2005 C5 weird rear wheel position query - pics added

[dave_s13]

Hi.

Recently acquired at 92k mile 2005 C5 and just noticed that the offside rear wheel is sitting further forward in the arch than the nearside.

If you stick 2 fingers between the leading edge of the tyre on the offside your fingers touch both the the tyre and the arch. The same 2 fingers on the other side sees some clear space left over.

Ride height measured as being the same each side with a rough tape measure check. Basically the wheel on the offside seems to be positioned further forward than the other.


Offside rear wheel


Nearside rear wheel


Offside rear - look to have more toe in than the nearside


Nearside rear - looks to have less toe in than offside.

After a bit of reading up it appears the only thing this could be is a misaligned rear radius arm?? Given the car was owned new by my old man and it hasn't been in a bang then is it correct to assume it must be the bearing. Can someone give me an indication of what these cost to replace, and if you're doing one is it good sense to do the other side too i.e. do they have a finite lifespan?

[dave_s13]

And here's the car on stilts from the rear. There are no funny creaks or bangs when lifting/lowering the suspension.



I'm confused now I was expecting to see something a bit more /----\

????

[jgra1]

fore /aft clearance looks does odd Dave

I agree toe in, as the pics are reversed (at first glance I thought they were looking the same way if you get me - which could be impossible ) it doesn't look too dissimilar ..

[RichardW]

Can't imagine that's anything other than a beggared rear arm bearing..... Should be about £150 depending on how easy it comes apart....

[dave_s13]

Cheers, the dilemma is...do you even bother, do they tend to get worse or could it do another 50k miles without issue??

Here's another couple of pics

Offside (dodgy side)


Near side (good side)

[vborovic]

Is it possible that it's just the car body that's shifted towards the back? I mean, the panels and the plastic? Although without a big crash I'd guess it should be impossible ...

[waynedance]

If jacked up would you be able to rock the wheel from side to side if the bearings were gone.

[Hell Razor5543]

I hope that you bought the car from a regulated dealer. I would be inclined to have the car inspected by somebody like the AA. I can see two issues, the one you have highlighted, and one of the reversing sensors has dropped out of its mounting point.

[jgra1]

James I think Dave said he brought from his dad. one owner no crash damage?
John

[Hell Razor5543]

I missed that, so I apologise.

[dave_s13]

Yeah, I'm in no doubt that the car has NOT been in any kind of accident.

It also doesn't have parking sensors, that's just one of the blanking plugs that's fallen out.

[RichardW]

It screws up the handling and the ride, and wears the tyres out - and it will fail an MOT on excessive play eventually, so it needs doing....

[daviemck2006]

Mine was like that, failed the mot. Rear radius bearings are about £50 I don't know what the labour was as I had other jobs done at the same time, but I would guess about £100. It needs changing sooner rather than later as previously said tyre wear, and it happens fast, funny handling. I only did the one side, the other may go soon, it may last forever.

[Mandrake]

Have you actually measured the distance between front and rear wheels on both sides to see if the wheels are out of position, or whether its a problem with the bodywork / bumpers ?

I have to say I can't see how it could be the rear arm bearings because play would cause the wheel to tilt (negative camber) or move in or out sideways - I can't see how it could move forwards or backwards by so much and yet not affect the camber or tracking of the wheel.

Is it possible the rear suspension subframe mounts are broken or out of position so that the subframe is misaligned with the body ? That seems more likely to cause one wheel to be further back than the other without affecting the rest of the geometry or handling too much.

If it was just the arm on one side that badly out it would handle like a drunk pig!

[vborovic]

That's what I was thinking, measure the centers of both wheels, to check whether their distance is the same, just to eliminate the play of the eye ...