Rear wheels not even

[Cags70PolaraConvert]

Had new wheels and tires put on the car recently and noticed that the wheels don't seem to be evenly located in the wheel wells on each side. On the drivers side there is barely enough room to get my fingers inbetween the tire and the front of the wheel well while on the passenger side there is plenty of room(I can take measurements tonight if necessary). I'm running 255R70's in the rear with 235R70's in the front if that matters. In retrospect I wish I ran the 235's all around but can afford to eat the price of the two tires, but that's a different story. There are no adjustments to the rear end that should be made, correct? I checked the FSM and didn't see anything. Could a bad leaf spring be causing this? The car does seem to sit higher on the passenger side when looking at it from the rear. Any experiences with this and input is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[300rag]

First thing I would do is have someone follow you to see if the car is tracking straight down the road. This can also be accomplished if you have some wet pavement to drive through and are able to observe the tracks when you hit the dry area.

 

[Cags70PolaraConvert]

to make sure rear wheels are following the same line as the front wheels?

 

[300rag]

Correct. A little exaggerated, but...

 

[Cags70PolaraConvert]

thank you

 

[Big_John]

Here's an extreme example of "dog tracking". There is some swearing and no intelligent comments, so turn the sound down.

 

[Cags70PolaraConvert]

Wow that is extreme, I thought it was a drunk driver or something

 

[Big_John]

I would first look at the front leaf spring bushings. They go bad after a while and if they have deteriorated enough, the springs could move. You should be able to see if the front leaf spring eye is centered around the bolt.

Next, I would look at the center pin in the leaf spring. Make sure it's there and the spring perch is centered over it. Chances are it's the front bushing, but I would still take a look at it.

Do this without jacking the car up.

 

[Cags70PolaraConvert]

Thanks. I will try to squeeze my fat body under there. That makes sense to me and I was doing some google research that mentioned the center pin on the leaf spring.

 

[Turboomni]

255's should not be a problem with the correct BS and everything else correct. Does it seem to want to turn one way more easily than the other?

 

[Cags70PolaraConvert]

Nothing I have noticed.

 

[rapidtrans]

Some vehicles were designed that way. I can remember some A-bodies that had staggered front wheels. Tried to put some F70 on a 67 Barracuda and one side fit, one side hit just as you describe.

 

[rapidtrans]

Some vehicles were designed that way. I can remember some A-bodies that had staggered front wheels. Tried to put some F70 on a 67 Barracuda and one side fit, one side hit just as you describe.

If rears are tracking straight i'd look for signs of some bodywork. I know from washing our 65 Fury with the skirts installed there is a slight difference in the space. Less than 1/4" but it did have a replaced quarter panel.

 

[Cags70PolaraConvert]

there was work done on the drivers quarter that I can see but I thought it was a lower rear patch and that it wouldn't effect the front portion of the wheel well, unless the replaced and entire quarter. As usual the best thing is to crawl underneath and really see whats going on. I would not have thought about bushings so I have some good places to look.

 

[Turboomni]

Some vehicles were designed that way. I can remember some A-bodies that had staggered front wheels. Tried to put some F70 on a 67 Barracuda and one side fit, one side hit just as you describe.

That is interesting and I never knew that. Why was this done?

 

[commando1]

The best and easiest way to check tracking is to drive over a sandy path and check if your rear tire tracks are perfectly lined up with your front tire tracks.

 

[polara71]

I asked this question when dad bought his 73 polara with 30000 original miles four years ago. The general consensus is there is no spot on location from the factory. Many guys had offset rear ends from Chrysler.

 

[Cags70PolaraConvert]

I will take a good look at bushings and any other contact points that involves the rearend. I will also check on the tracking somehow and get back to everyone on findings.

 

[OneEyed]

Now for the "Did you make sure it has gas in it?" comment-

Since you had new wheels put on, Are the wheels all the correct size?

 

[Cags70PolaraConvert]

all new ARE Outlaw wheels from summit. Brand new tires from PEP Boys. I will double check but could have sworn the 2 235's in the front and 2 255's in the rear. 70R15's.

It's not the thermostat! (thread I read yesterday)