I'm just totally fed up with my car HELP!!!!

[340GLT]

Right i will start from the beginning, and i warn you this will be a long rant!!!
I recently had a second pair of front springs from Dai for my car which are the same rating only slightly shorter to lower the front a bit more. I wanted to do this as currently the front sat higher than the back. Anyway decided today i would try and fit them so off i went stripping things down, only to find the springs are to big for the cups so that pissed me off in the start!! So i decided to cut my old springs down, which i did and that all went fine, yeh not to soft etc, dropped the car exactly to the height i wanted. Next i did the usual after mucking about with the suspension, checked tracking, spot on. So took the car out to let the springs etc bed in then when i get back tweek the tracking a bit.

When out i noticed the car was pulling slightly to the left under breaking and getting slightly out of shape. I put this down to tracking to start with, so back to the garage tweek tracking. pack up job done go home.
Started to drive home, coming down to a roundabout started to break very heavy breaking on pass front corner pulling heavily to the left. totally out of shape.

So turn round back to garage. Stripped and rebuilt the brakes, found nothing!! Then i remebered i altered the tracking on the drivers side tie rod, compared to normally doing it on the pass side. So altered all that back. did tracking again. slightly better but still pulling to the left!!!

Any ideas guys as i got that pissed off with the car i really dont feel like i give a shit about it tonight which just isnt me!!
So anyway i limped it home very carefully and the car didnt help matters when i went to switch on mainbeam and the headlights went off totally!!! Turned main beam off and the headlights came back!! Dim dip relay anyone think??

So guys please help me try and work this out, as i really just dont have the heart for it at the moment!!
Adam

[pettaw]

Sounds to me like a duff main beam switching relay. IIRC its in the main fuse box, the big one on the right as you look at it from the front of the car. Might just need cleaning.

[redline]

I'm just totally fed up with my car HELP!!!!

something I thought I would never hear Adam say especially after getting the car in retro car mag ,

Mate ,first things first ,calm down have a cup of tea and a good nights sleep.
Have you given Dai a shout about the non fitting springs ? I am sure he will sort something out for you .

I know its a major pita when things go wrong but just take a look at your car in the cool light of day and you will see why its worth persisting with it

not being funny I am not a mechanic ( and dont know if it will help)but did you set the car up with the strut brace on ? the tension caused by the strut brace may be throwing everything out of adjustment when your setting it up.

I would take the brace off , loosen the front nearside off and re tighten everything , do the tracking and then when its all set up and working properly replace the strut brace .

also I always thought tracking had to be adjusted as equally as possible on both sides , I know kwik fit cowboys try to get away with doing it all on one side but I have been told thats wrong .
as I said I am no mechanic but have been told this by numerous people.

good luck Adam and dont give up

[hatch360]

Retro Car mag although I have never heard of it, that is so cool to get your car on a magazine I would love to get a copy of that

[Ronnie]

So i decided to cut my old springs down

I think this is the key to your problem... You sure they're cut and seated indentically from one side to the other? Mick gives good advice, talk to Dai, get his springs sorted and fitted and see if your problem goes away.

Good luck mate

[340GLT]

Cheers for the nice words guys!!! I'm in a better frame of mood today, have spoken to Dai and it cant be the springs. They were cut evenly and my uncle suggested it could be to being too low although others run shorter springs than i do so????
I'm going to go and get a brake efficincy test done to see how the wheels are braking in comparison to each other. Thats providing i can get it on the bloody rollers!!!!
Adam

[340GLT]

Update, lights sorted, believe it or not it was the plugs on the back of the headlights!!!! not clipped on correctly!!!
As for the braking test, that is being done 2moro so fingers crossed!!!
Adam

[Carl]

Surely any problem with the tracking/suspension would be evident whilst driving normally ie it would still be pulling when not braking.

What sort of shape is the master cylinder in? Any brake fluid leaks? Did you bleed the brakes when you stripped them down?

[petefarrell360]

Good advice chaps. As I said to Adam last night on MSN, a good nights sleep helps you to see things in a different light and frame of mind.

I was completely fed up on Saturday night after doing some modifications and finding that my indicators didn't work as I was going out for a fairly long trip in the dark. Turned roundm, spent ages trying to find the cause. I'd looked initially at the side of the road at the fuses, I'm still sure they were all fine. The indicators weren't working and with the headlights on a relay under the dash was buzzing! Thanks to Chris, he got me to check the obvious again, and it was at this point a fuse, which I swear was ok earlier when it wasn't working!

I'm sure you'll get it sorted mate. Often the actual fixing isn't a problem, or complicated, it's the fault finding that is the art!

Pete

[Chris_C]

I don't know much about suspension, but what Carl says seems to make a lot of sense mate... let us know about the brake tests. Whats the magazine thingy? Has it been published yet, and I was asleep?

Pete, I had the advantage of the circuit schematic and being indoors at teh time, I still think there is something else wrong in your car, but I'll talk to you later about it.

[340GLT]

I LOVE MY CAR AGAIN!!!!
Right its all sorted and you will never ever guess what it was!!! Its was only visable when the car is sat on its wheels on a ramp etc!!!
Explanation.
My new brake setup has longer front hoses to the calipers, this meant i had to strap them to the strut body. This is all good and fine but when i lowered it that little bit extra it was kinking the hoses up!!!
So made some fancy brackets to prevent it and all is now ok!!!
Of course when the car is jacked up they are fine, its not until i dropped it back on its wheels that they got tight!!!
The pulling was because on braking the front drops causing the hoses to close further!!!
Just glad its all sorted!!!!
thanks guys!!!!
Adam

[redline]

there you go , what a difference a day makes

[petefarrell360]

Excellent news mate, as I said, the art of it is the fault finding, which despite everything looking fine, often it's not the case!
Pete

[classicswede]

Glad it is sorted.
I knew the springs them selves could not have caused such a problem and it had to be brake related.

[340GLT]

For those interested there is now a pic of the modded bracket for the hose.
Adam