Hello All,

About 2 weeks ago i picked up my first evo. Though ive been a car guy for years, this is my first awd car. Though i would have prefered to pick up a stock car, i was biten by this car. The more deeply i look into things in the car, the more i find mods, but also the more mods that were removed before selling.

Its having some front end problems that are worrying me though. Right after buying it, i noticed it wasnt running totally right and brought it to a local shop to have a fuel pump put in and be retuned. Turns out it already had a pump and larger injectors. I asked to have a "clunk" in the front end investigated. They were able to find that the bolt holes holding the front subframe to the frame were stripped as if hit by an impact wrench out of square. They were also able to find that if they raised the car on a lift just enough to have some weight still on the tires they could replicate the clunking sound by moving the axels in and out by hand. Thats whats scares me. The bushings look good, nothing is obviously bent. I just cant afford to pay for a lot of unneccesary repairs

The shop, thankfully, didnt feel comfortable just throwing my car on the dyno so the emphasis has switched from "performance" to just making it right. Being under the car, they couldnt see any leaking oil from seals, no arms looked bent, nothing obvious was out of order.

Anyone have any ideas? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Matt

 

that sucks man, good luck with everything and hopefuly it all works out

 

Maybe the axles are just missing the clip that holds them in. The stripped subframe I have not idea on how to fix, but I'd assume you need that bolted up. I wouldn't drive around a whole lot if it's not running right as you could cause some damage. Good luck.

 

Subframe fixes, I can assume wouldn't be much different than I've seen with a DSM (I am a DSM guy)... what I've seen in the past, is where there is severe rust damage, or horribly damaged threads, guys have cut out around the bolt holes, welded in new steel, and new nuts for the bolts to thread into. It's a fair amount of work from what I've seen, but not a crazy concept.

Regardless, lets hope those are the worst problems you find, and that you're well on your way to having a monster. Good luck!

 

Thanks for all the replies. The shop ended up fixing the subframe issue be using a helicoil kit. Thought the frame is now solid, the noise is still there. I think i may just buy a set of axles, either new or used, and put them in to see if that helps. Its starting to make a really bad sound and i can now feel it through the steering wheel when turning at slow speeds. Im only driving the car back and forth to work. Each day is less than 3 miles total but i think i may have to take the car off the road for a while

Right now im still just trying to pinpoint exactly whats wrong. Ill keep you updated as i may bring it to another mechanic that ive used in the past for a second opinion

-Matt

 

Does it make any noise just driving straight or only on turns?

I once had noise coming from underneath when I would make a turn. It was later found to be a broken sway bar link on one side....but I'm sure if your mechanic has been under the car looking at the axles and frame, I'm sure he would have found this if this was the case. Doesn't hurt to check though.

 

it also may be your struts....cheap fix..buy a used set off forums.

 

UPDATE:
I finally got a chance to get under the car this past weekend. I bought a used strut and installed it. I also pulled out the axle and replaced the retaining clip on it. No more noise!

The only problem i ran into is that my car has eibach springs. When i went to transfer the spring onto the new strut, i noticed the old struts top not was so horribly stripped it was impossible to get off. Im going to bring it to a shop this weekend and see if they may be able to cut the strut to get the lowering spring off. In the meantime i had to put the stock spring/strut on the car.

Will it do any damage having a stock height front driver side wheel while the other wheels have about a 3/4" drop? It will be only temporary.

Thanks again everyone for all your help. It is much appreciated.

-Matt