Slanting rear wheel on '89 L

Aug 02, 2005 3 Replies
J

One of the rear wheels on my '89 L-series 4WD wagon slopes inward (i.e. top of wheel closer to vehicle centreline than bottom of wheel) a LOT more than I think it should. All otherwheels are more-or-less vertical. The rear tire opposite the one that slants had an uneven wear pattern, with most wear on the outside and evenly distributed around the tire's circumference. I have recently replaced all tires.



I recently replaced the trailing arm bushes, thinking that was the problem, but it didn't change things.



Any ideas?



John



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C

An alignment shop may need to install some 'crash bolts' to bring the camber back into spec. You may have a bent control arm, broken spring or some other damage.

Carl

John Newgard wrote:

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J

Thanks Carl. A suspension shop told me that, though they couldn't inspect it without a lot more work (the inspection was free, and 30 minutes long!), they suspect a bent shock upper mounting bracket. They also found a minor bend in the bracket attached to the control arm itself.

What are crash bolts?

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C

I've never used any, yet, but they are sometimes used to extend the adjustment range for camber or, in some sases, alow for adjustment on cars that don't already have a camber adjustment. It may be that your car's problems also affect other aspects of wheel tracking and getting some damaged parts replaced woul;d be the best repair. But you should ask the shop about camber bolts (crash bolts) and if they would ameliorate the problem enough to continue to use the vehicle safely and without destroying tires. here's one example;

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thanx for getting back to us - good luck

Carl

John Newgard wrote:

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