What else can cause the lower control arm to touch the rotor?

[soldave]

OK, I'm pretty much at a wits end with this car and its myriad of problems. The latest is one that has now happened on both sides of the car, but happened pretty gradually. I've found the lower control arm to be touching the brake disc. It's not hugely pushing into it, but is making an indentation in the disc and I'm a bit wary of driving it right now.

I ghetto-rigged the passenger side by using a spacer inside the rotor and then using washers to space my brake caliper bracket accordingly, but it started happening on the driver's side too. Thought it might be the wheel bearing so I changed that out but it's not made a bit of difference. The only other 3 things I can see causing it are:

1. Lower balljoints going bad (but they seemed fine when I replaced the boots on them).
2. Camber somehow coming into my car from something loosening (not sure what though).
3. Voodoo

Anyone else have any other ideas? Am probably going to use a spacer and washers on the driver's side for now until I can work out what the hell is going on, and possibly get my alignment checked next weekend. But if anyone has any thoughts on other things to check I'd lover to hear the,

Thanks in advance

 

[DOUGMO]

remind me of your setup on the front Dave?

what arms,brakes etc

 

[soldave]

Sorry, should have said that to start with. Running the following:
Cusco coilovers
RX-7 calipers
Custom-made steel brackets
Nissan Altima Rotors
Stock arms

Should note that the setup has been working fine for quite a while - it's just started to do this in the past couple of weeks on the driver's side and started a couple of months ago on the passenger side.

 

[DOUGMO]

are the altima rotors thicker? (over 24mm?) with the brembo rotors the arms are very close, I just buzzed a bit off the arm.

Did you replace the bearings with new ones and tighten the driveshaft nuts tight enough?

If the rotors are close anyway it could be the ball joint allowing a tiny bit of movement

 

[soldave]

The rotors I think came in originally at 24.5mm. Bearing on the driver's side was replaced with a new OEM one and the driveshaft nut tight as I could get it.

It might be normal but I just wondered why it might have happened gradually. I might just grind some off the lower control arm.

Thanks for the thoughts

 

[DOUGMO]

is the nissan rotor higher?

 

[soldave]

Am pretty sure yes, it is a higher rotor.

 

[soldave]

A couple of pics badly showing what's going on. Excuse the gratuitous amount of grease there - not cleaned it up yet.

 

[4piknup]

So, wobble the wheel around and find what is loose. Is either bottom ball joint or wheel bearing

 

[soldave]

Wheel bearing just replaced on one side, and neither side has any free play or slop in it at all.

 

[JETGSR]

does it touch when it is cold or stationary?

I would say your "custom steel brackets that hold the caliper have flexed/bent) due to heat maybe along with the rotor hat.

it looks wrong non the less. ball joint looks locked in and seated.

remove the rotor and put a straight edge accross the face of the tophat and back of the rotor, look for any distortion.

something has bent! if it was fine before.

Oh the other thing could be as most ppl have mentioned the wheel bearing! it may not of been seated properly at the start so it had clearence.
Now it has settled .
The only thing that holds that tophap out there is the wheel bearing in the stub axel so unless you have hit some nasty gutters - stubs just dont bend by them selves.

space the rotor from the stub from behind - that will get you going but maybe look at a different offset rotor.

2 cents are worth nothing - if you hand them out 1 at a time

 

[caged]

Have the strut to knuckle bolts been removed/loosened or adjusted in a Wheel alignment? I would also be running a heat shield around that ball joint if you want to keep them alive and plan on getting the brakes hot.

 

[EVO-00X]

Have you bottomed out bad recently? Can you rule out bent lower control arms or even a bent k-frame? Measure the wheeltrack and then tell us what it is and what offset rims you have.
I remember when I first did my car both lower control arms came off a front cut. Without noticing when we measured wheeltrack it was wider than normal... result of half cut being dropped and slightly bending the arms up to give more camber. Replaced the arms and instantly back to oem. Worth measuring.

 

[JETGSR]

less camber will bring them closer