Rear tires/axle misaligned -- a congenital defect or poor bodywork?

[Grant Eaton]

This past weekend I had four Toyo Proxes S/T 285/60/R18 slapped on the stock rims. These larger tires made plainly obvious an alignment problem on the vehicle -- the rear axle appears to be offset to the right about 2" (using the cladding as a reference point). Has anyone else observed this problem? Any idea as to whether it can be fixed?

The guy at Les Schwab Tires told me that this type of problem is "common for certain models of cars." He cited his own GM Capri (or something like that), saying that most of that model's cars get their axles/tires shifted off normal alignment within 2 years.

My VX was in a very bad $13,000 driver-side T-bone crash about 3 years ago, so it's possible that the bodyshop didn't do a good job and that this problem I noticed was actually stemming from imperfect bodywork. Would some of you folks mind checking your vehicles to see if this problem is congenital from the factory?

EDIT: My VX isn't lifted... Also, I have not adjusted the torsion, although I intend to do so this week to raise it at least 1" inch to accommodate the larger tires.

Click on the pictures to zoom in:

[Chopper]

You were glued together poorly after that wreck.

[ZEUS]

If your VX is lifted, then by the direction of the shift in the axle, I would say it is caused partially by the panhard bar. When the lift is installed the panhard bar drops at one end moving the axle to the right. Not lifted? Can't say for sure then, but maybe the panhard bar is bent...? I don't know if there is a cam adjustment for the panhard bar, but I doubt it... if there is though, it could be slid to the left. Don't know anything, otherwise

[creeg]

Well, if you were hit on the drivers side, couldnt the rear suspension be bent and pushed to the passenger side?

Could some suspension in parts in the rear be bent due to the collision?

[BBVX]

Hey Grant,

Are you lifted?

Even if you're not, I still don't think it's a really big deal.

I'll try to make this short. For all intents and purposes, there are three bars attached to the frame that hold your rear axle in place. Two run parallel to the tires, one on either side, and they keep the axle in place front to back. There is one bar, I think it's called the Panhard rod?, that runs parallel to the axle, and it keeps the axle from moving side to side.
Without crawling under there, I don't remember if it's adjustable or not. It looks like yours is a little short. Mine was the same way after I bent it offroad, the axle was misaligned, and the driveshaft vibrated like crazy. You can find a lot of posts on 'vibration while coasting' and things like that.
If you're not experiencing any noise or handling problems, I would just leave it. If you want to replace it, which is really easy (2 bolts), I think the dealer quoted me about $340. Better to get it from someone parting out here on the board.

Hope this helps.

Brian

[BBVX]

Zeus beat me to it.

[Grant Eaton]

My VX isn't lifted... Also, I have not adjusted the torsion, although I intend to do so this week to raise it at least 1" inch to accommodate the larger tires.

Thanks, Zeus and BBVX, for the information. I'll maybe have the dealer check it out. I have not noticed any drive problems, although the last set of tires (Pirelli 285/55/R18) wore very unevenly in the end (after the July 2004 accident). I don't want the new set to wear unevenly -- although I have had them aligned last week as well. Also, I do notice the 2" shift and it doesn't look good, so if it's not expensive to fix, I think I'll go ahead and just get 'er done.

Or maybe I'll fight with the shop that did the original work in July-August 2004 and see if they'll be square with me and fix it right.

[rowhard]

Well, on the VX, it's called a 'lateral rod' and it's non-adjustable, sorry Grant. Sound's like you or who ever paid for the body work didn't get their monies worth

[Dino]

You were glued together poorly after that wreck.

Agreed.

[johnnyapollo]

On my truck there's a distance descrepancy between the front wheels and the back of the wheel-well -- it's most noticeable when I've got the wheels turned and am washing the truck - been there since day one and my truck has never been hit. You've got to remember that these were pretty much hand-assembled - I don't believe Isuzu went the whole robotic route in assembly as the production numbers didn't justifiy it so there's some variation in measurements. As the parts go on, some could be slightly mis-aligned but as long as the mechanics and esthetics aren't violated, it passes inspection. If the rear-end is slightly to one side it probably doesn't affect the driving or alignment of the truck much - it would be more important in the front as you're cornering, for the two sides to be within a tighter tolerance. In your case the mechanic probably did set the axle assembly slightly to one side - do you notice a difference while driving? A difference in handling? If not, it probably tracks parallel to the length of the car. Just talking out loud.

-- John

[ZEUS]

Grant, keep in mind, after you lift your VX your axle will shift a little more to the right due to what I stated before. It might be negligible. You might want to double check the clearance between your drivers side tire and the frame and what not. I might even suggest flexing your VX out to see how close the tires come to rubbing when one side is compressed into the wheel well. A simple fix might be to cut the panhard bar in two and sleeve it with a larger diameter tube to lengthen it. <shrug> I would suggest replacing it though, because maybe the tracking issues you had before weren't just from your tires, but were worsened by the axle being slightly askew. Lifting it might also worsen your tracking problem and increase the risk of an accident. This is all just speculation of course but I think it is something to think about. Keep us posted!

[CSTYLES]

I just did my lift with the help of a couple friends and noticed the same thing, the rear axle has shifted about 2 inches to the right. I've read posts on the Calmini track bar extension and was wondering if that would fix the problem.

OR could I just have someone fab-up an adjustable track bars for me? The $340 for stock one ought to buy a heavy duty custom track bar. Stinkbug is selling the custom lower links for about that.

I took the VX to get an alignment after the lift and they "fixed" my front end alignment by cranking the torsion bars back down. This was after I explained that the reason I needed an alignment was that the truck is now lifted and sitting on bigger tires. I don't want to say where I took it, I'm a little embarrassed (Merchant's).