wb51286 Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 Hey whats up everyone, I'm new here, and i have a question...I was in Tahoe last weekend and i lost a tire while i was driving. It turns out that the insides of my rear tires had completely worn down. Its like the alignment was extremely off, however it was on the rear. The car was not in 4WD. I was thinking i could change the rear shocks and see what it did. If anyone has suggestions that would be awesome. thanks. -Wesley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 there is adjustment to be made to the rear alingnment. It involves loosening the 3 trailing arm bolts and repositioning themn relative to the swingarm. It's a tricky adjustment, but can help. The other thing to check is the condition of the bushings the arms pivot on. I've seen the arms work there way towards the outside. The bushings get shoved all the way to one side of the arm, and start rubbing against the pivot brackets. I've had some success pulling the arms and repressing the bushing to the center of it's collar, then realinging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 what kind of subaru and how many miles? any rust issues underneath? were the tires properly inflated? very odd to have extremely bad alignment on both sides in the rear...was it ever in an accident? you can look at the bushings GL mentioned, sometimes you can notice them all chewed up, hanging out or completely missing just by looking under the vehicle. any noises from back there? if it's both tires and the suspension has never been messed with i'd suspect there are rust issues causing the rear subframe to shift...that's the way it does it, the wheels start gradually leaning in and wearings on the inside edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hondasucks Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 I had the same thing happen to my 90 Legacy wagon, but it was only on one tire in the rear.... but it wasn't alignment issues, it was 3-4 pounds of mud packed inside the rim from WCSS8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wb51286 Posted May 15, 2007 Author Share Posted May 15, 2007 what kind of subaru and how many miles?any rust issues underneath? were the tires properly inflated? very odd to have extremely bad alignment on both sides in the rear...was it ever in an accident? you can look at the bushings GL mentioned, sometimes you can notice them all chewed up, hanging out or completely missing just by looking under the vehicle. any noises from back there? if it's both tires and the suspension has never been messed with i'd suspect there are rust issues causing the rear subframe to shift...that's the way it does it, the wheels start gradually leaning in and wearings on the inside edge. The car is an 87' GL 4WD. It has like 230,000 miles, however the engine and tranny have been changed like 10,000 miles ago. My frame is in perfect condition when i gaze under the car. No rust. I do not have noise from the back end that I am aware of. If you could explain to me exactly where the bushing should be i can make an accurate diagnosis of whats going on back there. thank a lot for you help. you helped more than my mechanic friend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 i figured out west you wouldn't likely have rust. look at the rear hub assembly...follow all points that attach the hub (the thing that has the wheels studs on it and your wheel bolts to)...follow anything that connects that part to the underside of the car. you'll notice the cv axle that goes to the rear diff, it's bolted with one bolt to the strut, then you'll notice going towards the front of the car a long arm. where this arm bolts to the vehicle it has bushings inside of it. i suppose some horrible struts could be suspect as well. with that many miles i'd be suspicious of them. they would certainly be far easier to deal with than those bushings....well maybe without any rust those bushings are easier...i wouldn't know out here on the east coast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wb51286 Posted May 15, 2007 Author Share Posted May 15, 2007 Thanks a lot for your help. I'll keep the posting up on my progress, thanks again guys, you are awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 15, 2007 Share Posted May 15, 2007 if you strike out elsewhere, check the tires and wheels as a last resort, but i'd bet money that's not the cause. you are awesome!you say that until you find out it's something completely unrelated to anything we've mentioned. go get dirty and bust a knuckle, waste and hour and it will end up being a fuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hondasucks Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 My turbowagon ate the rear tires after my chopped rear coils sagged :-( I put some stock 2WD XT struts in the rear and it doesn't drag its butt anymore, and I haven't noticed any tire wear yet... (Although I would really really like to slam my wagon, but not if it's going to eat tires..) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wb51286 Posted May 17, 2007 Author Share Posted May 17, 2007 Do you think it would be worth it to change the struts on the back. For all that i know they are the originals from before the car was in my hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 probably wouldn't be worth it if you went through the trouble and didn't fix the problems. i think you might do well to type in "bad strut" or something in yahoo or google and see if you can find some good info on diagnosing bad struts, i do not know. you might get good info too...like "bad struts cause bad tire wear on the inside edges"...or maybe not. i think one would be highly likely...seems odd both struts failed at the same time unless something caused it...like towing or off road driving. has it ever had a hitch? that is a ton of miles and the struts are suspect...some struts need replacing before 100,000 miles, even newer EJ soobs. but it's still a shot in the dark to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 I would replace them. They aren't even that expensive as far as struts go. Good sets on ebay for 40-60$ Any EA strut will fit. But some are slightly different height and dampening rate 2wd,4wd,wagon,sedan, etc...But they can be found. There are really rare 85-86 adjustable height struts but they are ... really rare. New struts make a huge difference on a 1/4 million mile Subaru. And since proper alingment is reliant on the strut having no lateral play, you would be good to rule it out before doing a proper alingment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now