tires and wheels Uneven Rear Camber

[devotion]

Noticed today that the rear camber is uneven on the 76.  The passenger side rear wheel seems to be leaning in a fair amount more than the drivers side. I haven't had time yet to jack the car up and take off the wheels to really see whats going on.  I have only rolled the car up and down the driveway a few times, and doesnt seem to be a bent wheel...obviously something is bent on one side...any suggestions on where to look, or what to look for? I should also add that the rear fender is pushed in on that side, so Im assuming that whatever hit the fender also hit the wheel bending something up.

[devotion]

Also,..if I find something that is out of whack...I have a 69 parts car...should everything in the rear end swap over to the 76>?

[robspeed]

Also,..if I find something that is out of whack...I have a 69 parts car...should everything in the rear end swap over to the 76>?

 

 

yep.  Im guessing your swing arm is tweaked...

[c.d.iesel]

missing or different left- to-right spring rubbers (3 different thickness 1, 2, 3, DOT i.d.)

 

miss matched springs

 

one spring cut  and other not

 

broken spring

 

bent control arm

 

impact damage to control arm

 

rotten subframe - druwpage

 

give the rest of the story - like - what did you just do to the car ?

 

did you do anything to the car?

 

did you just bring this thing home ? and you don't know it's history ??

Edited June 5, 2013 by c.d.iesel

[devotion]

Just brought it home.  Rear quarter on that side in question is dented in, so Im guessing whatever hit it hit the wheel too.  The car sits even height in the rear. If I look at the car from the side, I can not notice it, it is only when you look at it from behind that I can see that the passenger side is leaning in quite a bit more.  I would say from the fender lip, that tire is about three quarters to an inch further in than on the other side. 

[c.d.iesel]

can you provide us with a good photo from behind,

centered, so we can see the camber of both rear

tires? if the camber is that far off then the TOE

will also be off on that side. Checking the car

on a alignment rack will tell you exactly how tweeked

it is with CAMBER, REAR TOE, CENTER LINE, THRUST LINE READINGS.

You should get those readings and determine, and estimate

the repairs before spending any money on this car.

[devotion]

good advice. I will get the pics up when I get home and can take a few...I have a 69 parts car too, where the rear end is straight if it comes down to swapping it all out. Not something I want to do, but an option

[TobyB]

The first thing I'd check carefully is that it's truly sitting level-

and the only thing that needs to be parallel to the ground is

the rear subframe.  Find some nice, smooth concrete, and measure

from the subframe to the ground on both sides.

 

If those measurements are even, THEN it's time to look at the trailing arm,

and the clips on the subframe that hold the trailing arm.

 

Oh, and the trailing arm bushings, too- one nylon bushing that's spit out can easily do this.

 

And a toe measurement is really easy to do while you're sitting on that concrete-

2 tape measures and 2 straight edges across the tires, as high up as you can get

without hitting the underside of the body.  You should see about 1/16th more distance

across the rear of the tires than the front, if all is well.

 

hth

 

t

[devotion]

Ok. got under the car, looked and looked...measured and measured. Could not find anything. Jacked up the car on the side that is in question...had to head in for dinner, so i lowered it back down...looked at it from behind again, and it sits perfect

. What the heck?

[jgerock]

Sounds like you need some replacement bushings... subframe mounts and trailing arm...

 

Up and down could also indicate worn shocks and upper shock mounts.

Edited June 6, 2013 by jgerock

[Tommy]

So you didn't move it after lowering back down? I will tilt back when settled.

 

I'd bet that the problem is on the other side. The one with less camber. I once hit a curb and bent the trailing arm just enough to put wheel straight up. It's hard to see especially if it's old damage. Look for cracks in paint and possibly rust. It bends at the area where two arms connect together.

 

    Tommy

[devotion]

Will do

[devotion]

Finally had a minute to do some more measurements...if I jack up the car then lower it back down it sits level, and camber is even on both sides...bounce the rear of the car up and down a bit and that side drops about an inch and creates more camber. Now to me this means that I'm dealing with an uneven or worn out spring situation...any feedback is greatly appreciated!

[Tommy]

Yep, if the height is different side to side then it's clearly spring issue. Could be something like spring pad fallen apart but something around springs anyway.

 

  Tommy

[02Les]

I got one like that. Couldn't find anything obvious. A good while later when fitting a new carpet and had the interior stripped, I could see that the car had a new complete passenger rear fender/side fitted. Guess it was in a shunt at some point in its life. I'll fix it later!

 

 

 

Left rear has more camber than the right. It looks worse in real life than the pics.