1991 Festiva problems (suspension & trans)

[dustin6654]

I bought a 91 automatic, fuel injected festiva last June and I found this website through some searching online. I am in dire need of opinions from people who know festiva's. I don't know the rules to how many questions you can or should ask in one thread so I'll just post them and ask for forgiveness later if need be. Anyway, I love my little car and want to improve it so I can impress people.

The first main problem with the car is it scrapes or catches under the front right fender when I go over bumps around 45 mph. If I have someone else in the passenger seat, the car gives out more and scrapes when going over bumps around 35 mph. I do have 13 inch rims on the car. I also have spring locks on the front. They were already on the car and I took them out to test and it scraped worse so I put them back in and had it aligned. I am wondering what the best route to fix this problem is.

The next main problem is my transmission. When I bought the car, again in June, it surprised me how well it shifted. But now my car won't stay in gear when I first start driving it after it has been sitting all night. I am wondering if this is due to the cold, or if the trans is going bad. (I haven't checked the fluid yet to see if that was the problem, and probably should before asking but I've been busy.)

Any help on these topics are greatly appreciated. I will try to give as much feedback to any help or suggestions as I possibly can. Also, I will post pictures of my car later if I need to.

[Studebaker]

Sounds to me like you got the wrong wheel tire combo. Aspire or Rio springs will help. But ride will suffer.

[Team Lightning]

Picts of the wheel and tire combo on the car could help.
Definitely check the fluid in the trans.

[TominMO]

Welcome to the forum! Recommend you put your state in too, not just city. Probably there are people on this forum near you.

Where is the rear scraping? On the spring perch or the fender? It's not likely to be an issue of too tall, just too wide. What is the width of your tire and wheel? I have 175/65x14s, and they scrape on the spring perch if I don't use a 6mm spacer.

If you have 155/80x13 tires, then your issue is probably a broken spring or dead strut. Aspire springs will help, and you can even cut one loop out of the bottom of the spring so they aren't too tall.

You probably do need to change the tranny fluid. Not a bad idea anyway on a new-to-you car, so you know when it was done and can monitor leaking, if any. Same with oil and coolant, unless they look good.

[dustin6654]

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[Team Lightning]

What size are those tires? They look too wide to fit under the fenders to me.

[dustin6654]

I am in the Johnson City/Elizabethton Tennessee area. The front is scraping on the fender I'm fairly sure. I have 185/70x13s. I do believe I will change the trans fluid and see if that will help.

[Team Lightning]

I run 185-60-14 and they hit the spring perch on the back. I'm thinking a 185-70-13 is too tall and that's where your contact is coming from.

[Studebaker]

Looks like the wheel is to far out (wrong wheel). Can you take a close up picture of the wheel? Take a picture of the brake rotor? Tell us the tire size. We can help you more.

[dustin6654]

Well how do I go about solving this? I've been to tire shops looking for a shorter tire but apparently there are only two tire sizes they sell for 13 inch rims. I've also tried looking online but haven't found much. I would like to buy better wheels and tires though. And I will take close ups as soon as I get a chance. I am not driving that car currently. We got a little bit of snow here haha.

[WmWatt]

There is a guide to tire and wheel sizes at the top of the "custom suspension, brakes, and wheels" forum

[Studebaker]

Picture of the rotor will help us give you advice on after market wheels. I run 155R8013's with no problem.

[Studebaker]

We just need to know if the rotor is vented or not.

[drddan]

Looks like the wheel is to far out (wrong wheel). Can you take a close up picture of the wheel? Take a picture of the brake rotor? Tell us the tire size. We can help you more.

This is what I was thinking. Your offset may be incorrect. Most Festivas use a 35-40 offset. You may have a smaller offset, which will move the tire outward. Look inside the rim for some numbers. Usually the info for rim size and offset is inside the rim. You may have a 20 offset, or similar

I have 195/60/14 with a 20 offset on my red car. They stick way out, but I like the look. I have stiffer Aspire struts and springs so they don't hit (as much). I still have to watch hitting bumps on turns and having a lot of weight in car, as they will hit the fenders still.

[dustin6654]

20150217_143215.jpg20150217_143215.jpg20150217_143219.jpg20150217_143223.jpg20150217_143237.jpg The rotors are not vented. And I have no idea what my offset is. I forgot to look for that info on the inside of the rim.