hotgal1 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 I need to fix the problem that we need more toe in with our rear tires, as far as I can tell I need to get an adjustable control arm kit, but am having one heck of a time locating one. Where can I find one? Is there another way to add some adjustment to the toe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 The factory toe adjustment or the rear provides about .5 degrees adjustment in either direction. If you need to adjust toe more than that something is bent. When was the wreck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 The factory toe adjustment or the rear provides about .5 degrees adjustment in either direction. If you need to adjust toe more than that something is bent. When was the wreck? Hitting a curb rear hard with a front wheel can cause this problem too. Agree, something is bent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotgal1 Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 18 months ago. Went off the road at 70, managed keep the car straight but it was total off roaring. When they hooked up to tow it they drug it sideways for about 50+ yards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 More than likely the lateral links are bent or compressed. They are a weak point designed to bend to prevent damage to the frame. Easy to find in junkyards and usually pretty cheap. But Ive seen the bolts that hold the rear subframe to the chassis get bent. This shifts the whole rear subframe to one side and can throw off toe. Do you have a printout that says what the current measurements are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotgal1 Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 here they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotgal1 Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 sorry it didn't link the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 are your tires wearing funny? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Those are pretty far off. Rear lateral links are likely bent. That much should be visible Also possible the alignment person does not know that both front and rear links can be adjusted. This effectively doubles the range of adjustment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotgal1 Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 The tires were shredded on the inside. Here is what passenger side looks like. It looks to me like the sway bar is not in the original position, right? You can see where it is considerably cleaner on the left side of it. Could that cause the problem? The lateral arm doesn't look that bent... The tiniest bit. I'm not sure how helpful these pictures are... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Sway bar does look a little bent but that won't cause a serious toe problem. Can't see much bend in the lateral links from those angles. Need to look at them from the wheel end going towards the center of the car or vice versa. What does the left side look like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotgal1 Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Left side rear. The arm looks a little tweeked, but nothing you would normally notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 (edited) i do not know a lot a bout the alignment process, but i do know if you change any one adjustment you have to go through the entire process again. how much confidence do you have in the shop / technician doing the job.? maybe something up front is bent and that is causing a problem. how much damage was done in the ''accident''.? 70 mph off road was probably more of a problem for the front end, than 50 yds dragging side ways was on the rear . just a guess. 4 new tires? Edited July 9, 2014 by johnceggleston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotgal1 Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 confidence level in the shop.... solid 5 out of 10. they are a different location of the same shop that fix the car after the accident, Big O Tire. the "accident" as you wrote, I was looking for an exit because I was getting tired, next thing I know I am off the left side of the highway off-roading a good 300 yards or so. I could barely open my door because there was so much snow and mud. The damage that was done... off memory they replaced the struts, cams and all 4 tires. It seems like there was something else, but I can't remember what it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Toe is the final adjustment in the process because it does not greatly affect the caster and camber. The rear is adjusted first because that sets the thrust angle (offset of rear axle centerline to front axle centerline), which will affect how much the front toe needs to be adjusted. Thrust angle on the sheet above is 0.1° to the right, which is well within spec, but the toe angle is fighting to pull the car to the left, which is why the left rear was so badly worn on the inside edge. I see the adjusting bolt covers have been removed on the rear lateral link adjusting bolts, but the covers are still on the fronts. It's possible the rear covers just fell off, but that usually means an alignment shop took them off and forgot them. The front covers still being there suggests to me that the shop never tried to adjust the front lateral links. Having the measurements there, if you can take close up pictures of the adjusting bolts I can tell you if they can be adjusted further to help correct the problem. The covers on the front bolts can be tricky to remove since they collect dirt/dust and harden with age. Dont be afraid to get in there with a pair of channel lock pliers and a screwdriver to pop those off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 (edited) in the middle pic in post #10 above, (i could not figure out how to display or copy link) there seems to be a lager gap on the right side than the rest of the link shaft. (more sunlight opening) i do not know if this is standard, or just a ''pic trick''. it almost looks like the link closest to the camera is bent down slightly after the sway bar bracket. or maybe the one behind it bends up. but i would check it, compare to the other side or another car. got it. Edited July 10, 2014 by johnceggleston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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