Rear Wheel Alignment Issues Mk1

[abreut]

Well I had a wheel alignment done for the first time on my 82 GTI and I was told that the rear wheels are out of alignment. One wheel is toeing out and one is toeing in. They should be both slightly toed in. Anyway it was pretty clear something was bent. So I started investigating and noticed that I could visibly see that the passenger rear wheel was sitting back too far in the wheel arch. I got under the car and started to measure up the swing axle and compare with a swing axle that I knew was straight. All the measurements were good, all the diagonals were consistent so it definitely wasn't bent. I loosened the mounting bolts and lined up the holes a bit better to try and get some adjustment out of them. After that the rear felt really dodgy. I noticed that the rubber bushes were a bit deformed from the mounts being a bit cockeyed probably for years and now that I had adjusted the pivot mounts there was basically slack because the bushes were now not the right shape.

Anyway my poly bushes finally came so I completely removed the pivot mounts and discovered that one of the pivot bolts was completely bent! I mean bent and twisted to such an extent that the wheel on that side was about 10mm too far back in the wheel arch. I used a straight bolt and put the mounts back in with new bushes and what a difference. The rear feels so much more stable, and my steering wheel has a new centre - about 5 to 10 degrees from where it used to be! So, next time you get an alignment on your car get them to check the rear wheel alignment. If its not right its well worth looking into. I always knew something wasn't quite right with the rear of the car and boy does it feel safer now.

[gldgti]

well done and good wrightup!