Back together, but I'm still Leary of the mount. Without a torque wrench I dunno how hard to put it in there. I understand the math. My wrench is 1 foot long, I need to put 33 lbs of force in it. But how to judge that? What happens if I torque it too hard?

 

How many nuts came with the strut? If only one each, then that nut is supposed to hold down the bearing ring that goes on top of the spring cap. Which then requires you to re-use the OEM nut at the very top. On second thought... who knows, different brands have different setups, I guess.

With the accordion where it is, it won't prevent the whole thing from moving since it can collapse to quite the small size, but it's also not doing its job. Potentially, if the inner shaft gets dirty enough, it can wear out the seals too quickly, or if the build up hardens somehow, cause it to seize. That accordion is a decent compromise for that task. But like I said, it's "potentially."

edit: don't know about over-torquing it... as I find it hard as hell to even hold the shaft securely enough to torque the top nut down. But according to the interwebs (and even KYB), a good idea is to attach the nut enough to get it in place, then lower the car onto the ground so it helps with "forcing" the threaded portion up.

 

The struts came together from what I understand with everything put in the strut already. Top nut was loose since I had to remove it anyway I guess. I didn't adjust anything , simply put them in. I got stuck on the 33lbs if torque somehow and it's drove me nuts ever since. I've had mechanics tell me to torque it as hard as you can as it will spin anyway, had them swear by oem specs, and had them say "it's a Honda, I have no idea".

At this point I'm pretty sure I know my Honda more than most mechanics that do not work on them. Ha. Only half joking.

Last time I messed with them I used the Allen wrench and a combination 18mm, the size of the nut the new struts came with and hit it until I couldn't move it anymore, which wasn't as far as you'd think. This time I hit it until it resisted but didn't spin, lowered it and drove to my mom's for or weekend thing. I'm about to get out of the car now actually.

Ran fine here, slight, very slight vibration. That's usual though. As soon as I hit the interstate, it drive a distance, it starts going crazy again.

 

Big read here.
Youve been moving fast.

As mentioned before, the wiggle test is a huge deal. a vehicle cannot be properly aligned without certainty that there is zero play resulting from suspension component wear. if it shakes in all directions, youve got a wheel bearing. up and down is a ball joint and left and right is tie rods. if boots aint ripped on the tie rods or ball joints, theyll likely be fine depending on mileage.. Tie rod inners are a thing too (sorry if i glanced over a part where you said you did this). grab the inner like yer grabbing a buddy's arm. if you can pull toward yourself and push back, with some aggression, and generate the mildest of knocks.. you know its bad. However honda must think we wont ever need to do this because the manual calls for pulling the steering rack.

One thing I'd like to touch on is the struts. I cant speak for your brand, I used kyb excel g2s, what I can say is that the top two nuts have to be EXACT to be silent. yer actually supposed to measure the strut uninstalled with a metric ruler to get proper length/fastening.
my first one or two tries, I was off. she thumped. Thought to myself it cant still be the d*mned struts. Didnt sound like suspension. sounded like.. well.. a thump. Otherworldly, the strut mounts were slipping where they attached to the chassis.
after the third try i was so flustered I forgot to torque my lug nuts..

OH YEAH!! I thought I was slick and could add some life preserving lube. Thinkin too hard hurts.

When suspension is right, you can take your hand off the steering wheel in gear or out and she'll hold a line on a sloped road, hitting a speed bump, real classy stuff.

without looking, I'd be surprised if your drums were actually warped. they hardly do enough work to wear. just a little rubbin to keep the tail behind you, but they wont stop yuh. but. i didnt look at the pics.. a digital caliper would solve any concerns there.
​​​​Aaaaanyways.. whatever you decide to do, play it safe, dude. You know.

Oh no! I forgot to mention. Our suspension is supposed to be pre-loaded when installed. which is to say, front end up on stands, jack under the control arm compressing until the car just starts to be lifted by jack.. Not sure if skipping that could cause goofy business. Youd certainly have a loose strut.
also I used ptfe thread sealant for the top nut on the strut.. cuz reinstalls made the locknut.. less so. and because locknuts aint the end all by themselves.

 

Thanks alot for the information. I took the passenger side strut out yesterday and redid it. So far, all's well except for the unfortunate tendency for the steering well to go one way on its own from time to time.

I'm starting to think perhaps I shouldn't drive the car 80 mph on the interstate for 90 Mike's each way to and from work each day. Not real sure the car was meant for such things. Still live it though, even if it is handicapped a bit.

 

the car should feel great at that speed. my scion xa (4spd A/T) at anything over 80ish didnt feel safe...and the engine/rpms were in an obvious high stress state.

i really like how they geared the Fit on the top end..its like it has a second vtec from 80-100mph...it noticably accelerates quicker and definetely doesnt seem as "stressed" as the xa did (yes i know it has an extra gear lol)... unless im going uphill of course. coupled with the cruise control i cant wait to take a trip out of town.

 

I can only judge by how it felt when I got it as it's the only Honda I've driven. The first day I put 500 miles on. I do warranty work for Lenovo and get calls at some pretty out of the way locations.

Car has a rebuilt title, and had a mild wobble at 70. 20,000 miles later, almost 25 actually, it's like it is. I'll take it to work tomorrow and see how it goes.

You're right though, over 80 the car was great. Never got it past 97 though. I69 isn't really equipped with a long stretch of smooth pavement.

 

The Fit should be rock solid at 80mph and above regardless of mileage and condition. If the car suddenly feels uncomfortable at those speeds, keep working to get this sorted ASAP for health & safety purposes. I wouldn't drive this at 80 or at any speed right now.

This could be related to rebuilt title damage but that can be tough to diagnose. The US has haphazard rebuild requirements by state, and nothing that comes close to those of wealthier countries like Germany, Japan, etc.

Jack up each corner and do the checks (including those by @Pyts ) to make sure the wheels are not flopping in the wind. Are all the wheel lugs torqued? Do the wheels spin reasonably? Visually inspect wheel, tyre and suspension.

Since you had some luck for a few minutes after the new tires, can you ask tire store to rebalance the 4 new tyres at speed. And recheck alignment as maybe they didn't tighten everything down.

If that does nothing, pay a good suspension shop to diagnose problem and advise. Tell them you would like to do any repair work if possible. Once sorted, get aligned again.

Good luck.

 

Have you checked the rear wheel bearing carefully? If the bearing is really bad it would effect the brake as well due to wobble of the wheel on the bearing. I think you mentioned that the rear wheel only partially rotated. I would assume you released the paring brake so that is not the problem. The rear bearings on the fit tend to dry out with high mileage. I repacked mine with some synthetic grease and they seemed rather dry but still in good condition. Replacing the rear wheel bearings is fairly easy. They come right off with the hub so you can check and repack them without any real expense except the synthetic grease. I would pull them both and repack them if they're still In good shape. Certainly not a waste of time for the effort involved. You do need a 32 mm socket and an extension for your wrench. Check online for instructions.

Best of luck, Clay

 

Fiting!

I second the new ideas. Yuh knowwww, evans tires does a free alignment inspection. thats worth the trouble.

Did you just burn through a 96 wrenchin?

anyways, if you're nearish atlanta, I'd drive out, inspect, ect. No charge, nothing fudged with without consent.
if none of that fits, you could also arrange for a mobile mechanic to check it out even while you're working.
leave the key with a neighbor or what have you.

its blatant nagging at this point. Just dont, you know, get an avoidable injury.

 

Cars fine, as far as I can tell, other than the wheel speed sensor on front pass side.

 

Well, I've certainly reached the point of spending more than the cars worth. By a Longshot. Never did get it right, and finally, Honda says I have a seal leaking where the drivers CV enters the transmission. Thought no big deal, then I take it back 2 days later as it's only getting rapidly worse.

Took the tech on a 20 mile test drive and when we get back he recommends a transmission service. Once on the lift they come back out and say there's a bearing worn out in that area and that they do not recommend replacing it, just getting a new transmission to the tune of 3000$. Used option for 2267$.

I thought about it, then finally said screw it. Two more days I should have it back. Holidays and all.

Problem is, I have no idea what they're talking about and can't find anything about it. If there were a bearing there, and it was worn, it would cause the symptoms I had....if...

 

The worn bearing may make a groaning noise when in gear but the main symptom I would think is the leaking seal. I would think you could pull the transaxle and replace the transmission seal without pulling the transmission. Perhaps bring it somewhere else and just ask what the cost is to replace the transmission seal only. The bearing is another matter and pulling the transmission is probably necessary for that job. The rear transmission seal on my old truck failed and a new seal fixed the problem. I have to mention I sold the truck afterwards so I don't know how long the fix worked. Just changing he seal may get you down the road for a period of time but it may start leaking again eventually without a new bearing. A worn bearing is hard on the seal next to it and may cause it to leak again. Problems with the transaxle may also be the cause of the seal problem. If its vibrating excessively it could effect the seal from the axle end. That may also explain a lot of your front end symptoms. Don't swap the transmission until you're sure what the problem is.

Best of luck, Clay Colvin

 

I appreciate the response. I jumped the gun really and only took about twenty minutes to think it over. I'd spend the same or more on another car I know little about, or I could spend it on this friggen car, which somehow grew on me.

Basically, for about a week it had gotten better I suppose. Slight vibration in wheel but I chocked it up to alignment. Got progressively worse but there were a few different things going on at once making me think crazy. Was sold the wrong shoes, and being an IT contractor, had never messed with them before. They looked right I thought. New drums and wheel cylinders later, I notice they were way wider than what I'd remembered. Replaced, got better. Then it started again. Took it to Honda. Told me blah blah, and adjusted the brakes. After telling me they may be backwards. They werent, and we're adult enough to admit that. Didn't stop them from charging me 215$. They did mention the seal.

Two days later, gets so bad in the front it's making me nervous. Taking turns it felt like what I envision as control arms being loose and sort of skipping I guess is the best way to explain it.

So, back to Honda with my angry face on since I'd paid for a "diagnostic". Took the tech, hijacked him really, on a twenty mile round trip 85mph road trip and let him drive it on the way back. Told me on the way back he was going to recommend a transmission service.

Up on the lift, and here comes the desk guy to give me the bad news. And here we are. They did give me a 2019 hrv to drive, with 100 Miles on it though.

 

Looks to me like you need new rear bushings.

 

 

I think you have given Honda ample opportunity to repair the problem. I would not continue to pay them to fiddle with the car if the results are unsatisfactory. Sounds like good money after bad. Bring it to a local mechanic for evaluation and see what he has to say. Best of luck, Clay Colvin

 

Did so this morning. He did manage to convince me the sound is actually coming from the opposite side of the motor. He also said it sounds like exhaust in the engine.

What I struggle with, is that it wasn't there before, but is now. Ah well. Pretty well over it at this point. Perhaps the fit just isn't a good fit for me.