steering and suspension Front Suspension Still Straight???

[Dutch02]

how can it be that the front suspension isnt in a straight line compared to the front? when i look at the front of the car the two bolts are not in a straight line compared to the front of the car. can it be that the bushings need to be replaced or can it be that the whole car isnt straight anymore. the PO has welded a few places on the car. there are welds on the strut mounts and one side of the beams where the whole front drivetrain is mounted on.

[M3M3]

What two bolts?

Need pics....

[Dutch02]

http://www.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bmwblog.com/wp-content/uploads/BMW-2002-Front-View.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bmwblog.com/2011/07/05/retrospective-driving-impressions-of-a-bmw-2002/bmw-2002-front-view/&h=2332&w=3158&tbnid=7MUfX4O0kubjyM:&zoom=1&q=bmw+2002+front&docid=vQ4OzApBvYIFAM&ei=8ECxU6fCCMjrOrr1gbAE&tbm=isch

[Dutch02]

okee that didnt work :s ill try again. http://www.bmwblog.com/wp-content/uploads/BMW-2002-Front-View.jpg

[Dutch02]

that didnt work either. the picture in the link is of the front of an 02. the bolts that i mean are on the subframe just below the license plate

[esty]

[BLUNT]

Really hard to understand what youre trying to say but if you are saying the strut rod bolts arent in line with the valance the valance may be tweaked. Does the car track straight and true? What are the alignment specs?

[DRedman]

Still don't see any issue with that pic?

[Hans]

we need a picture of your car to see what exactly doesn't line up.

[Simeon]

I think the car in that photo is generally considered to be 'perfect' - you won't see anything wrong with that car by looking at a photograph. 8-)

you are talking about the bolts that attach the front radius arms to the subframe. I am on my phone right now so struggle to find it for you but if you search the site for 'front subframe' there is often a . jpg posted of a technical drawing of the front subframe arrangement. Compare yours to this and report back with pictures.

Certainly collision damage where the wheels have hit objects at speed could misalign the front end.

[gaius]

what I did was open an account (free and easy) on photobucket and fill it up with photos you want to share. once uploaded, you select and view the image you want and then click on the bottom box off to the right that says 'IMG' in front of it. Paste what you copied into your text and wallah, you have a photo! You can preview your post before adding your reply, to get it just right. 

 

that is the advice i was given, and it worked. although i should add when it asks for URL put in the direct link found by puting cruzer on settings for pic/ in library. good luck

Edited June 30, 2014 by gaius

[Hans]

It would take a pretty solid whack to move the front subframe and/or frame rails. If the PO replaced a section of frame rail, something might be askew if the new part wasn't positioned properly. Equally, a new nose section and lower apron that wasn't lined up properly might look odd when compared with a perfectly true subframe.. Pics would help... as above, how does the car drive? Is it crabbing down the road, or pulling to one side?

It would take a pretty solid whack to move the front subframe and/or frame rails. If the PO replaced a section of frame rail, something might be askew if the new part wasn't positioned properly. Equally, a new nose section and lower apron that wasn't lined up properly might look odd when compared with a perfectly true subframe.. Pics would help... as above, how does the car drive? Is it crabbing down the road, or pulling to one side?

It would take a pretty solid whack to move the front subframe and/or frame rails. If the PO replaced a section of frame rail, something might be askew if the new part wasn't positioned properly. Equally, a new nose section and lower apron that wasn't lined up properly might look odd when compared with a perfectly true subframe.. Pics would help... as above, how does the car drive? Is it crabbing down the road, or pulling to one side?

[jgerock]

It would take a pretty solid whack to move the front subframe and/or frame rails. If the PO replaced a section of frame rail, something might be askew if the new part wasn't positioned properly. Equally, a new nose section and lower apron that wasn't lined up properly might look odd when compared with a perfectly true subframe.. Pics would help... as above, how does the car drive? Is it crabbing down the road, or pulling to one side?

 

 

Not sure how fast the PO of this 71 was going.  Note the RF wheel position relative to the left one.

Right tie rod tweak

Frame rail damage

[M3M3]

ahhh, the memories....sawzalls are just soooo much fun!

[gaius]

striped down to ...