Rear wheels are tracking funny

isaiah3g

isaiah3g

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After loads of searching and having a question answered (concerning alignment) I am puzzled as to why my pass rear wheel tracks about half an inch further forward than my drivers side rear wheel.

I am going to take both rear wheels off here in a little bit and check for any damaged, broken, missing, loose items back there.

Does anyone here know anything about it? The guy I had do my alignment did a superb job and I know him pretty well, he is a really trusted guy that does all sorts of high-end and track racing cars.

Anything I should keep my eyes out for?

Thanks for any help.
 
No toe link on a Mark/MN12 IRS.....

Bad lower control arm bushing, or loose eccentric bolt.
 
The toe link bushings are lookin pretty rough. I did some searching and in a thread someone said that no one makes them any more. All of the other bushings look just fine.

I checked all the bolts to see if any were loose, not a one was.

This sucks.

Will it mess anything up? I don't know how long its been like this. But it sure makes left hand turns easier. ;)
 
toe link compensators.
~googles real quick.~
moog k8594. approx. $60 on rock auto.

blown compensators can also allow "swaying" in a straight line at highway speeds.
 
well heck! :slam
Should have googled before I opened my mouth from what someone 'said'

Thanks for the help.
 
How I wish I had you experts around here in NYC to work on my Mark 8.
Shop that does Lexus, BMW, MB, Infinti, Audi...No problem, lots of them.

I am forced to do work myself. And sometimes I don't have a lift or power tools.
 
I never have a lift! All I have are a few crappy 'scissor jacks' that come in the car. Shaky as everything. That's why I use 3 all the time. I have had a car fall because someone....ok, I placed my trust in just one.

Anyways, that link is most likely the problem. I'll try to get one asap.
 
chris2523 said:
blown compensators can also allow "swaying" in a straight line at highway speeds.
Click to expand...

well, thank you, i was just noticing the other day the car felt a little bit wandering in the back when i left the house. i know where i will look first now.
 
See the lower control arm (LCA) cam washer on the shiny new paint? That adjusts toe.
RearSwap005.jpg


This part (bushing in upper control arm) adjusts camber:
bushing.jpg


There is no caster because the wheels don't turn (left to right) like the front ones.
 
SATURN5 said:
I still don't see how it sets toe.... /shrug

Now the eccentric bolt would....
Click to expand...

It doesn't...exactly. It's basically a "poor man's 4-wheel-steering" system. As the lower H-Arm moves up and down, the link "pulls" the lower arm in toward the front, effectively increasing the toe-in angle. Supposedly, it's supposed to increase straight line stability and cornering agility.
 
thaywood said:
It doesn't...exactly. It's basically a "poor man's 4-wheel-steering" system. As the lower H-Arm moves up and down, the link "pulls" the lower arm in toward the front, effectively increasing the toe-in angle. Supposedly, it's supposed to increase straight line stability and cornering agility.
Click to expand...

Not quite.

All the toe link does is minimize excessive toe changes during acceleration and deceleration due to the soft OEM bushings.
 
Interesting idea, but looking at it, everything is in the same plane, and shouldn't "pull" the arm. But, I'm no mechanical engineer... So I digress....
 
DLF said:
Not quite.

All the toe link does is minimize excessive toe changes during acceleration and deceleration due to the soft OEM bushings.
Click to expand...

I remembered the "poor man's 4-wheel-steering" quote from a magazine road test of the T-Bird SC back in the 1990's describing what that toe link was meant for. And, technically, it does "pull" on the lower arm minutely. The link is anchored to the subframe and attached to the lower H-Arm. So when the arm moves up and down, there is a minute "tug" from that link since one end is anchored to a non-moving chassis member. However, it does pivot with the bushing. So it may not do anything. Who knows? It's probably just a gimmick anyway.
 
thaywood said:
And, technically, it does "pull" on the lower arm minutely. The link is anchored to the subframe and attached to the lower H-Arm. So when the arm moves up and down, there is a minute "tug" from that link since one end is anchored to a non-moving chassis member. However, it does pivot with the bushing. So it may not do anything. Who knows? It's probably just a gimmick anyway.
Click to expand...

Incorrect.

The link is "anchored" to the through bolt for the bushing, it can't "pull" on anything.

It's just a band-aid.
 
I'll post the link later, but I just googled "T-Bird SC toe link" and came up with a link to sccoa.com (sp?) where there was an article on the '89 SC. A spokesman for Ford said that the toe link in conjunction with the soft bushings was supposed to help "steer" the rear wheels in the same direction as the front wheels to help it handle better and to reduce the IRS's propensity to toe-out under hard braking and cornering.
 
FWIW, that part y'all are discussing is called "Toe Compensator Link", "Alignment Toe Adjuster", "Toe Link", or "Toe Adjuster".

Personally, I think Ford put it there just to add more stability to the whole rear IRS system; "stiffen it up" so to speak.

You're all saying the same thing...
 
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