Alignment Issues - rear suspension arms / wishbones

[Gwyn]

Hi all - need some more expert advise......

Got a full service completed yesterday, and had the car booked in for a full 4 wheel alignment with Discount Tyres in Ballycoolin. Service fine, but the guys could not do the alignment. My rear suspension arms are the problem, and I'm told I need new ones. They are causing the veering to the left and wearing the inner side of the tyres.

Do you know how much these are likely to cost ? Are there left and rights, or are they interchangeable ? Do I need to get them from Mitsubishi ?

Appreciate the help!

Thanks,

Gwyn

[CJ]

Gywn, I doubt the suspension arms are tghe problem unless one of them is bent out of shape or something. Its morelikely that the rear inner bottom arm bushes are seized to the extent that the rear camber can't be adjusted. If this is the case, you'll need to replace the bushes and camber bolts (see links). The bushes can be difficult to remove, ideally you need a hydraulic press. Any good mechanic should be able to fit them.

CJ

[kevinod]

Hi Gwyn,

welcome to the site!

That prognosis sounds a little strange, did he say which rear suspension arms need to be replaced?

There is no tracking on the rear wheels, so presumably he's talking about the camber, so i guess its the trailing arms. There's a camber adjustment bolt on each trailing arm, near the middle of the car as you look from behind the car. The trailing arms go from the middle of the car out to just inside the wheel. What it does is adjusts the angle the wheel vertically, i.e. the top leaning further out from the car than the bottom, or vice versa.

Is there any rattling from the rear of the car as you're driving along?

Also, can you describe this veering that you mentioned, what happens exactly?

There are bushes back at the rear suspension that can need replacing from time to time. Maybe thats what he's talking about?

You can get parts from a few sources, there's
- steelroe, a user on here
- ricerocket (http://www.ricerocketuk.co.uk I think) but he's on here too
- Camskill (http://www.camskill.co.uk)

[Gwyn]

CJ. Kevin - thanks a bunch for the detail. Suspension arms were not bent but the camber could not be adjusted (seized). So the bushes and camber bolts look like the answer.
Re the veering - there are no rattles (related to this anyway!) basically if I let go of the wheel, the car drifts left (and the steering wheel goes slightly left too). It's fairly gentle but is noticeable. As far as the feel of the steering goes, it seems to be slightly heavier turning right. Is it related ?

Should I get it seen again to be sure ? Nice prices on the Camskill parts if I do need them........
Appreciate the help.

Gwyn

[kevinod]

No probs..

It could be related alright... but your best bet is to get a full laser alignment done. Its an all 4 wheels thing to get it right rather than just the back or just the front.

[Gwyn]

Kevin - CJ, looks likeyou hit the nail on the head here. I only noticed last week that both rear wheels, especially the left, are tilted. Each one tilts inwards, from the bottom up.

Is it simply a case of adjusting the camber adjustment bolt on each trailing arm ?

And if the camber bolt itself is seized, is a new bolt required, or do I need a new arm too ??

Took it to a local mechanic to have a look and he said that it's the lowered springs on the car that are causing the problem. Any truth in that ? Problem is I threw the old springs out (were in a box in the boot when I bought it).......

Finally - am i doing any damage to the car driving with the tilted wheels at the moment.

Thanks as always,

Gwyn

[CJ]

.Is it simply a case of adjusting the camber adjustment bolt on each trailing arm ?

Pretty much, yes.

And if the camber bolt itself is seized, is a new bolt required, or do I need a new arm too ??

Just bolts and bushes should do the job, you may as well get both while you're at it. Bear in mind that a hydraulic press will be needed to remove the bushes and install the new ones.

.Took it to a local mechanic to have a look and he said that it's the lowered springs on the car that are causing the problem. Any truth in that ? ?

Possibly - if lowering springs are installed and the suspension geometry isn't adjusted, you'll have handling issues and possibly premature tyre wear.

Finally - am i doing any damage to the car driving with the tilted wheels at the moment.

To the car - no, to the tyres - yes. If the camber is out, you will get excessive inner or outer tyre wear.

CJ

[Gwyn]

Thanks CJ

Final question - does these look like the right parts (camskill)?

Rear trailing arm brush:
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... b0s10p1191

Rear tracking/Camber bolt:
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... b0s10p1343

Gwyn

[CJ]

Final question - does these look like the right parts (camskill)?

Rear trailing arm brush:
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... b0s10p1191

Rear tracking/Camber bolt:
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... b0s10p1343

Right bolt, wrong bush, its the inner bottom arm bushes you need: http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... b0s10p1539

Personally, if I were going to this trouble, I'd also replace the outer arm bushes, anti-roll bar bushes and droplinks (if the latter two haven't been done in recent times

CJ

[RussMan]

I second that... i has the exact same problem and replaced all the bushes ... arb's and camber bolts and problem solved !!! MY car handles so sweet as a result!!

Best of luck

[kevinod]

Took it to a local mechanic to have a look and he said that it's the lowered springs on the car that are causing the problem. Any truth in that ? Problem is I threw the old springs out (were in a box in the boot when I bought it).......

Lowering affects the camber, so yup there's truth in there alright. I won't claim to have it completely straight in my head but the angles that the various suspension components are at are a little different after you have lowered it which in turn affects the camber.