wonky wheels

[bantamallan]

The R/H rear wheel on my 85 GTL has negative camber and scrubs a tyre in a couple of thousand miles. The local Renault garage says a bent stub axle and the normal fix is to bolt on an old wheel and beat the s**t ot of it until straight. I have a new axle from Liam but before I start work could it be rear chassis out of alignment. There has been some welding to the chassis which looks OK. I plan to lift the body to check the condition of the chassis , I'm just doing a Beetle for my daughter, can it be any worse??
thanks
bantamallan

 

[malcolm]

It's worth checking alignment. My first check would be the rear tracking - line up the front wheels in the straight ahead position, then check if the rear wheels are pointing towards the front. You can use a metre long steel ruler on the rear tyre side walls - they should line up with the front tyre sidewalls.

If that's out (rear tracking) then loosen the nuts on the 2 lower bolts holding the outer mounting, pull the wheel to the right allignment, then tighten up the nuts again.

Failing that, rubbish welding on the inner chassis mounts would change the ride height, and rubbish welding on the outers would change the tracking (which is adjustable), so maybe a stub axle. I wouldn't attempt to straighten one though (fatigue and all that).