help!!!

[driftmunky]

i was driving my 240Z all night and then i just parked it for an hour or so then when i came back to my car to drive home i noticed a bumping noise like my wheel was hitting something so i pulled over and checked my car out and my car was sitting about 2 inches lower than normal....my tires were fine but my diff was almost touching my exhaust pipe and i reached under the wheel well in front and felt that the inside tire was touching the spring/strut assembly!! then i checked the other 3 wheels and found that all 4 of my tires were rubbing against the shock/springs!! i could barely even fit my hand inside the wheel wells of the back wheels as my car was sitting so low...what could be the problem?could it be that my shocks are gone?

please help me....pleeeeaaassee....

[72zcar]

that's weird... all this in an hour. did u let someone borrow your car that weighs 600 lbs:stupid: ...hahaha. did u just have new tires installed that are wider? It seems so strange that you park it and its fine and an hour later it all the tires are rubbing on the springs...anyone got any ideas?

www.72zcar.50megs.com

[Zvoiture]

A variety of things could be causing this...

A. Somebody has stolen your springs.

B. You cut the camber-adjustment holes in the strut towers too large.

C. Your tires have been switched with 11.50 X 31 X 15's.

D. You own the elusive and VERY RARE Z model produced by Citroen.

steve77

[carguyinok]

How much air did you get when you jumped it just before you parked?

[72zcar]

its going to be interesting to see what mike or zmanyzs has to say about this... it seems weird because even if its possible for all four shocks to go belly up at the same time why would they suddenly rub the springs... the springs are in the position that the would be rubbing if the tires are to wide even if the shock are good or hammered. must be aliens...

[Zvoiture]

Yeah, shocks don't hold the car up much, maybe 50 lbs at most when brand new... each? Just a guess.

steve77

[EScanlon]

Admit it, you either rode around all night with the Refrigerator sitting next to you, and sand bags in the cargo hatch OR a friend of yours has put lead in every body cavity on the car.

All this in the space of an hour? Hmmm, sounds a little too incredible.

[Royce]

Okay, lets take this one step at a time! Worn springs and struts will make the car ride very bouncy and will make it ride a couple inches lower than it should. What you describe does sound more like someone played a trick on you or that your suspension suffered from some massive failure. But I have never heard of all four corners breaking at the same time.

Regarding the noise you heard when driving, it could be because the tires are rubbing on the suspension or could be because the mustache bar broke causing the diff to be free at the rear. I had this happen once and it could cause the noise you describe and would explain whey the diff is hanging down lower. I suspect mine broke because of a loose bolt mounting the diff to the mustache bar which allowed the diff to rock up and down with enough force to eventually brake the bar. But the diff being located differently wouldn't/shouldn't have anything to do with the tire issue. The diff is held on by a front mount and the mustache bar so if it has moved one of these mounts is damaged.

Next, the tire issue. Maybe your tires have been like this all along. Check the inside of your tires for groves from where they are rubbing, this will give you a good idea how long they have been this way. My tires are very close to the spring perch on the sturt on my car. Worn springs or struts would not change this relationship. Unless you have camber adjust brackets or the bolts are loose at the top of the strut tower I dont' see how else this could happen unless you attempted to jump the car.

Are your lug nuts tight? Loose lugs could allow the wheel to shift when it rolls causing a cluncking noise and may change the angle of the wheel in relation to the strut.

What size tires/wheels do you have? Tires too wide or wheels with the wrong offset can cause the tires to rub the suspension.

Is your car lowered or do you have any other suspension mods? What part of the suspension are the tires rubbing on, the sprint perch of the strut?

Jack up a corner of the car and have someone rock the wheel in and out from top to bottom, then from front to back while you look underneith to see what might be moving.

That's all I can thing of for now! If you can answer these questions we can be a lot more helpful to you.

I hope it turns out to be something simple!

[driftmunky]

i know, sounds so screwed up doesn't it...doesn't make any sense...before i had this problem i noticed that every manhole i ran over in the road my car would harshly bottom out...i'm assuming the springs were cut cuz my car was lowered when i bought it...and was thinking if the shocks(all 4?) did go, it shouldn't affect the ride height a whole lot as like someone said already, the springs are what hold the car up...i talked to the local Z shop already and he thinks my springs were cut and now they finally have just gone...but he's really puzzled about why the tires are hitting the spring perches...the tires on the back were very close to the springs before, i noticed but they were not touching...this is jus great, i have jus enough money for the light switch i need to buy and now this happens...(sigh)...damn it...

[Zed]

Maybe the person you got the car from "lowered it with a torch" (Heat the springs until the car sagged), and now all the springs (having lost thier heat-treating) have sagged to the point where you have the problem you describe.

Just a guess.

[2ManyZs]

Why does someone want to see my reply? I have no ideas!

I will say I think Royce probably covered nearly everything that is possibly wrong, now it's just a matter of finding out which one out of the list may be the culprit.

I suspect the control arm bushings may have something to do with it, either they were in bad shape when you put the tires on, and have since left you for someone else, or there is a serious suspension failure somewhere. That would contribute to the tire rubbing problem.

As far as the sudden loss of "altitude"? You live near the Snake river? Or does Evel Knievel live in your neighborhood? To be honest, I have no idea. Unless the spring perches were so rusted from all the accumulated road garbage that lays in them and they have fallen off, I'd have to say this may have been a more progressive sort of thing that you didn't really notice.

[Zvoiture]

Maybe the floorboards have finally rusted through and now when you look down, it just SEEMS like you are lower...

steve77