10 replies to this topic

[mikaleda]

Ok here's my dilemma this is my passenger side tire

I have been having caster camber problems with this side of the car since I got it. It has new strut, ball joint, good wheel bearings, and Tyrod end on this side. When it is sitting on flat ground you can see this tire leaning out. So I finally got around to pulling out my lower A frame to check the bushing this is what I found


The other parts are fine not bent or anything. Is this bad enough to be causing this bad of a caster camber problem? Normally I would just replace it and see what happens but I am very low on funds and neither of my cars are running at the moment so it's not so easy.

Edited by mikaleda, 06 February 2013 - 04:11 PM.

[NickNakorn]

Caster and camber tend to be nonadjustable and I would expect the toe-in was incorrect. The deformed bush and the tyre wear have both been caused by the excessive toe-in and the cure is to have the tracking checked (or do it yourself on a very flat surface) by a garage. Your workshop manual should specify the amount. Having the correct tracking makes a massive difference to tyre wear, fuel economy and handling.

[mikaleda]

Caster and camber tend to be nonadjustable and I would expect the toe-in was incorrect. The deformed bush and the tyre wear have both been caused by the excessive toe-in and the cure is to have the tracking checked (or do it yourself on a very flat surface) by a garage. Your workshop manual should specify the amount. Having the correct tracking makes a massive difference to tyre wear, fuel economy and handling.

Toe in will not cause the problems I am having I already thought about that I will get a pic of my car sitting on flat ground you can clearly see that it is caster camber problems. Yes caster camber is non adjustable on this year and it would mean bent or broken suspension parts

I have checked the toe in other than the tire sitting to one side it is fine it is hard to tell though because of how badly it sits
This car was abused badly I have worked on the previous owners vehicles they tended to bash this side up more, the under carriage on this side is also in worse shape than the other on p.o.'s cars.
i cannot find any bent suspension parts though. i guess the steering rack could be part of the problem the toe in could be fine going straight but not when turning. but tires sitting straight toe in fine the tire leans badly inwards and it feels like i have a really bad ball joint on that side when i am driving (the one on this side is new and the one on the other side is fine i have checked both) that is why i suspected the bushing

Edited by mikaleda, 07 February 2013 - 11:25 AM.

[mikaleda]

Okay I put my front end back together and looked over it. I think a lot of my problem is the 33 year old suspension rubber I think it all needs to be replaced and I will replace the control arm at the same time. I have a torn steering boot but it is on the other side (i am going to replace the rack anyway) hopefully when I do this it will fix the problem.

[TomRhere]

I'll be looking forward to your findings.

 

My Wagon has simular issue with the PS. Tire at times seems to lean out at the top more than others, or atleast it looks that way to me. More work to be done before an actuall alignment is done.

[mikaleda]

I'll defiantly keep updating on my findings.

[mikaleda]

Okay I am going to start by replacing my steering rack and see what happens. I know where a good used one is and I am going to try and get it this weekend.

[88wacaroo]

Hey mikaleda, I"ve been doing alignments{frt end work} for 30yrs.and the Subies run High Positive camber 1+-2+ -From the gen1s thru the Loyales it"s just the way they did it..Maybe the work station was crooked  an showed Neg camb.but there is no real way to fix it short of slotting the holes on the top[strut tower] I don"t do that on Subies though Dodge Neons,Chevy Cavaliers,Fords,It"s on  [w/owners permission]!!Your stuff looks OK to me from what I can see of pics.The reason it"s wearing so bad on the rt. is the crown of the road-the center of road is higher than the rt.edge is so it makes the rt. tire wear harder-push...really all you can do is set toe at 5/64ths in and rotate the tires every 4-5000mi.a pain but it"ll help save your tires!! When I build lift kits I make the strut top 1-1/2 to2Neg camber to compensate for the +pos.camb. and it comes out zero to 1/4-1/2+pos.cam. Good Luck Nate

[mikaleda]

Thanks for that info 88wacaroo I am begening to believe the caster camber is not really the problem. I noticed yesterday that of I lock the steering wheel to the left that It binds, I believe that is because of the bad steering rack. I will be trying to get another one today then I will rotate tires. I still think I want to change the rubber bushings soon because they don't look to healthy and I live on a dirt road that is really badly maintained.
One other thing I noticed is the strut tops are backwards I think. They are forward of center and looking at my shop Manuel they should be the other direction I believe.

[mikaleda]

Well that was giagantic waste of time. When I first got this car the p.o. Told me he had a parts car I could come and get parts off of. Well long story short he wouldn't let go of any parts not even the fusible link box or headlight bucket that he doesn't have any use for that will fit my car. I'm really not sure what I'm going to do now this has just tripled what it is going to cost me to fix this car now.

[mikaleda]

Okay this is the end of this thread and this car I found my problem. When I pulled the seats and started repairing the rust I found out the body is bent. The molded frame is split in two and the unibody is bent.