'toe in' on my rear tire problem

[PUSHER]

rough estimate of the frame machine solution?

[2ManyZs]

That would be a WAG... depends on shops rates and whether you "know anyone" who works in one of the shops.

Could be as little as a couple hundred to whatever they want to charge...

Most of it will depend on what they find. If they check the chassis and find nothing out of alignment, I doubt it would be more than a couple hundred. Which will at least tell you what it isn't, since there will be only a few other things that it could be, you'd be well on your way to finding the problem.

If the chassis does require pulling to straighten it could be upwards of 500 or more.

Either way, in just a couple hours, you will know whether throwing any more parts at it is required or if you'd be wasting your time putting any parts on.

If you have a Factory Service Manual, there is a chassis diagram in there with all the pertinent chassis measurements that you could possibly do yourself with a helper just to see if anything is obviously not where it should be.

[PUSHER]

Any other devices to adjust toe?

[2ManyZs]

If you put in the adjustable bushings yes, if you put in the stock replacements or urethane bushings, no. You didn't specify which ones you got, so I was just guessing you put in the urethane ones.

By adjusting one end or the other of the adjustable bushings, you should be able to change the toe by a degree or more.

[PUSHER]

I got the adjustable ones, and I have it maxed on the toe out, and there is still some toe in... and now there is allot of camber to. I'll get some pics up tommorrow.

[2ManyZs]

Do you have both bushings maxed out for the toe out or just one?

If you have both maxed out, you will get more negative camber. If you adjust one in and one outward, you'll change the toe and not so much the camber.

For instance, if the front side of the tire is toed in, adjust the front bushings out(toes out the front edge of the tire) and the rear one in(toes in the rear edge of the tire). This will bring the control arm back into alignment and lessen the amount of camber change. Of course, doing this will mess up total toe of the both rea wheels. It would be better to adjust them on an alignment machine so you don't have toe in on one side and toe out on the other.

If you can't get it right with the adjustable bushings, you definately have a chassis problem or a severely bent control arm as the adjustable bushings should give you close to 1/2 to 3/4 inch adjustment both in and out.

[panchovisa]

Pusher,

Go back to the beginning of this thread. I told you that if the three pieces that make up the rear cross member have been moved sideways it would f-up the toe settings. Maybe it's time now to loosen some of the cross member bolts and knock stuff back where it belongs?

[PUSHER]

Question, since the 3 pieces are used by the drivers side rear. If those were to be tweaked, wouldnt the drivers side be tweaked? Because its perfectly fine. Dunno, just thought about it last night.

[2ManyZs]

Not necessarily, the problem could be in the forward control arm mount on the passengers side. It could be the damage is in the floor pan area where the forward mount is, or in the leading edge (side) of the control arm itself.

[panchovisa]

Pusher, it's so frustrating trying to help over the internet. The Z was designed to have toe-in on BOTH rear wheels. If drivers side looks "toeless) it is also out of wack along with passenger side. All your attention has been focused on the passenger side, and I've found that when I limit my focus I can't see the problem.

Stand back, look at the big picture, don't be afraid to take some things apart to make sure they are correct.

Remember the crazy inner bushing f-up? No telling what other things PO did. Maybe problem is at outerbushings??????

[panchovisa]

Pusher, when the PO put the long bushings on one side and the short bushings on the otherside, do you think he didn't have to "persuade" things back together????

A "persuader" is another name for a hammer! You know, a Mexican screwdriver (I can say that because I'm Pancho).

I'm almost certain your rear cross-member is not where it should be.

[ukzman]

I found I had excessive toe in on my nearside rear when I had my Z four wheel aligned, traced the fault to the brackets which bolt up to the chassis either side of the diff. and connect to the small crossmember running behind the diff. the near side one being bent forward, it did'nt look bent when everything was bolted up tight but after a bit of stripping down and checking I found it

Hope this helps

Tim