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TR6 My TR6 rear tire tilt inwards at top

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benjaminabby04

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Recently I purchased a 74-tr6, and I am not mechanically inclined. My question, my rear tires tilt inwards at the top, and it is quite pronounced. In speaking to two seperate british car mechanics, they tell me this is quite normal, and do not worry. I don't like the looks of it. Is this normal, and is there anything I can do to correct?
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<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by benjaminabby04:
I don't like the looks of it. Is this normal, and is there anything I can do to correct?
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It depends on how much weight you have in the back. Normal unladen condition the camber should be zero to slightly negative that is straight up and down to slightly tilted outward at the top.
Depending on your mileage, yes you might have a bad U joint but you would hear loud clunking if the joint was that far gone.
So next cause is defective differential bushes that hold the differential to the frame and chassis. As these fail, the differential drops down pushing the axles down on the inboard side and tilting the wheels out on the bottom.
Next cause is weak springs. If you have a lot of miles or years on the car, the springs get weak, do not support the weight and the bottom of the wheels tilt out. This can be fixed by installing new springs and isolator pads for about $80 and can be completed with a bit of care by a relative novice who can change a tire.
Of if you still do not want to do the job yourself, both differential bushes and springs and isolator pads for $200 that includes 1.5 hour (more than enough time) labor to install them.

Springs and bushings are readily available at most suppliers,

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Hi Ben, Your 74 tr needs two things. 1st replace the old rear coil springs with uprated ones from VP, Moss, TRF or the like About $100 for the pair. 2nd replace the trailing arm rubber bushes with polyurerthane for about $35 Two hours work. Real straight forward operation. Good luck! Regards Brian
 
Benjamine, I'm not a TR-6 guy, but two things that you may want to consider are, 1, read the book and find out what the rear alignment specs are, and relate what you are seeing to the published specifications. If that is a problem, take the car, with the book, to a reputable alignment shop, and have it checked.
2. If the tire is tilted inward at the top, that is NEGATIVE camber. Alignment 101.
If you think it looks excessive, you obviously haven't seen a Spit, GT6, or a VW Beetle on jack stands! Those are scary!!

Jeff
 
The one thing nobody has spoken of is the very real possibilty that the upper crossmember has broken where the springs seat.This is a VERY common problem and not too hard to fix with the springs out, but dont do the job twice. Look this over carefully before you slam in the new springs it certainly needs too.
MD(mad dog)
 
Benjamin,

When I was in my teens I read every book I could get my hands on concerning the TR Roadsters. It always struck me that the factory photos of the TR6 model seemed to show rear tires that looked like they were about ready to collapse inward... these were brand new TR6 cars. I really think that it is just a result of the design of the IRS, as Jeep said above, and as long as your tires aren't laying flat at 45 degrees, it shouldn't be a problem. I agree with you that this looks strange and if I hadn't noticed this on several cars over the last twenty years, I would say that it sounded dangerous... Try to find an old photo of a factory fresh TR6 from the rear angle and compare it to your car.

Regards,

Brian
 
I don't know as much as a lot of folks here do about Triumphs, but I do know the IRS was designed with some negative camber in an effort to keep the rear end in place, and overcome the problem with wheels pivoting on their axis in turns and effectively narrowing the rear track. They're not the only folks who've done this. Check out the negative camber on a 6-series BMW some time. Gobs of it.

But I also know that as they wear this negative camber increases. A lot. If it were me, I'd take the suggestions above and REALLY make sure all was well.
 
Baxter,

Good point... I didn't mean to suggest that it wasn't a possible problem. I meant to add that as long as the camber and other IRS components check out within specifications, the inward tilt is normal for the TR6. By all means, don't judge the car's safety by comparing it to a photograph... sorry I left out the most important part. Have the suspension and wheel alignment thoroughly checked.

Sincerely,

Brian
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TR6's squat... that's what they do. Springs are fairly common on old cars... if your mechanics are fairly experienced in dealing with Triumphs, then I wouldn't worry too much about it.


Enjoy the car
 
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