93 Loyale, rear frame sag?

[olywa510]

I have a 1993 Loyale, which I love.

Recently I have been burning through rear tires. I took it to a shop and had an alignment and they told me that the rear wheels have no adjustment. They were wearing heavily on the outside of both wheels. I have also been through 2 sets of bearings (orignial set went, then replaced the full arm from a yard off a subie with bad front end damage and only 130K on it).

The mechanic said he has seen this with other subarus and the answer is to 'slot' the rear wheel components to allow for adjustment then realign it (asking about 350$) . They said it is due to the rear frame sagging over time.

 

I am very suspicious of this and have yet to read or hear anything like it elsewhere. The shop is reputable and they seem like 'nice guys'. When speaking to a friend who used to wrench on subies in the 80's he suggested this shop and even named the guy I spoke to.

 

I have searched around the forums but haven't seen any reference to a problem with rear alignment and frame.

I am going to search for a bushing kit (hopefully find an all in one package deal) and replace all the rubber on both sides in the back.

 

Can anyone confirm or deny this??

Also, anyone know of a good source of bushing kits? My local shop couldn't find anything in their catalogue that would work.

 

 

Ah, and yes...this forum is fantastic...I've already lost a number of hours just browsing posts...yeah for the USMB!

[MilesFox]

Wheel bearings and wheel bearings. Fixes alignment, no adjustment. Bad wheel bearings will cause toe and camber issues. This is due to an inner and outer cone style bearing that the center spindle is pressed through.

 

for 350 bucks, they should be doing the bearings. Find another shop. There is a special socket required to do the wheel bearings.

 

If you want more ride height, go tp the junkyard and snag the rear shocks out of a 2wd model, as they are a little bit longer, but bolt in the same.

 

There would be nothing to sag or collapse over time, since the rear suspension is a simple tube frame bolted to the body, and the trailing arms bolt to it.

 

There are bushings, but i would suspect wheel bearing issues as compounding the matter.

[idosubaru]

never heard of that, i'd go elsewhere.

 

i've seen severe rust cause the tire to sort of "cave in" but i think that would wear the inside edges, not the outside. maybe it depends where the weak metal is. you usually don't have the kind of rust out there that we have right?

[MilesFox]

I have had trailing arms rusted in half and collapse. GROSS rust from the inside out. Like sitting in salt bath on the ground in the woods rust. But the suspension was not sagging. I replaced it before it failed

[T'subaru]

I ran into a similar situation but the shop could not align the rear of my xt6 due to excessive bushing wear causing toe issues. I fixed the problem and took it back in and its all good now. Some shops arent familure with the caster/camber adjustment procedure on the older subi's. Sounds like you have toe issues too otherwise they probably wouldnt recommend slotting the adj holes. If they didnt tell you your bushing were shot when they approached you on slotting parts I would definately find another shop to deal with.

I see your in Eugene, if your ever in Portland id see this outfit, did a great job on my alignment and very reasonably priced.

 

http://www.tracksideracetires.com/

Edited February 7, 2011 by T'subaru