connellyh

For a long time, my front wheels have kept going toe-out. I'll bring both wheels to 0 or slightly toe-in and within a month or two, they go toe-out. Far enough out to start wearing the inside of both tires. The problem is that I am at the end of the adjustment rod. I've had the problem with stock rubber bushings and poly bushings. I've replaced both outer tie rod ends. A friend with a Z06 (all stock rubber bushings) says he's having the same problem. Anyone know what the cause and the fix?

alanh

I can't believe you're at the end of the tie rod adjustment and can't tell that the front tires don't look cross-eye'd. Look down the side of the car, front tire to back tire, and line the two tires up straight on one side, then look at the other side and see if they are as straight as the first side. If they are not, you need to back to the alignment shop. Inside tire wear is mostly caused by neg. camber, which is normal for stock C5 alignment specs. If you want to reduce inside tire wear. go to 0 degree camber on both front wheels, and get the toe set back to where it should be or you'll see the front tires disappear fast.

connellyh

It's DEFINITELY a toe-out issue, absolutley certain. I don't have enough neg camber to create the wear I'm seeing. Plus, there is no abnormal wear for a few weeks after resetting the toe. The wheels are now just barely toe-in. Looking down the car and driving the car confirm this. And yes, I am now at the end of my toe adjustment. I am at a complete loss as to how this is happening.

corvette dave

What are the front camber settings?

ajg1915

Sounds more like the springs are losing there strength (sagging).

Have you tried replacing them ?

connellyh

Right now, the camber is -0.3. I've had it set from 0 to -0.6 with no wear issues when continually monitoring the toe. I don't mean to sound argumentitive but it's the toe changing that is the problem. It is not the camber. What I need to find out, is HOW the toe keeps changing and how to stop it.

connellyh

ajg,

No, I have not replaced the front spring. I still have the original stock spring. I didn't think those things wore out.

wannabe-psi

i would think that saggy springs would give more of a camber problem than a toe problem! dunno i could be wrong!

debmwb

Might be worth it to check the front spring. Some folks on here have had springs that have fractured!

connellyh

I guess that could be a bad thing.

alanh

If you really do have the toe-out problem you describe, then it sounds like you have a serious problem. Just my opinion, but with the angular forces in the front suspension, bad bushings would most likely cause a toe-in problem, not a toe-out problem. I also don't think that a completely collapsed front spring would cause the problem you describe.
Sometimes terminology used can confuse the question and answer, so can you explain in detail what you call toe-out, so I can determine if what you are describing and what I am thinking are the same things?
Some pictures might be a big help if you can do that for us.
Also, if you have runflats, .3degree neg. camber will take off the inside edges of the tires. Back before this was known, GM replaced two sets of front tires on my C5 and I never had that much neg camber. Needless to say, they quit doing that.

connellyh

Ok, I'll go through the sequence in detail.
I am defining Toe-out to be the condition when the front interior sidewalls of the wheels are further apart than the rear interior sidewalls.
front
of car
\ /
------
driver

1. The car gets an alignment with front tire toe set at 0, camber -0.3 to -0.5, caster about middle of GM specs.
2. The car drives fine, good steering response with no twitchiness and no major rut-following (other than what 275 tires will do anyway).
3. I'll drive the car for about 2-3,000 miles with no sign of abnormal tire wear.
4. Then gradually the steering response gets faster and rut-hunting becomes an issue. When this happens, I start to see wearing on the inside edges of both front tires.
5. I'll either take the car to a shop for an alignment which would show a toe-out condition or I'll just move turn tie rods 3/8 to 1/2 turn myself.
6. After toe adjustment, car returns to normal steering response, rut-hunting, and tire wear.
7. Another few thousand miles, and I go through all that again.

I have not found any other symptoms related to this problem.

I've had the camber all the way from near 0 to -0.6 with no effect on time to toe-out or wear pattern.

At this point, I've used all the treads on the tie rods. There is no further toe-in adjustment to correct the problem. So, I can't treat the symptoms anymore, I need to cure the disease.

Old geezer

It's time to completely disassemble the ft end of the car, and find out wherein the problem lies.....

Next problem could be an unscheduled meeting with a tow truck, or worse.

b.j.prescott

I think youre right about it being a toe-in issue...I think you could easily tell if camber was off that much & toe will eat youre tires quicker than most things.Was wondering about the front wheel bearings....some people say they are weak from factory.That will chg your toe specs.one way to ck is jack one corner & put something under it to pri up ward & see if the wheel rotates,just as freely as before,usually it will bind up with the rotor.Also jack the other corner & let it down on the suspected bad side, but not all the way down.Then jack it again & it will bind up. Thats what mine did,it only takes one to screw up the alignment.