LF fender is chewing front tire and damaged - uggggg

[DMC5180]

Are you sure those where (Byrnes) and not Pearce SS LCA's.


Dennis

[SS Spoiler]

hmmm? good question...

[DMCMW Dave]

hmmm? good question...

They were Pearce arms if they were stainless.

[Ryan S.]

Here is my update.
Cannot seem to find anything wrong. Dave S helped me diagnose lower joint and it is good. I reinstalled fender edge guard and not damaging my tire anymore. Also readjusted rear height and made the front end even. I took out my flat spare tire and only filling up half way.
Tomorrow, Clint is going to roll up my fender so that it won't touch my wheel anymore. Also he is going to help me replace rubber boots. I am just driving very carefully whenever I go over bumps.

Regarding LCA failure, California cars should be at a lower risk, right? Since we don't have snow and hardly get any rains. My car doesn't have any major rust issues.

[DMC5180]

Regarding LCA failure, California cars should be at a lower risk, right? Since we don't have snow and hardly get any rains. My car doesn't have any major rust issues.

Rain and snow is not as big a factor when it comes to LCA failure. Moreover it has to do with stress risers and cracks that form from stamping process used to form the sheetmetal. If you look along the edge of the perimeter flange you will likely see spots where the metal is pushed together forming a crease line( stress riser ). Now the next time you open a plastic food product bag notice that the bag usually has a spot that is nipped or slit to start the tear open line.
The same process is trying to occur with the edge of the sheetmetal in the LCA where the edge is compromised. Continuous torquing and twisting is working the metal. Once the fatigue fracture is started its only a matter of time before failure. Rust that forms in the crack can speed the failure process.



Dennis

[DMCVegas]

Yeah, I'll second all that. Rust will speed up the process of damaging the LCAs, but it's not the main cause. I have a desert car, and I'm a hard driver that doesn't slow down for speed bumps, and I have LCAs that have started to bend. Jumping the car a little bit also didn't help, but those LCAs go through a whole lot of flex while braking as normal, let alone when you hit bumps, potholes, inclines, and uneven road surfaces.

[Ryan S.]

Clint helped me roll up my front fenders. Actually he did all the work as you can see from photo. Now it gives me about an inch clearance when I hit a bump or curve. This mod has a side effect. It pulls out fender and slightly widens fender. I think it actually enhances appearance of the car. I feel much safer now but I will be very slow when going over bumps.

Clint also replaced tie rod boot covers and inspected my front suspension. Fortunately didn't see any issues. Other boot covers need to wait since Clint left his pickle fork at his shop.

By the way, Clint's modified front suspension looks pretty amazing and with his Miata steering set up. Total Frankenstein

IMG_0966.jpgIMG_0961.jpg

[DMC-81]

Looks like a great repair Ryan!

How much clearance do you have in the front? It looks like about an inch. How much does a full tank of gas impact the clearance?

[DavidProehl]

Clint helped me roll up my front fenders. Actually he did all the work as you can see from photo. Now it gives me about an inch clearance when I hit a bump or curve. This mod has a side effect. It pulls out fender and slightly widens fender. I think it actually enhances appearance of the car. I feel much safer now but I will be very slow when going over bumps.

Clint also replaced tie rod boot covers and inspected my front suspension. Fortunately didn't see any issues. Other boot covers need to wait since Clint left his pickle fork at his shop.

By the way, Clint's modified front suspension looks pretty amazing and with his Miata steering set up. Total Frankenstein

IMG_0966.jpgIMG_0961.jpg

Amazing! You'd never know anything went wrong!

[vwdmc16]

Probably the worst pic of me yet...