ride height issue

[ShadowofBob]

So I switched out my front Weitec springs and struts(found out to be stock OEM Audi) for my junkyard Bilstein/H&R strut assemblies(wanted the added sway bar tabs for later use). At the same time I upgraded my mountsavers v1 to v2 and new mounts for the front(the old ones are going on the rear).

Upon setting the car back on the ground and driving it around a bit I noticed that the drivers side was 1/2" higher than the passenger, measurement from wheel center to the fender edge confirmed this.

I then removed everything and checked it all over again thoroughly. Outside the car all the springs were equal height and I highly doubt they are damaged in anyway. When bolted together the strut assemblies had the same height too. The shocks looked fine and had good rebound and felt equal. So I tried the other pair of H&Rs(identical springs for all 4 corners) and remounted everything. Still having the same issue. I don't think the shock would affect ride height much if at all and they felt equal enough to me.

Any ideas as to what might cause this? I also suspect this may have been there all along and I just never noticed it on the old springs. Which would indicate a big body alignment issue.

[Rusty]

Could be the damper is sticking a little. Does it drive OK? Does the damper move freely?

[Fat Audi 80]

Have you driven it to allow it to settle? (Sorry if I am stating the obvious )

Cheers,

Steve

[Rusty]

Have you got the front and rear springs mixed up? Does the rear sit proper like?

[s2driveruk]

got the same issue with that setup but dont think it started out that way...sure a spring is starting to sag causing the difference....feels fine on the road or track tho

[ShadowofBob]

I drove it five miles around town at varying speeds to try to settle it after and initial testing. Dampers have the same rebound rate and nowhere appeared to stick while out of the car when I tested them. Didn't have any oil leaks either. H&Rs use the same spring all around. I used one set of 2 in front then tried the other 2 to rule out a bad spring. Maybe the springs are sagging more in the front or rear and I used 1 of each. Then by chance I did the same thing with my second pair on the same side of the car. I guess I'll drive it like this and see how it works out and if it really bugs me I'll put my Weitecs back on to really rule out the spring issue.

[ShadowofBob]

So even up in the air with the wheels and suspension just hanging the drivers side has a 1/2" more gap than the passenger. Could my frame be messed up?

[s2driveruk]

topmounts in the same condition all round?

[ShadowofBob]

Yes, brand new Sachs/Boge mounts with MountSavers. The strut assemblies were equal heights when measured off the car.

[Rusty]

Is one of the footwells full of lead or water

[ShadowofBob]

Not that I am aware of. The underside of the car is damaged on both sides from some previous owner not knowing how to use jack points. The rocker panels are also bent in towards the middle of the car from this.

[mcandmar]

Is your camber ok? As a test raise the car off the ground, loosen the two bolts holding the strut onto the hub on each side, refit the wheels, and then see can you get it to settle the same each side. If you push the wheel into the car, of pull it out you would be surprised the amount of slack is in that mounting. A big camber change like that will give you different measurements from wheel to wheel arch.

Another area of vagueness is the subframe mounting, with the four bolts loose in the car measure the distance from the lower ball joint to the front of the wheel arch, then see how much it changes as you move the subframe around. I've had problems with the subframe moving position after fitting solid alloy mounts. If you ever hit a large bump or ridge in the road and the car feels different after, thats whats it is

[s2driveruk]

Hmmm, thats really interesting about the subframe, I will check that out when i replace mine soon.
Cheers
David

[ShadowofBob]

So just to clarify the drivers side is a 1/2" higher when on the ground and has the same 1/2" extra gap when the suspension is hanging with the car in the air. The passenger side has same amount of movement as the drivers side. Struts were equal height when out of the car. Were reinstalled w/ new Boge mounts and VAP mountsavers. Springs have been swapped around with no difference. Can anyone else think of a cause for the height difference?

I can only think of body damage at this point but it seems like it would be pretty severe if it is really a 1/2" difference between strut towers. I'll be taking my Bentley and tape measure out in the next few days to check the measuring points, but wanted to get some other opinions first.