Wheel bent in

[villain_lsc]

As I'm gettin' ready to use my winter Mark I have to address a prob. from last winter....We were goofing around in the snow last winter when I spun out and hit a curb. This caused some curb rash on my S.E. rims but more importantly the wheel is tilted in slightly (front pass.), the bottom is in and the top of the wheel is tilted out, I dont know if it's castor or camber......It drives straight and there is no unusual tire wear, I'm hopeing that it is just an adjustment on the strut tower....Maybe a bent control arm? but it looks ok, spindle?...All input is welcome....Villain

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

Sounds like the CV joint, but check it out.

 

[Lincolnlov]

Sounds like the CV joint, but check it out.

JMcMM,

Now you have really stumped me. Where does a Mark VII have a CV joint? Lincolnlov

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

Yea, no CV on the VII. For whatever reason I was thinking of my old Jeep when it hit a curb after a patch of black ice; I didn't put it into context. I'll be in the corner.

 

[Gray Mist]

OK....Top of wheel out bottom in means camber is out of spec. If the tire is riding on the outside of the tread pattern more than the inside, the tire will wear unevenly in time. A bent spindle could cause tis as well as a control arm. Depending on how bad it may be possible to correct with adjustments.

Caster is also known as kingpin inclination, which means the vertical alignment of the wheel steering piviots. (think of a shopping cart wheel that tends to follow direction of force.Bottom piviot is balljoint top piviot is top of strut. Top of strut is more reward on balljoint in the old days there was a yoke with a pin thru upper and lower yoke fork with top ear inclined to the rear. ) Proper caster brings front wheels back to pointing in direction the car is moving when you let go of steering wheel.To much caster and you feel stronger resistance to turn the car. To little caster and it's to easy to turn car and more difficult to keep the car going straight.

Final adjustment would be toe adjustment. If car is toed in (pigeon toed) both tires wear equally on outside treads. If front end is toed out, tires will wear equally on the inside treads.

Hope this helps.

Oh yeah get the front end checked out by a frontend shop.

 

[villain_lsc]

,Thanks for your reply Graymist, Camber is what I think the problem is...The spindle is cast, I dont see that being bent? and visually I cannot tell if the control arm is bent.I'm hopeing that it's just an adjustment to be made, I guess I'll take it to some shop to find out , Thanx again Villain

 

[Lincolnlov]

Yea, no CV on the VII. For whatever reason I was thinking of my old Jeep when it hit a curb after a patch of black ice; I didn't put it into context. I'll be in the corner.

In the corner? No way! Not for you. You post lots of good stuff on this site that I'm thankful for. One slip of the fingers on the keyboard is not to be maligned.
Lincolnlov

 

[Gray Mist]

Cast steel does bend.

A cast steel spindle is still mallable enough to bend. You could be thinking cast iron which usually breaks before bending. The good news is it can also be bent back into shape again. That is as long as it isn't bent into a pretzel.