I baught my first eclipse about 6 months ago in the hopes of making it a very nice car. I have 10K to spend on it and as I work on it I am finding out it has more than it's share of problems. I have been spending too much money trying to fix problems I didn't know existed when I baught the car. Every time I pay for some thing to be fixed I either get ripped off or it doesn't fix the problem. I need some answers so that I don't end up spending 10K and having a car that doesn't even run : ( !!!!!!

First off, my tie rods inner and outter needed to be replaced. I disconnected the tie rod ends from the wheel assembly and they basicaly fell apart. The inners where able to be moved in and out about an 8th of an inch. I supplied the parts to a machanic and was charged $400 dollars!!!!!!!!! to have the parts put on with NO alignment!!!. I got the car back and I still hear the nocking when I stop go and some times when I turn it only knocks once which each movement. I got under the car and found the boot ripped in half and attached with tie straps lol. supposedly the original boots could not be refitted after the install. Also the boots on the car after the install where completely differant. Next I put eibac pro springs on all around and tokicko dampers (non-ajustable) when ever I go around a corner the whole car shifts (sways) to the out side of the turn and almost breaks free, not too comforting. Also when I hit bumps I hear rattling and when I hit big bumps I can hear load banging coming from the shock area. I did install the rubber bushing between the car and the top of the springs the bottom just rests on the damper in place, where it is suppose to. I have had the car aligned twice in the last week now the steering wheel is set pretty far to the right while the car is going straight even a sharp left hand turn will not bring the steering wheel to center. The car vibrates so bad when I hit 65-90 that I can't use my mirrors and it's hard to keep it straight (not from pull but just the vibrating). and when I turn right at moderate speeds I hear grinding coming from the left wheel well.

There are a few other things to mention but I'll start with this for now. I need to know if any one can explain all these problems too me what they may be how to fix them ect.... like I said I have taken it to sears and other machanics and if the problem doesn't persist it only gets worse and I end up still paying.

Please if any one can help! SRY about the long winded explination.

Wow.

Did instructions tell you to cut the bumpstops on the struts? (Been a while since we did mine and there was alcohol involved.)

You would be a wise man to invest some of those $10,000 bones you've got in a digital camera so you can take some pictures of these problems as you have them. A picture is worth a thousand words and people here with experiences like yours might be able to spot something you didn't even think to mention.

Nah-mean? :wary

Rattles and banging after suspension mods, to me, is a sign that one should go back and make sure everything is bolted up tightly. I've had friends lose struts due to shoddy work by vendors.

If the car is aligned but the wheel is off, you *can* remove the wheel and set it straight, man. Be sure to disconnect the battery and wait a few for the SRS to disarm. (Airbag go boom in your face = bad day.)

Also, if you've got this kind of scratch to play with, at least drop a couple hundred on a quality set of basic hand tools. The $200 you spend on your own tools will save you $1000 in labor, easily.

Were you talking about the CV boot being torn? The massive vibrating at higher speeds almost sounds like bad CV axles. Or your suspension could be so fucked up...

Take pics like Brian said. It's kind of hard to determine what your problem is. Take pics of the shock area including the upper and lower control arm area, tie rod area, and CV boot/axle area.

Massive vibrating at high speeds could mean your wheels and tires need balanced, or maybe one is dented, or the tires are cupping.

I have a huge set of tools and a cammera I'll take some pic's tonight. I can't see anything though. Also now the back end has dropped down to the point that my tire hit's the control arm when I hit bumps. The springs that where on the car when I bought it where about 4 in. high and 2 1/2 accross and It didn't even ride like that then and those springs didn't touch anything lol. (try going 80mph in a car that rides on the steering assembly alone and no suspention, it hurts) The boot ripped in half is the boot on the inner tie rod. Also i.e. the boot put on by a machanic with tie starps, WTF?!?!?! I could take the steering wheel off and adjust it but it is that far to the right because the car pulls to the left; to keep it staight the wheel sits to the right. This is after two alignments at sears in a week. I've decided I need to find a differant approach since what I am doing is not working but I'm not sure what else I can do. Thanks for the advice so far I'll put the pics up soon.

ok here are the pics I have plenty more if they will help.







this is the driver front: the one that screechs and grinds when I turn right.

front:


rear:


This is how the car sits a week after the spring and damper install with the rear sitting on the tires : {









and this is the driver rear both back assemblies bang and rattle as well as the front the rears are louder and the front driver side wheel is the only one that screechs and grinds when I turn right. not to mention the whole car swaying to the out side of turns when I corner at certain speeds and the steering pulling to the left, hard after two alignments.

Here also are the results of the alignment.

As for the screeching and grinding when you turn right, you might want to have (or take pics) of the upper and lower ball joints. My car screeched like... i dont know what until i replaced the ball joints. Take it to the dealer, you might be able to get your front lowers replaced for free because there is a recall. As for the picture of the rear... There's no way the car should be that low on prokits and HP's. Thats the same setup as alot of guys on here, including myself, and it shouldnt be that low. Do you have a sub and amps in the back, or what?

EDIT- Holy shit. There is no dust cover on this strut. :O

EDIT 2- This says "all wheel drive" but the car is a 2gnt... anyone know if that makes that much difference?

thanks I'll have the ball joint checked out. I took my car to extream auto performance (the place I got the suspention set up) They don't know what to make of it either which kinda scares me because they are supose to be the experts in after market performance. I went with this set up because it seems to be popular and I figured it must work well if so many 2gnt drivers use it. I could realy use help here since the "experts" are all out of ideas. I have to get the back end raised up. Because I have a 3,000 mile drive in two weeks. In order to get the rear camber kit replaced and the camber fixed as well as the new CV axles installed and a new four wheel alighnemnt done and last the new tires put on I have I have to get it raised up. At this point I'm out of ideas also. This is costing way too much money with trial and error (a few grand so far) So if any one has experinced this and knows what's going on PLEASE let me know asap.

Thank Cody

My suggestion would be to find a better shop. One that knows what the hell they are doing (and knows the difference between a FWD and an AWD car).