Slanting rear wheel on '89 L

[John Newgard]

One of the rear wheels on my '89 L-series 4WD wagon slopes inward (i.e.
top of wheel closer to vehicle centreline than bottom of wheel) a LOT
more than I think it should. All otherwheels are more-or-less vertical.
The rear tire opposite the one that slants had an uneven wear pattern,
with most wear on the outside and evenly distributed around the tire's
circumference. I have recently replaced all tires.

I recently replaced the trailing arm bushes, thinking that was the
problem, but it didn't change things.

Any ideas?

John

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

An alignment shop may need to install some 'crash bolts' to bring the
camber back into spec. You may have a bent control arm, broken spring or
some other damage.

Carl

 

[John Newgard]

Thanks Carl. A suspension shop told me that, though they couldn't
inspect it without a lot more work (the inspection was free, and 30
minutes long!), they suspect a bent shock upper mounting bracket. They
also found a minor bend in the bracket attached to the control arm
itself.

What are crash bolts?

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

I've never used any, yet, but they are sometimes used to extend the
adjustment range for camber or, in some sases, alow for adjustment on
cars that don't already have a camber adjustment. It may be that your
car's problems also affect other aspects of wheel tracking and getting
some damaged parts replaced woul;d be the best repair. But you should
ask the shop about camber bolts (crash bolts) and if they would
ameliorate the problem enough to continue to use the vehicle safely and
without destroying tires. here's one example;
http://www.kastleskorner.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=784


thanx for getting back to us - good luck

Carl