Broken Spring ???

[02legacygt]

Hello everyone,
Couple of questions first of, and dont say the obvious answer either that it is dangerous
to drive with a broken spring, I know that.what are possible symptoms of driving with a broken spring, on the front passanger?

as in, wheel shake? problems breaking?

The spring is broken right near the top perch ,They told me and showed me the break when I took it in to get the tires rotated and spin balanced. However the mechanic told me by the rust on the break that it has been broken for a while.

NOW, can I just replace the spring or do I have to replace the whole strut. Any suggestions here?

Also im asking these question becuase I need to know how safe it is to drive on it, I mean
I have been driving it this long with no real problems, i have a bad steering wheel shimmy
at 55-70 which is why I took in to my mechanic and if I have to break at high speeds
55- on, the steering wheel shakes, but the break peedle doesnt pulse, like a bent rotor or
stuck caliper. Which is why I assumed it was a tire out of balance.

Will replacing the spring help fix these problems?

Im looking for some info please.

[httrdd]

You would have to pull the strut to put the spring in with a spring compressor. Just replace the spring with another used on and put that on then diagnose the rest later.

[dodik]

in my old BD i had a spring crack about 3/4 of a loop i just cut the other side to make them even and called it a day. Its a ghetto to cut springs but for DD it wont really affect anything.

[02legacygt]

.. ok to replace with a newer used spring, other possible problems I might run into taking the strut out?

[dodik]

you'll need alignment afterwards. if you have access to impact tools your life will be much easier. On the front its pretty straight forward. first get the car on safety stands then loosen ALL the bolts including top hat to body studs AND the strut to the tophat. once you know you can remove all of them take the wheel off undo brake line and ABS sensor from the strut. remove the bottom strut to knuckle bolts then hold the strut with one hand and remove three small nuts holding strut assembly to the body, at this point strut will fall out. take your spring compessors(rented from the autozone) put them at opposite ends of the spring and slightly tighten. if you dont have an impact wrench you will need a deepwell socket and visegrips to hold the nut and alen key to undo the strut. once that nut comes off, take tophat off and remove spring. Install in reverse.

on the front you can pretty much use any 93-03 impreza springs or 95-04 legacy springs. just make sure to get a pair so they are worn more or less uniformly.

p.s. sorry for long post.

[02legacygt]

awesome man thanks!

looks like i have a weekend project!!

[02legacygt]

SOOOOOO,,,,, i had a warped rotos and seized caliper pin on the drivers side which was causing the front end vibrations...

replace: front 2 rotors, break pads, slide pins, and 2 front springs...

my car is like NEW!!!

LOVE IT!

[httrdd]

Yea a little work goes a long way for sure.

[Soul Shinobi]

How old is your car? It might be time for remanufactured calipers.

I had about a coil missing from my front left spring since I got my car. Had it aligned like that (didn't know at the time), it drove dead straight. I drove the crap out of it, handled decent. I've only just replaced my struts and springs, I was driving on that for a couple years.

Was it safe? I wouldn't say so, maybe I got used to the quirks when pushing it. I certainly have spun it out. Just putting my experience out there.

[02legacygt]

alright, well I figured I would post this here, on the way into work this morning, i noticed that the car is steering funny, almost like a boat. If that makes sense. like if im driving and sway the back and forth it feel like its taking a minute for the ass end to catch up... does that make sense?

it handles in turns fine, it breaks fine. If I go out and push on the car where the struts are , it bounces back ( only once) nothing crazy, i got it up to 80 this morning and swayed it back and forth and it feels the same as it does at lets say 30.

any suggestions?

[phi11]

look for a broken end link?

[Soul Shinobi]

I still suspect struts.

[02_Legacy]

definitely check out your sway bars and endlinks. That is what it sound like to me. I wouldn't think struts because they generally get progressivly worse and should not make a big enough difference just over night that you would notice.

[02legacygt]

NOPE!!!!!! I HAD A HUGE HOLE IN SIDE WALL OF MY REAR TIRE!!!!

FIXED!

[Soul Shinobi]

I actually came back to say "Hmm, maybe tires are low?" Fixed sounds good.