uneven camber-- causes?

[jayhawk]

A friend of mine has a TR 250 (but not a computer guy) and would like some help-- He just took the body off his 250 and now sees that the camber (bottom of wheels closer together than top) is considerably more on the right rear wheel that the left. He asked me to check with you folks to see if you might be able to give him some ideas as to what to consider. Thoughts? Thanks from me and Ben

 

[AltaKnight]

He would need to do some dismantling to get an idea.
Put it on axle stands and remove the road wheels, brakes calipers and rotors.
Then look at the spindles, vertical links, wishbone arms (upper and lower)and try see if anything looks bent.
Finaly look at the the bushings on the wishbone arms for slop/play and check the frame where the arms bolt on including the fulcrum pin at the top.
I would suspect the vertical link or spindle is bent.
While the wheel is on the car try grasping it top and bottom and shake it to see if there is a bunch of play in bearings or bushings.
Good luck....

 

[LastDeadLast]

Jayhawk,

Again, I would check the bushings first. Since the body is off, you're gonna see some positive camber anyway, and since one side is more pronounced than the other, I would guess that you're seeing the affects of a weak spring, which is a common problem with our cars.

If the above fixes don't work, you can change the brackets on the trailing arms to change the camber. Or you can get Richard Good's (www.goodparts.com) adjustable trailing arm brackets, which is the route that I took. They make rear camber adjustment a breeze.

 

[AltaKnight]

Oops, sorry Jayhawk, didn't notice that word "rear" in your post, I was thinking front.

 

[MDCanaday]

The drivers side spring wears out sooner than the passenger side does cause there is always a driver!!
He should start with new springs&cushions, then make sure the ride height is good. Sometimes the upper spring perch will fatigue and crack, letting the car sag to one side. Now is the time to get this right!!!
MD(mad dog)

 

[Banjo]

I agree with the above mentions about the springs ,and it is possible that something is bent or worn, but I would stress that you not put to much stock in the suspension geometry of a bare frame. Watch what the wheels on your other cars with independant rear suspension do as you jack them up by the frame and you'll see what I mean.
Some car manufacturers go as far as to require that weights be placed in the seats during an alignment to get an accurate setting.

 

[jayhawk]

Thanks gents for the good advice-- I'll share them with Ben and see what he finds. Banjo-- I know what you mean =-- sometimes just jacking the car up does weird thinds to the suspension, if just temporarily. I don't know whether he has rolled the chassis around after taking the body off.

 

[SkinnedKnuckles]

As was said - the main cause would seem to be removing the weight of the body which allowed the rear springs open up a bit. That shouldn't even be considered a problem until the body's back on.

 

[jayhawk]

Re: uneven camber-- Found cause

Ben says thanks-- Found that the trailing arm was at sometime bent and cracked then rewelded on the underside. considerable difference (about 1/2") that the other.
Anyone got one? (otherwise he'll be ordering from Moss, etc)

 

[Mark_Gibson]

Re: uneven camber-- Found cause

Shannon,

Thanks for the advice on the Goodsparts brackets. My newly finished 1970 TR-6 frame off resto still leaves me with too much positive camber. I only wish I had ordered these before I had the car all back together! Funny how much easier it is to work on all these stuff with no body in the way!

Mark