Can It Be Saved - Part Ii

[GT-FOUR]

Howdy Guys :)

Firstly I just wanna say a 'BIG THANKYOU' to everyone that gave me advice on my last post where I posted pics of my crash in the snow, where my drivers side rear wheel suspension bars snapped and bent outta shape.

Well.. after much investigation and education, I managed to get the 3 suspension bars, and its taken me two days to fit them, and I finished about 1 hr ago :)

So I gets in the car, she cracks up 2nd turn of key, I drive steady up and down the drive, no problems there, so I decided to take her for a run up and down street, but as I pull off my drive onto the road, the steering seams all funny, feels like a wheel is going to fall off and is extremley light.

It also seams to 'flop' from side to side at certain points too :(

Here are 3 pics of my wheel all back together :

All new bars, straight and back together :)

Dispite new bars, wheel still seams to be point out a little

Top angle

So ... anyone got any ideas why the wheel is still pointing outwards despite new bars being fitted ?

Also could this be the reason the car steering seams funny, maybe I snapped a suspension bar up front but doubtful, I'll have a quick look tomorrow.

Either way the car cant be driven like this, not even to the garage :( any ideas guys please ?

Cheers :)

[Bibbs]

bent chassis ..?

thought about a new chassis and drop your block in?

[mikeb]

So I gets in the car, she cracks up 2nd turn of key, I drive steady up and down the drive, no problems there, so I decided to take her for a run up and down street, but as I pull off my drive onto the road, the steering seams all funny, feels like a wheel is going to fall off and is extremley light.

Dispite new bars, wheel still seams to be point out a little

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I'd say it was out by more than a little! It will certainly make your car handle funny, but your description makes me suspicous that there is something else wrong as well. Have you checked the alignment of the front wheels, maybe the chassis is twisted?

Is there any adjustment on the diagonal bar that holds the rear hub in place? For the rear wheel to be toed out like that, it implies that either the rod is too long, or that it's mount to the chassis has been pulled back. The camber looks about right, although it's difficult to tell conclusively. How vertical does the wheel look when examining it from the rear of the car?

[paseoGT4]

Theirs a gen5 with an engine misfire and a slipping auto box, y not pick that up and drop ur lump and box in?

[paseoGT4]

just realised u have a gt4 - ignore my last post

[daktari]

Without seeing it in the flesh so to speak, it would be pointless to speculate. The rear suspension is adjustable for camber and toe and obviously as you`ve had to remove components this will result in misalignment. The bodywork being stove in may make the wheel look worse.

It might be worth your while taking it to someone that specialises in wheel alignment and bodywork. They may be able to spot the problem(s) and will most probably have access to reference points for body alignment etc.

[adamgt]

that would really ***** me off after fitting all the new parts. hope you get it sorted

[Leeky]

Your looking at the best part of £500 at least i'd say to fix that up.

Looks like best case scenario your geo is off. Including the labour for the bodywork your looking at least £300 .

I hate to say it but i'd cut your losses and get another ST185 chassis as they are cheap enough. As by the looks of the damage i'd hazard a guess that the impact has done quite a bit of structural damage and its a good chance your rear mounts/diff are not straight. Seen a few ST185's going for under £500 on eBay.

When it comes to the body/chassis things are usually worse than they look in my experience :(

But best of luck with the car

[Fidgits]

When it comes to the body/chassis things are usually worse than they look in my experience  :(

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but thats because you own a Lotus Esprit :P

Sorry to hear about the celica though - and yeah, you could have warped the chassis, but i'd say get the axle looked at first ;)

[GT-FOUR]

Howdy guys.

Well thanks for your comments.

OK I am still hopeful lol I have to be at the mo..

Anyway tonight I noticed that the front wheel is ALSO outtaline ! :o so the steering flop could be down to that, maybe theres a snapped suspension bar up front ?

OK I have two scenarios as far as I can see ..

1 is ... check front suspension replace any damaged parts, toe in the rear and make this me final attempt to fix it...

2 is ... buy a cheap car to run around in for now, and when I can afford it, transplant the GT Four engine into it :D so I need a cheap donor car, preferably sommat light.

If I cant fix it, any ideas on a cheap donor which would accept the GT Four engine ? or is it not possible / easy to do this what with ecu's etc.

Cheers :)

[Spuffington]

I wasn't going to say in too much detail when you originally posted on the accident. But remember I said I smacked my Dad's Alfa 147 on a kerb in icy conditions (doing about 10-15mph)?

The bill for repairs was £3,500 in the end. Yes, Alfa parts and labour are expensive, but the list of broken bits just kept growing. It surprised even Alfa who much damage could be done by a low speed impact against the wheel.

Ended up being the entire front suspension (wishbone/hub/shock.........) plus new driveshaft plus new alloy.

I'd say to cut your losses.........unless you get it up on a jig or can really sort out the geometry yourself, you could be driving something completely warped and very dangerous.

Get a new ST185 Shell and transplant - it's got to be the easiest solution. If you transplant into a different donor car you're going to have all sorts of problems with getting things to fit in the right place, engine mount etc.

Sorry it's not gone better for you mate.

[Leeky]

Yep deffo agree, id cut my losses and get another ST185 with a blown engine or no engine but a solid chassis/body and swap your engine/what have you into it

[Bibbs]

Yeah, pick up a Shell of eBay and drop you lump into it .. you'll then have extra sets of seats etc o pick the best from.

[LORD_ED]

the person who was meant to buy my card didnt show up so its still availiable