Did somebody say Pictures? Image Unavailable, Please Login And I still haven't heard any explanation for why in the very first post there is interference in what appears to be a well aged, original suspension. (Picture below is from the OP initial post.) Anybody have an explanation for that? Image Unavailable, Please Login
Driving me crazy enough that I went and took pics of my front. Guess that my '88.5 328 had all the changes. Looks nothing like what you have.
Assuming the parts are all correct the only thing I can imagine is that the caster is way off. I was thinking that the steering arms could be off but, the think is, the disk guards bolt to the caliper mounts at the rear of the spindle and to the steering arm at the front. So if the steering arms were tilted down, as in incorrect part, the disk guard would not fit correctly. This tells me that the angle the steering arm makes with the caster axis (line through center of top and bottom ball joints) must be correct and the only way the steering arm could tilt up more, to clear the sway bar dog bone, is more positive caster.
I thought of that too, that's why I posted a pic with the green straight lines earlier in the thread. I also asked how the A arms were mounted. there is a possibility the lower was mounted in the full down position and the bushings are not offering any torsional resistance when the weight of the car is set on it, but im just guessing. I may not be wording this correctly
To recap, previous repairs have given rise to the interference conflict in fit, and the rebuild simply carried the issue forward. Not noticed because the car was not operational. Tend to agree about the new bushings being very stiff and suspension droop. Not sure but reassembly with arm in closer to stressed position before setting the thru bolts?? Thread of the month, the world wide campfire of Ferrari enthusiasts. And Martins car will rub when he's airborne over European train crossings! I am going underneath mine tomorrow, for a look see.....
An additional thought relating to alignment. I would think camber could also effect this. Maybe start with getting things into alignment.
Not so sure about alignment, on my 328 tie rod and sway bar link have a plenty of clearance, alignment may change distances slightly but not that much. On my car, when sitting on the ground, the tie rod arm is parallel to the ground, no sharp angles up or down. I suppose the 308 must be pretty much the same, the tie rod should not interfere with any other moving part of the suspension/steering under no circumstances, drive could be catastrophic.
Lets get the information in an orderly fashion: 1. Problem existed BEFORE the disassembly 2. There is no service history with the car 3. The interference appears whether the tire is suspended or loaded 4. We are told that the tie rod end mounts are not easily swapped 5. All parts are new and from reputable shops 6. No one else has this problem Looking at one of the assembly photos (Post #6) it appears that the upper A arm and Lower A arm are out of alignment. The upper appears to be too far forward. This may be a 3 dimensional problem that we are viewing in 2 dimensions ie. the problem is NOT that the tie rod has too little clearance up and down BUT that it has been repositioned back to front. This leads me to believe that : a. The front end alignment is so far out of whack that the Castor is the cause of this problem or b. The uprights have been swapped or c. The tie rod end mounts have been swapped
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Okay it’s early and. Only one coffee but does it appear that the A-arms are reversed right to left? Second coffee. Never mind.
Without being close to my car to look at it, I'm threw speculation. I have one other thought but I'm not going to post it because it's just guessing.
Someone said a bit earlier that perhaps the best idea is to reassemble as-is, then have the actual alignment checked. That's what I would be doing... start by comparing this car's SAI and IA to spec.
Double checked all the spacers, A Arms, Ball Joints.....today and other than definitely needing an alignment (we still have lots of work to do before that and will have professionals do the alignment), we're at the same point as last week. Tried adding more shims to the lower A Arm and that just created negative camber on the tire but no clearance on the sway bar link. We have been using the previously posted parts diagram (we're new to Ferrari's) as well as lots of photos (Ferrarichat has been useful) to help with the assembly. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Bob have you double checked all the part numbers you ordered? and I asked before, but how did you tighten the A arms to the car, on the ground or by measurement?
Forgot to photograph with a straight line but like the other photo comparisons, it's a optical illusion. We put a level against the two A arms (upper and lower) and they are completely straight (on the flat side)