shimming rear hubs

[blkfordsedan]

Anyone ever tried to shim the rear axle stubs to correct alignment? My right rear is toed in slightly and the left rear is toed out slightly more than it should. If I remember, the bolts are easily accessed once you pull the brake drum. I'm hoping a guy could loosen them and slide a slotted shim between the stub flange and the axle beam?

[blkfordsedan]

OK- I figured out that the bolts don't turn and there are nuts on the back side.

Still, has anyone been successful in shimming the hubs or is it way harder than it appears? The car drives good, just wears tires out faster than I would like.

[JPT]

I don't see why you couldn't. They use shims to add negative camber to the rear wheels. All you're doing is adding shims to different locations.

Why are your wheels like that? Bent axle beam?

[Hot_Wheels]

good luck getting those nuts off! escpically if your in the rust belt. i had to buy new studs from ford. it may have helped if i had an impact though. when i re did my rear end i sand blasted everything and painted (por15) everything that stuff is pretty thick to im sure my alighnment will be off too.

[mechanicaldj]

have you tried to loosen the rear axle beam bolts and using a come-a-long hooking the left side and slide it to the right????

[blkfordsedan]

I don't see why you couldn't. They use shims to add negative camber to the rear wheels. All you're doing is adding shims to different locations.

Why are your wheels like that? Bent axle beam?

Yes, my guess is the PO slid into a curb or something. Over-all the car drives very nice, but the tire wear has always been bizarre (feathering, cupping, uneven, etc.). I can get about 40K miles max if I rotate, but I had an '81 Fiesta that got 60K out of several sets of tires. I want to upgrade to more expensive low profile 13" tires and want to see if I can improve the tire life first. I would just do an Aspire swap but I just rebuilt all the wheel bearings and brakes. Plus, the better the alignment, the lower the rolling resistance and the better the handling and gas mileage. I found a nice detail of alignment basics:

http://www.spcalignment.com/PROD_DIR/SPCAlign_images/SPCFundamentals.pdf

[blkfordsedan]

have you tried to loosen the rear axle beam bolts and using a come-a-long hooking the left side and slide it to the right????

Not sure exactly what you have in mind, but no, I haven't tried anything yet. Just trying to get an idea of how hard it would be. The driver's side is pretty close to spec and really doesn't need to be messed with.

[Mike McKown]

Not sure exactly what you have in mind, but no, I haven't tried anything yet. Just trying to get an idea of how hard it would be. The driver's side is pretty close to spec and really doesn't need to be messed with.

Shim the axle beam aft at the body attachment on the right hand side.

Next easiest would be to slide a whole known, good axle beam under it.

[lessersivad]

I took my '93 L in for an alignment awhile back and the left rear was out of spec by 1/4". They had a round shim that could be set at various thicknesses that was placed between the spindle and mounting flange. They installed the shim, rechecked alignment. Problem solved.

[Levitan]

Hey BFS,

I recommend that you go purchase a couple offset camber bolts for the front, just in case you need a degree or two on the front camber.

Go get an alignment. I recommend Tires Plus. Tell the manager you want a discount because they can only do "toe" and not caster or camber. $50-$60 instead of $70-$80. Then go out in the shop and hand the guy the offset bolts, telling him, "just in case it needs them." Free caster camber fixed on the front. Front end is dialed in and if you chunk the numbers doing my method, you got the front aligned after purchasing the offset camber bolts for the original price of the alignment and the front is done correctly.

Now, I understand you are thinking, this has nothing to do with the problem I'm having. I understand, but I'm trying to show you how to correct the whole picture.

When he does the alignment, his handy dandy alignment computer will show how bad the rear is out and the part number of the part needed to fix said problem. Get a print out of that info.

Then you can go to NAPA and they have discs, that when viewed on edge, you can see they are beveled. After removing hub from the trailing arm, the discs are slid on and hub is re-installed and torqued to spec.
Tires Plus has a 30 or 60 day guarantee. Take the car back and have the alignment double checked.

I did it once, took the car back in to have rechecked, and the rearend was perfectly aligned. The key is paying attention and notching the discs with a razor blade, as not to break the disc. And, if I'm not mistaken, discs go on both sides as if you are viewing both sides, facing the passenger wheel. The tech can probably help you with that info.

I'm not telling you what to do, I'm telling you what I would do. Midwest Festiva Inc is not held responsible for any work you do or have done. This educational moment is brought to you by PETA, People Eating Tasty Animals, and is used for educational purposes only and is recommended that you seek a professional Festiva lover for advice on all repairs that can lead to better tire wear and better gas mileage that will help in the fight against global warming......cough cough.

[blkfordsedan]

Hey BFS,

I recommend that you go purchase a couple offset camber bolts for the front, just in case you need a degree or two on the front camber.

Go get an alignment. I recommend Tires Plus. Tell the manager you want a discount because they can only do "toe" and not caster or camber. $50-$60 instead of $70-$80. Then go out in the shop and hand the guy the offset bolts, telling him, "just in case it needs them." Free caster camber fixed on the front. Front end is dialed in and if you chunk the numbers doing my method, you got the front aligned after purchasing the offset camber bolts for the original price of the alignment and the front is done correctly.

Now, I understand you are thinking, this has nothing to do with the problem I'm having. I understand, but I'm trying to show you how to correct the whole picture.

When he does the alignment, his handy dandy alignment computer will show how bad the rear is out and the part number of the part needed to fix said problem. Get a print out of that info.

Then you can go to NAPA and they have discs, that when viewed on edge, you can see they are beveled. After removing hub from the trailing arm, the discs are slid on and hub is re-installed and torqued to spec.
Tires Plus has a 30 or 60 day guarantee. Take the car back and have the alignment double checked.

I did it once, took the car back in to have rechecked, and the rearend was perfectly aligned. The key is paying attention and notching the discs with a razor blade, as not to break the disc. And, if I'm not mistaken, discs go on both sides as if you are viewing both sides, facing the passenger wheel. The tech can probably help you with that info.

I'm not telling you what to do, I'm telling you what I would do. Midwest Festiva Inc is not held responsible for any work you do or have done. This educational moment is brought to you by PETA, People Eating Tasty Animals, and is used for educational purposes only and is recommended that you seek a professional Festiva lover for advice on all repairs that can lead to better tire wear and better gas mileage that will help in the fight against global warming......cough cough.

I already have camber bolts installed in the front and the camber is perfect. I also have the printout from the alignment shop, so I know exactly what needs to be done/changed and I can manually calculate the amount of shim needed to adjust the rear toe. It's good to know that NAPA carries the shims and that it can indeed be done! As for the front caster issue, I think I can manipulate the lower CA position by shaving some material off the face of the harder MOOG sway bar bushings on one side and adding some shims behind the washer on the other side. The lower control arms have a fair amount of "flex" to them from front to back since they are mounted in fairly soft rubber bushings around the pivot bolt. It appears that the sway bar has a large part in determining the proper amount of caster. Thanks for the info!

[Festiva_tunner]

This comes straight from the factory manual:
04-00
Caster
Caster is controlled by fixed vehicle dimentions and is not adjustable, but it should be checked as a possible cause of a variety of suspension system problems. If not within specification (if necessary, refer to Section 04-01), look for damaged suspension components, deteriorated bushing, or distorted body mounting points.

04-01
Front Suspension
. . . The upper ends of the struts are seated in towers in the engine compartment which govern camber and caster settings. Caster is not adjustable, but the strut mounting studs are located off-center to give a choice of two camber settings. Pubber bushings at the control arm and stabilizer mounting points cushion road shocks and control suspension alignment.

Judging by these two paragraphs I would say replace your bushings and check for structural damage - I have the dimentions diagram below.

[blkfordsedan]

^^^ I know that the caster issue is a result of structural damage from a previous wreck. I replaced the bushings with new ones and that's what made it worse. The harder material has less compression, which throws things father out of spec and amplifies the problem. I just need to figure out a way to improve it without major work (if possible).
If not, I can live with it since it drives and handles relatively good.

Thanks for the diagrams! They will be invaluable in determining exactly where the issue is and how far off it is. Someone should make them a "sticky" in this forum!

[FestYboy]

port-a-power....