Ok. So I just finished the majority of my manual transmission conversion and suspension work. I set the car down on the ground to get a rough idea of how far out of whack my alignment is so I could get it roughed in for the drive across town to the alignment shop. Then I noticed the front end sits about three inches higher than it did before the ball joint replacements and the poly kit.

At first I thought that the car needed to settle since it's been 6 weeks since there was any weight on the springs. Well, after letting it sit over night and all of today it still hasn't moved. After sitting here thinking about it, I am beginning to think that the CV axles aren't seated properly. I have the DSS axles that are basically stock replacements. They are roughly the same as the Fidanzas.

Anyway, is there a way to get them seated any further than what they are now? I have tried rocking the car back and forth. I beat on the CV axle with a small hammer to try and get them in there further. Am I just a retard? Any help or other ideas would be great.

I bet its your springs, if they are fairly new, and fairly stiff, they will take a while to settle back down, an ATX to MTX is a large weight reduction, and depending on where you live the transition from the winter to a warm spring may be a factor, just my $.02

Originally posted by talon749
ATX to MTX is a large weight reduction,

How large? This is about the only guess I might have aside from the odd chance that both axles are not fully inserted into both ends (trans/hub).

No sense in pounding on something that's not broken. It might be worth looking into the weights of the manual vs automatic trans cars to see just how much difference we're looking at, here. Can't say I have any ideas otherwise. This is the first I've heard of a ride height issue after the swap, but perhaps you got the wrong axles by chance? If they were a little longer...

:shrg

Holding them up to the factory axles, they look the same length. As far as weight goes, I can man handle the manual myself. Meaning I picked it up and stabbed it on the motor while it was hanging on the hoist and hand my buddy thread the bellhousing bolts in place. Me and the same friend have problems picking up the automatic half full of fluid (whatever didn't dump out when we pulled the tranny) and no torque converter.

I just went and jumped on the strut tower while he was watching the axles, and they don't move. I'm going to top it off with fluid shortly and see if any leaks.

Stock springs?

Stock springs and stock shocks. They have the original date code on them and 145K miles. All I did was install all new ball joints, the polyurethane bushing kit and a 5 speed swap. I'm baffled. I really don't want to tear the car back down though.

could you get a pic of everything?

if it turns without ticking or binding the CVs, it's fine and will probably settle after a few days driving.

Well whenever I get the last part that I need for the shift linkage, I will crank it up and move it to see if anything binds or clicks. I'll also try to get some pictures of it tomorrow. Right now my plan is to go home and catch up on some sleep.

After the last week of the car sitting it seems to have settled about an inch or so. Now I just need to figure out why the starter won't turn over. I'm sure I missed something somewhere.