Got a leaner,, HELP
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Joined: Mar 2002
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From: CHEHALIS WA
Got a leaner,, HELP
Today I looked at my 69 vert and it looked odd, I was looking from the back and noticed that the left rear sat lower than the right side. Also the left rear wheel and tire have a noticeable lean inward. ( Maybe 3/4 " as viewed from behind. What could this be? Is it time for a rebuild? Give me some hints. I havn't jacked it up yet to look underneath. Thanks :confused:
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From: Semper ubi, sub ubi
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Re: Got a leaner,, HELP (69toy4me)
It isn't uncommon for an older 'vette to be leaning on the driverside of the rear, typically there has been 30+ years of extra weight on that side of the car. Also the battery is on that side of the car and that adds 40+ pounds of weight. The rear springs will start to weaken and bushings and the like are more likely to be more worn on the drivers side of the car.
The inward tilt of the wheel is controlled by the struts. It is possible that the bushings in the struts are worn and this is allowing the missadjustment to show as a wheel tilt. Or it could be that the car is just missaligned and needs to be realigned to specification.
Looking at your rear tires and trying to gauge how much they are out is kind of hard to eyeball. The best way to check it at home is to take two blocks of wood the same thickness and tape them to the sidewall of your rear tire. One above the top center of your rim the other below.
Then take a 24 inch carpenters level and hold it to the two blocks, move the top of the level away from the block and measure how far it is away when the vertical level bubble is centered.
It should be somewhere around 1/8" at the top side of the wheel.
The inward tilt of the wheel is controlled by the struts. It is possible that the bushings in the struts are worn and this is allowing the missadjustment to show as a wheel tilt. Or it could be that the car is just missaligned and needs to be realigned to specification.
Looking at your rear tires and trying to gauge how much they are out is kind of hard to eyeball. The best way to check it at home is to take two blocks of wood the same thickness and tape them to the sidewall of your rear tire. One above the top center of your rim the other below.
Then take a 24 inch carpenters level and hold it to the two blocks, move the top of the level away from the block and measure how far it is away when the vertical level bubble is centered.
It should be somewhere around 1/8" at the top side of the wheel.
