front wheels rub when turning after an alignment
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 2,183
Likes: 5
front wheels rub when turning after an alignment
I had recently removed my leaf springs and switched shocks to coilovers (pfadt 1st gen). Immediately after installing the coilovers took it to my local Firestone to get alignment, since they've been doing my alignments on this car for the past 13 years and I have lifetime alignments with them. Anyhow after the alignment they said everything is now in spec but when I drive it if I turn even the slightest I get tire rub against the arch of the inner fender as well as the air duct inside the fender , either direction I turn. I saw in a thread that during an alignment it's possible they may have adjusted the wheel position too far forward https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1556451332 . If that's true, does anyone know what bolt needs to be turned or what mechanically needs to be adjusted to get that wheel moved back?
One of the things that might give a clue is when I dropped the leaf spring I removed the lower control arm on the driver's side. When doing that, there was an alignment related washer on the large bolt. Does this have anything to do with it?
One of the things that might give a clue is when I dropped the leaf spring I removed the lower control arm on the driver's side. When doing that, there was an alignment related washer on the large bolt. Does this have anything to do with it?
Last edited by vectorz; May 10, 2017 at 02:56 AM.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,367
Likes: 1,593
From: Western NY
.....If that's true, does anyone know what bolt needs to be turned or what mechanically needs to be adjusted to get that wheel moved back?
One of the things that might give a clue is when I dropped the leaf spring I removed the lower control arm on the driver's side. When doing that, there was an alignment related washer on the large bolt. Does this have anything to do with it?
One of the things that might give a clue is when I dropped the leaf spring I removed the lower control arm on the driver's side. When doing that, there was an alignment related washer on the large bolt. Does this have anything to do with it?
Picture the front wheel of a bicycle, where the fork curves forward, as it drops to capture the axle. This forward angle is "caster". It gives you stability in a straight line.
When you set caster on a car, you're adjusting the angle of the car's spindle, with respect to the centerline of the lower ball joint compared to the centerline of the upper ball joint. You want the lower ball joint to "lead" the upper, by a little bit. On a C-5 Corvette, you do this by turning the "eccentric" pivot bolt on the rear of the lower a-arm. It does, however "move" the wheel forward, a tad.
Based on the modifications you made, especially if the car is now higher, you've moved the position of your wheels, within the wheel wells.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,152
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
Also check if they used shims on the upper arms instead of adjusting the lower arms. They could have added shims on the upper arm because the lower a-arms were adjusted oddly.
I had a shop tell me a different car I have couldn't be aligned correctly because they were only trying to adjust the upper a-arms with shims. But, it had lower a-arm adjustments they weren't using.
The lower a-arm has 2 bolts with 4 x eccentric washers (one on each side of each bolt). You should mark the washer to frame alignment if you remove them and keep them in the same positions so they go back together were they came from. This at least gets the alignment reasonable until you get it to a shop. These bolts should get adjusted when the shop did the alignment.
There isn't an adjustment that simply lets you move the wheel position. You can adjust the lower a-arm to move the lower ball-joint backwards, but that will also lower the caster. It's then possible to use shims on the front bolts of the upper arm to compensate and put caster back into the car.
I had a shop tell me a different car I have couldn't be aligned correctly because they were only trying to adjust the upper a-arms with shims. But, it had lower a-arm adjustments they weren't using.
The lower a-arm has 2 bolts with 4 x eccentric washers (one on each side of each bolt). You should mark the washer to frame alignment if you remove them and keep them in the same positions so they go back together were they came from. This at least gets the alignment reasonable until you get it to a shop. These bolts should get adjusted when the shop did the alignment.
There isn't an adjustment that simply lets you move the wheel position. You can adjust the lower a-arm to move the lower ball-joint backwards, but that will also lower the caster. It's then possible to use shims on the front bolts of the upper arm to compensate and put caster back into the car.
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