I recently rebuilt the front end of my 2011 OB – axles, ball joints, end links, sway bar bushings, and control arms. It is much more solid and smooth, but there are some road speed vibrations that feel like imbalanced wheels, but they're not, because the tires and new and balanced.

So I took it into a shop, and they noticed that the front end is sitting about 2" higher than it should be. And that's true, you can see from a distance that the front end is too high, and it gets even a little higher at road speed. They said that I installed everything correctly, and I know that I torqued the control arms under load, like you're supposed to. But the axles are coming down to the hubs at more of an angle then they're supposed to, and that's probably the source of the vibration.

They suggested that I might have installed the wrong strut assemblies, like it was just the wrong part. But these are the KYB SR4384 and SR4385 "Strut Plus" assemblies, and as far as I can find out, they are the correct struts for the vehicle. So what could be the problem? They said that I installed everything correctly, and I know that I torqued the control arms under load, like you're supposed to. I do know what I'm doing. But I can't imagine what could have gone wrong. 

Any ideas?

If you did everything correctly, as you and the shop both agree, then it pretty much comes down to the struts being the issue. Not all brand new parts are without fault. Did you compare the old struts to the new side-by-side? If the extended height seemed to match, did you also compared the number of turns on the spring coils and also compare the coil diameters? Do you still have the old struts?

There are far to many sellers these days that offer parts that fit where the old parts were but don't meet the application specs properly. I had the same issue with front struts for my 87 DL. I found out they weren't really the exact part for my car but they would bolt up the same so some manufacturer decided to group them all together as being compatible when they were not. I bought them because the cross reference charts claimed they were correct for my wagon but they were not. It sat too high after the install. I eventually found a proper set but it took a long time to find a right and left pair.

The suspension gains positive camber really quickly when it's near the end of its travel.  Not sure what's causing your too high issue, but the vibrations are likely from the tires gaining positive camber when the suspension bounces up higher than usual.

How much time/miles on the new struts, etc.? There is a settling period when you replace struts and springs. 2" does sound like a lot, but if your rears are sagging a bit due to age it'll magnify the front 'lift'. Verify the p/n on the strut? I confirmed those are the right KYB's per RA's site.  Aftermarket axles are also 'suspect' - but if you bought OEM then I'd consider that a non-issue.

 

Edited February 27, 20251 yr by wtdash