Driver's Side Rear Tire Rubbing When Turning Left

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jas280z
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Driver's Side Rear Tire Rubbing When Turning Left

Post by jas280z »

Good Morning,

We got the Comet delivered about a week ago, and have been going through it to find out what needs to be addressed. One of the issues we are having is with the driver's side (left) rear tire rubbing on hard left turns.

If we take it easy, there does not seem to be any rubbing. If we hit the gas hard, or take a corner quickly, when turning left, the driver's side tire side wall rubs something in the inner fender or wheel well. When turning right, no matter how hard, nothing seems to rub.

The car is currently wearing 205 width Radial TAs, I am not certain on the diameter or sidewall size, but I can get that info in a bit. The wheels are Magnum 500s, unknown backspacing. As far as room goes, the tire appears to have plenty of room. There is about 1" of clearance between the sidewall and fender lip when sitting on the ground.


Yesterday, we got the car up on jack stands, with the rear suspension hanging completely free. I pushed and shoved, but I could not get the axle to budge left or right. The wheel also appeared to be very secure, no wobble or movement. Put, I am obviously not able to put nearly the lateral load on the axle that a turning car is, so I ruled out any gross play, but little else.


Obviously, something is moving during a hard left hand turn, and letting the tire hit what I am assuming is the fender lip. I am not incredibly familiar with solid axle suspension setups, but I have worked on them a bit. Any thoughts on where to look? I don't think this setup has a panhard bar to limit lateral movement, but the leaf springs should(?) limit later movement better than coil springs would.


Thanks.

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SASSY
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Re: Driver's Side Rear Tire Rubbing When Turning Left

Post by SASSY »

Sounds to me the rubbing is caused by body roll.
Check the wheels have the same backspace and that the housing is centered in the car.
Fred
I'd rather do it myself if it's done right or not,,,isn't that what hotrodding is all about

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jas280z
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Re: Driver's Side Rear Tire Rubbing When Turning Left

Post by jas280z »

Thanks Sassy. The tires have similar clearance on both sides, maybe a LITTLE closer on the driver's side, but I don't think more than 1/4" difference, I will measure it up later today.

It could be body roll, but under a left turn, the body should roll to the right, dipping the right side and lifting the left side. I would think this would work to increase clearance on the driver's side...

I did a bit more searching, it could be that the leaf springs and mounts/bushings are worn out, allowing more lateral axle movement than normal. If the driver's side is just a little bit closer to the fender lip than the passenger, it would explain why it is only happening on one side. It appears to just be making contact.


This video shows just how much an axle can move laterally with a leaf spring setup. Watch the rear tire move in and out of the wheel well. This is a lot more extreme than anything I would be seeing on the Comet, but the principal is the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lev7Ifr ... be&t=7m25s

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poboyjo65
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Re: Driver's Side Rear Tire Rubbing When Turning Left

Post by poboyjo65 »

After watching a video of a 65 comet wagon's shackles letting the axle shift back & forth I decided to use these sliders. you can see from the way they are made that it will stop the shifting, especially after watching the video .even though you cant see the whole shackle, you can tell that the top bushing is allowing the movement. A solid bushing for the top of the shackle might cure it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hiu1UVd ... e=youtu.be



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jas280z
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Re: Driver's Side Rear Tire Rubbing When Turning Left

Post by jas280z »

Poboyjo65, that is a great video!

Where did you get the sliders?

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poboyjo65
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Re: Driver's Side Rear Tire Rubbing When Turning Left

Post by poboyjo65 »

Speedway
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Johno

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poboyjo65
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Re: Driver's Side Rear Tire Rubbing When Turning Left

Post by poboyjo65 »

These are the ones I used;
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway- ... ,5817.html
then I made some SS bushings for the bushings :roll: because the slider bushings were just a tad undersized for what I needed,at just under an inch diameter. Some stainless steel sheet I had was the perfect thickness to fill the gap. the bushings were aluminum so I also made some SS washers for the outsides of the slider bushings so the aluminum would not wear out too quickly from side forces in turns.
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