**URGENT** springs rubbing on tyre!

[Graham_E 0]

had suspension fitted a while ago and had it all re-aligned...but over the last few days ive had a humming noise coming from the back, thought it might be wheel bearings something like that, just out of curiosity this morning i put my hand down the back of the tyre to see if i could feel any wear but i couldnt because the spring was so close...heres some pics of the wear and the tiny gap.

 

(by the way its only the passenger side rear tyre all the others are fine)

[Banana Man 0]

Did you change the top mount rubbers when you fitted the coilovers Graham? Thats the only thing other than the rear subframe being out of alignment that would cause rubbing on one side?

[Graham_E 0]

hmmm..didnt actually do it myself cos i was feeling lazy that day. but i did ask for all the top mounts to be done, it was done by stealth and they supplied the top mounts. How would i go about getting the subframe done if it is out of alignment, cant really drive much until this is done...definately wont be driving upto birmingham for the AGM if this isnt sorted. one other thing i forgot to mention the drivers side rear wheel look like the bottom was pointing out when i went back to my car this afternoon..and now just went out side quickly and the passenger side looks the same but the drivers side is straight! damn bloody cars..last question how do i check rear top mounts dont look very accesible.

[Henny 0]

sounds like your rear axle bushes may have given up... get it up on ramps and see if they're shot or not... ;)

[ben16v 0]

i risk sounding silly but are your wheel bolts all tight?

[Graham_E 0]

no thats not silly i did actually check that, and yes they are tight! i made sure of that i did everything short of jumping up and down with both feet on the wheel brace & Henny the front and rear bushes are on my list just because of how old they are, looks like they might need to be a priority now then.

[Graham_E 0]

Excellent suggestions so far, thank you!...anymore? I can see some time off work coming here to get this sorted amongst all the other problems.

[W3RKD 0]

use some 3mm spacers on them mate ...

[stevemac 0]

sounds like your rear axle bushes may have given up... get it up on ramps and see if they're shot or not... ;)

I'm with you on this one Ian. If the wheel on one side is closer to the spring than the wheel on the other side, your rear axle is either out of alignment or the bushes are shot.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

What's the play like in the wheel bearing if you grab the wheel and rock it back and forth? A slack bearing will cause the wheel to lean over on hard left handers. Unless the rear axle bush has completely collapsed, I can't think of any other obvious reason for that.

[Graham_E 0]

its happening when im goin in a straight line not just hard left handers, so axle bushes are looking like a very likely solution to this problem, better get it booked into me local then. Would spacers also be a good idea or not worth it?

[stevemac 0]

Would spacers also be a good idea or not worth it?

As a quick remedy, spacers may/may not temporarily sort your problem.

 

If your rear axle is misaligned, you'd be better to get this sorted & cure the cause, not the symptoms.

 

Had a similar problem on my G60 when I bought it. I checked the rear axle bushes, which were okay & then adjusted the axle so that it sat centrally. There is a small amount of sideways adjustment which can be done by loosening the chassis mounting brackets on the rear axle.

 

As Kev says - check your rear wheel bearings first, it could just be that one side has worn badly.

[Graham_E 0]

rear bearings have been checked before...twice! but ill check them again. Ive been looking through old posts about the rear axle bushes and the symptoms are almost identical to the way mine handles, so its possible they could have been going for a while and have finally given up. At least spacers would mayb stop tyre and spring rubbing whilst i drive to where ever i need to go to get this done probably jmr cos theres no specialists near me and im not taking it to a main stealer.