Rear end will not center

Brandon08GT

forum member
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Posts
292
Reaction score
29
Location
Jacksonville, FL
I was having my suspension guy go over my setup the other day and he pointed out something I had completely been missing and I have no idea for how long. My rear end is off center and actually seems to be on a slight downward angle towards the drivers side. Anyone have any experience with this? The tires in relation to the body are completely even. That’s what is most bizarre. I have an adjustable panhard bar which I used to center the wheels in relation to the body. The gap difference between the rift and left side is substantial. Springs and shocks are both only about 2 weeks old. Not sure how long the rear end has been like this to be honest. The gap between the rear end and the sway bar ends is about three fingers on the drivers side and barely a finger on the passenger side. I have LCAs and relocation brackets, as well as adjustable UCA. Makes no sense at all why it would be shifted, yet the tires are even with the body.

9F5C0FC7-CA2D-4F3C-8481-4650F3CF141C.jpeg

78034BED-5634-475E-BE9B-57D7DB2E3063.jpeg

562F8623-1576-4788-9F60-1F1E267814D9.jpeg

4D6B2BCF-36D2-4664-9C81-623F95A7F6F2.jpeg

AFB37192-BFDD-4CBA-86A8-BBFA04EDDF7A.jpeg
 

CammedS197

forum member
Joined
Sep 12, 2015
Posts
580
Reaction score
33
Location
Palm Bay, FL
Hey Brandon, I'm pretty sure that the swaybar is fixed and cannot move left to right via mounting points on the axle. But its hard to really tell from the pics lol. May help if I looked at mine for a reference haha.

Can you get some pics with a string and penny hanging from the fender as well as side shot straight on to the side of the car?

May be worth to put rear on jack stands and take the wheels off and take a level or something long and straight to use as sort of a guide to see if maybe the axle tubes twisted at all.

Only other thing I can think of is bushing bind on the control arms.
 

nawagner

forum member
Joined
Jul 31, 2012
Posts
341
Reaction score
38
Location
IA
That's my thought as well. Loosen all the bushing bolts on LCAs and sway bar where there is attachment to the body of the car. Loose enough for the sway bar and LCAs to shift. Then load the suspension and see if it is still off. Tighten everything back up while under load.

The other thought is the upper control arm could be binding. Do you have an aftermarket UCA? Either way you may want to include it in the process I noted above.
 

oldVOR

forum member
Joined
Apr 9, 2015
Posts
1,753
Reaction score
484
Location
Northern Virginia
The swaybar can slide from one side to another and will find a neutral point for itself that might not be neutral compared to everything else. Shifting it within the axle and frame brackets is easy enough and you should be able to center it where you want. The bar is easy to move with urethane mounts and a little harder to move with the OEM rubber mounts.

In the picture showing the right side swaybar frame mount, I can see an older dirt line where the bar has shifted to the left side of the car about 1/2", decreasing the gap on the right side between the swaybar to the LCA relo-bracket.

Everything else looks pretty good and spot on.
 

07 Boss

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Posts
3,831
Reaction score
968
Location
Sin City
You need to make some measurements with the suspension at ride height. From like control arm bolt to a point diagonal on the chassis. Then measure the center of the end to two points on either side of the chassis. Also check if the chassis is square. Are you the original owner? Has the car ever been in a wreck?

Here's another thought. I'm not sure if you mentioned how far it seemed to be off but maybe the motor and trans ain't lined up perfect. I know there is some wiggle room, especially with the stock engine mounts. I remember being able to shift my motor over to one side to get my steering to clear my headers. I know a lot of the manual guys experience the trans moving while under load so there is some wiggle room. Maybe your stuff is just shifted over.
 

Brandon08GT

forum member
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Posts
292
Reaction score
29
Location
Jacksonville, FL
Thanks for all the feedback. I’m going to take some measurements when I get the chance to see just how off it is. With the sway bar moving, that doesn’t seem like a reason that would increase the gap difference between the two sides, but worth looking into.

I was trying to figure out the best possible way to measure everything to find a dead center. I guess going off the chassis would be best, but that’s assuming the chassis is completely straight. I am not the original owner, but I did meet the original owner and he told me the problems he had, but never a mention of being in an accident. That isn’t to say it didn’t happen though.

I have a couple items for the front suspension coming in and when they do, I will take apart all the rear control arms and check all the busingings. Figured I might as well wait as I will need a new alignment again.
 

white08gt

Junior Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2009
Posts
10
Reaction score
0
I know it is pita but can always swap sides with the coils. make sure the springs are seated right in the perch.
 

07 Boss

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2009
Posts
3,831
Reaction score
968
Location
Sin City
I know it is pita but can always swap sides with the coils. make sure the springs are seated right in the perch.

??? Never heard of right and left springs before. And springs don't have anything to do with lateral positioning the axle.
 

Wes06

forum member
Joined
Jan 21, 2012
Posts
5,383
Reaction score
59
is your "axle not centered" problem going off the actual axle to body, or just the sway bar being towards one side?
 

Brandon08GT

forum member
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Posts
292
Reaction score
29
Location
Jacksonville, FL
is your "axle not centered" problem going off the actual axle to body, or just the sway bar being towards one side?
Sway bar towards one side, visually being able to see the uneven slant towards the drivers side as well as the over 1/2 inch difference in tIre to fender gap between the left and right side.
 

RED09GT

Equal Opportunity Offender
S197 Team Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Posts
2,630
Reaction score
488
Location
Kelowna, B.C. Canada
This "slight angle downward towards the drivers side" that you mention, are you saying that the axle is lower on that side than the other?
Are the spring properly seated? If they are, swap them side to side and see if the other end is higher after swapping.
Both tires have the exact same air pressure? Have you measured the run-out of the tires?

Also, is there anything in the car's handling that would indicate that the rear is off center? Does it consistently track to one side, does it sway while traveling in a straight line?

As for the sway bar, you can probably move it with a pry-bar wedged between the bracket and the bar on the passenger side and even it out, sway bars are supposed to move, it does not indicate that the rear end is off center.
 
Last edited:

Brandon08GT

forum member
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Posts
292
Reaction score
29
Location
Jacksonville, FL
This "slight angle downward towards the drivers side" that you mention, are you saying that the axle is lower on that side than the other?
Are the spring properly seated? If they are, swap them side to side and see if the other end is higher after swapping.
Both tires have the exact same air pressure? Have you measured the run-out of the tires?

Also, is there anything in the car's handling that would indicate that the rear is off center? Does it consistently track to one side, does it sway while traveling in a straight line?

As for the sway bar, you can probably move it with a pry-bar wedged between the bracket and the bar on the passenger side and even it out, sway bars are supposed to move, it does not indicate that the rear end is off center.

Yes, the axle is lower on one side then there other. The drivers side to be exact. Springs are properly seated. I’ve already taken them out and checked that out just to be sure. Tire pressures are the same. Even tried a different wheel setup all together just to see. The car is perfectly aligned, I even have the spec sheet to verify, and it tracks to the left. It is very prominent when traveling on the interstate. I’ve tried several different roads just to verify it wasn’t the crown in the road or anything like that.
 

RED09GT

Equal Opportunity Offender
S197 Team Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Posts
2,630
Reaction score
488
Location
Kelowna, B.C. Canada
Check your axle tubes, only reasonable explanation is that one of the axle tubes has separated from the housing or has been damaged.

Do you have a set of toe plates that you can borrow? Or you could cut 2 pieces of plywood and make your own to measure.
 

Brandon08GT

forum member
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Posts
292
Reaction score
29
Location
Jacksonville, FL
Check your axle tubes, only reasonable explanation is that one of the axle tubes has separated from the housing or has been damaged.

Do you have a set of toe plates that you can borrow? Or you could cut 2 pieces of plywood and make your own to measure.
How do you check that? Toe is good. I just had everything done last weekend. It’s all in spec as for as the machine is concerned, the rear end just isn’t right. If that makes sense.
 

RED09GT

Equal Opportunity Offender
S197 Team Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2009
Posts
2,630
Reaction score
488
Location
Kelowna, B.C. Canada
Did they check the rear toe as well as the front? If they did and it is in spec, I really don't know what to tell you.
Take some pictures of where the axle tubes go into the center section.

The sway bar thing is nothing, it can be moved almost an inch in either direction.
 

Brandon08GT

forum member
Joined
Aug 18, 2013
Posts
292
Reaction score
29
Location
Jacksonville, FL
Did they check the rear toe as well as the front? If they did and it is in spec, I really don't know what to tell you.
Take some pictures of where the axle tubes go into the center section.

The sway bar thing is nothing, it can be moved almost an inch in either direction.
I made a make shift car lift and as soon as I get a free day, I’m going to get under it and try to figure it out. I’ll take as many pictures as I can.
 

drive_55_not

forum member
Joined
Sep 29, 2011
Posts
620
Reaction score
18
Location
NC
As long as your sure nothing's broke, and it was centered before you installed the springs ..

I'll hazard a guess ... the springs settled and as the body lowers the PHB shoved the rear toward the drivers side ..

I say recenter the axle and let it eat.

Party on straight people ..

.
 

Pentalab

forum member
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Posts
5,211
Reaction score
1,093
How can the axle be lower at one end vs the other...not gonna happen. The springs were grossly mismatched, or one spring was installed inverted / not seated correctly. Or one new and one old spring were installed. The rear sway bar is a moot point, that's not going to cause the difference he is seeing.

We need pix taken from each side at the rear, like with camera 27-29" above the ground.
 

Latest posts

Support us!

Support Us - Become A Supporting Member Today!

Click Here For Details

Sponsor Links

Banner image
Back
Top