b) Given your assesment, it is safe to imply that my car is heavier on the driver's side. Correct me if Im wrong (and I may very well be) but aren't most of the mechanical compenents of the engine bay on the "passenger's" side? Don't the wheels "hang" independantly of whatever weights in the engine bay while suspended on jacks anyway?

 

Couldn't tell ya.
Looks that way.
Yes, absolutely. Did you actually measure the distance from the wheel to the fender when the wheels were hanging? If so, what were the measurements?

The amount a hub/wheel can hang down is fixed by the amount the strut piston can extend.

Remove the Strut, Anti-sway bar, Brake lines and Steering linkage and the hub/lower control arm can be pulled pretty far down.

 

As I mentioned earlier, no I haven't taken any measurements. The difference in...AHEM! "Hang" was "visually" noticeable. I'll admit, I've taken note of it before, but always deduced it to uneven pavement. Now that I have a home, and a nice solid garage, uneven pavement is not an issue. Changed my breaks and there it is again.... with my CV joints going bad, I felt now may be a good time to confirm this as "normal" or a problem. If it takes measurements to know for sure, then I'll do that. I'll do it before I start taking **** apart.

All though it took a while to get it out of ya.... I appreciate the input.

Capitone

 

What struts/springs are you running and how many miles are on them?

 

Factory Struts and springs, 2k shy of 120,000.

 

Replace them, your car will ride much better.



















And maybe, just maybe your left and right nuts will hang evenly.

Unlike mine of course.

 

Enough with the nut jokes!

 

He's serious though. 120k is a long time to go on stock struts. They probably bounce pretty bad by now. And if you've noticed any squeeking while turning, it would probably be good to replace the strut bearings too. All that should fix "the problem"

 

It will all come in due time.