Looking For Inexpensive Rear Toe Fix

I like others have had excessive inside edge wear on rear tires. Both tires appeared to wear the same amount. I checked my total toe by measuring inside distance between rims at the front and rear of the rear wheels. Of course I could not measure at axle height but I measured as high as I could due to the undercarriage. I have roughly 7/16" total toe out which seems outrageous and would certainly eat tires. I have not tried to convert this to a degree reading yet.

So far I have read about***********:

eccentric bushings
cator camber plates that weld on to the subframe
people getting it tweaked-bent back into position
complete replacement of trailing arms and subframe.

Here is link to a picture of a weld on toe and camber plates.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...oto=nextnewest

It seems they are just slotted mounts. Please don't laugh, has anyone tried to take a dremil and slot the existing mounts to give some adjustability? Could one use some serated washers on each side of the bolt to keep it from moving in the slot? What holds things in place with the above mount?

How does one check for existing trailing arm bushing play? Should I just grab the tire and try to press in and out?

Would eccentric bushings be enough to correct my toe problem? Can some be installed without completely removing the trailing arm?

Where would someone go to get it tweaked-bent back into position? Would I need to go to a body shop with a frame straightening rig-machine? Any backyard remmedies for tweaking it back into position?

Where is the best place to take some measurements to see if my subframe and trailing arms are damaged?

The car is used mildly agressively on the street. I need to get my tire wear issue addressed. I am not concerned about ultimate performance. I would like to get this problem fixed for a few hundred dollars and not having me try to remove the bulk of the rear suspension and drive. If the subframe and trailing arms are designed so soft that this is a common occurrence I may be forced to move on to something different.

Thanks,

Mike

Reply » Looking For Inexpensive Rear Toe Fix

The link you referenced is my pictures. Here's another picture:

Basically the bolt head has an integral offset flange. The offset washer on the other end is keyed to the bolt, so turns in unison. The ridges of the welded-on plates keep it from moving. When I tightened them, I removed the wrench from the bolt head at 30 Nm. and kept turning the nut. The bolt head didn't move at all up to the torque spec. I don't expect them to move around, and others have been happy with them too (Bob and Erik can chime in).

If you just slot the stock brackets, I'm pretty sure there's no way you'll get the trailing arms to stay put. The ridges on the Ireland weld-on plates are key to keeping things in place. For the toe adjustment, the ridges are vertical (slot is horizontal). For the camber adjustment, the ridges are horizontal (slot is vertical). Basically the ridges prevent the bolt from moving in the slot. It has to turn in order to move in the slot.

Grabbing the tire and wiggling may or may not give you a good indication of trailing arm play. It's hard to see what's going on with the wheels on, and the halfshafts somewhat constrain how much you can move the trailing arm.. Best bet is to pull the halfshafts, disconnect the struts and swaybar, then check. But I don't think play is your problem; 7/16" toe out is way out of factory spec, if you had that much play I suspect you'd be hearing some noises (trailing arm bushings toast). Ride height changed? Bent trailing arm? Did you use toe plates to take the measurement?

Replacing the trailing arm bushings basically requires dropping the subframe due to limited access to the bolts with the subframe installed. It's not rocket science by any means, but it's a decent amount of work. I got my subframe out in under 90 minutes this last time, but it wasn't the first time I'd lowered it and I have the Ireland subframe bushings that make it easier. Putting it back in takes longer.

If you wind up pulling the subframe out, I'd stack up the work... install Ireland subframe bushings replace the trailing arm bushings (with whatever you choose), and do whatever you need to do to fix the toe problem. The KMAC eccentric trailing arm bushings are an option for adjustment, but I personally decided to do the Ireland kit instead. I didn't trust the KMACs to retain their position, and others have had trouble getting them to stay put. Having shared the slot grinding with Randy, I understand why... the trailing arm brackets on the subframe are hard, I don't picture being able to squeeze them together tight enough to get the teeth of the KMACs to dig in.

Reply » Looking For Inexpensive Rear Toe Fix

yep, the slotted plates welded to the tabs with eccentric-flanged adjuster bolts is the optimal solution, it's not all that expensive, but not inexpensive either. I don't really consider there to be an inexpensive solution per se. There are things you can cheaply, but you'll have to keep doing them over and over again. You need adjustment, and the method used needs to hold itself in position. That only leaves the suggestion above,

Reply » Looking For Inexpensive Rear Toe Fix

Thanks for the replies. I posted this message also on Roadfly. Another guy has high negative toe readings (toe out). I am going to take the car into a body shop to be checked. They will be checking for worn-bent parts. If nothing is bad they can pull-tweak it back into spec if needed.

It is my personal opinion that I have a manufacturing tolerance defect. Why did BMW later come out with their eccentric bushing to correct tolerance problems? I wonder how many people's inside edge tire wear is due to toe and not camber. When people take there cars to a dealer to have a trailing arm and or subframe replaced to fix an alignment problem are they really bent or just fixing a tolerance problem? I would think that in order to bend a trailing arm or subframe you would know when you did it. These components should not bend that easily.

Mike

Reply » Looking For Inexpensive Rear Toe Fix

Quote:

BMW makes the suspension components "soft" for a reason; better to bend/damage a replaceable component than to bend/damage the bodyshell they're attached to.

My 01 was hit in the left door/rear quarter when it was five weeks old. The subframe, lh trailing arm and lh shock (plus qtr pnl and door) were replaced but the tub was fine.

Reply » Looking For Inexpensive Rear Toe Fix

Hi,

Another report of excessive inside tire wear, in my case mostly on the left side.
The alignment shop says the trailing arm is bent. Toe out is 1 degree. How do
determine if it's really the trailing arm (at $1500 parts and labor!)
or the trailing arm bushing? What questions should I ask the alignment
guy?

As we bought the car used, I don't know if it is is a factory defect,
perhaps the car was hit and not fully repaired, or perhaps
dropped in a pothole at high speed. Anyway of telling these apart
if the trailing arm is indeed bent? Perhaps I ask for the trailing
arm back ? Any ideas on what to look for to see if the car had been in an accident?

What's the dealer's responsibility here, if any?

Thanks from Idaho

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