Inconsistent Wheel Gap

[Bluemustang]

Has anyone run into this? When I look at my driver side rear - it seems to have a bigger gap than the passenger side rear. Has this happened to anyone? Bushings have been clocked and camber is about the same on both sides. Car drives great just the wheel gaps look a little off. Wondering if this is normal and if anyone has run into this.

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[THE_AHJ]

A couple of things come to mind.

1. Did the spring sit properly into the lower spring insulator?
2. Did you measure the springs to insure both of them were the same height?

How much of a difference are we talking about here?

 

[jbailer]

Clocking the bushings shouldn't impact much. That whole thing was more about torquing things down with the weight on the suspension instead of it in droop. First the basics, are you sure your car is level when you're checking it? You'd be amazed what a difference it makes if the surface isn't very level. Best measurements are taken from the highest part of the fender opening to the center of the wheel hub so tire isn't a factor. As AHJ said, the spring sitting in the perch correctly is probably most common if it was torqued correctly with weight on the suspension.

 

[Bluemustang]

Well I measured best as I could using a tape measure. Now it was hard to eyeball because I needed to move the tape measure so it was a straight line downwards, and the fender sticks out several inches so I adjusted as best I could by guessing where the exact middle of the hub would be it if protruded that far.

I measured 15" from the center of the wheel cap to the highest fender arch on the rear left and right. 14.5" on the front left and right also. If there is a difference I couldn't tell and even then maybe less than 1/4" at most. I thought I recall the Ford Racing springs give about 0.5" larger drop in the front compared to the rear, so that seems right.

I don't know- maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me or more likely it wasn't on a level surface.

 

[jbailer]

Well I measured best as I could using a tape measure. Now it was hard to eyeball because I needed to move the tape measure so it was a straight line downwards, and the fender sticks out several inches so I adjusted as best I could by guessing where the exact middle of the hub would be it if protruded that far.

I measured 15" from the center of the wheel cap to the highest fender arch on the rear left and right. 14.5" on the front left and right also. If there is a difference I couldn't tell and even then maybe less than 1/4" at most. I thought I recall the Ford Racing springs give about 0.5" larger drop in the front compared to the rear, so that seems right.

I don't know- maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me or more likely it wasn't on a level surface.

I'm just glad it isn't a problem you have to chase down, no fun. It was most likely the car not level. It's amazing what a little difference in the road can do. My driveway looks pretty flat and level yet when I take pictures of my car in the driveway, I can see the wheel gap difference. When I pull it into the garage which just has a very slight slope for water drain, it's much better.

 

[jamieb]

My front right tire looks like it pokes out more than my left. When I put coilovers on this weekend, the coilover on the left dug a groove into the left tire, while the one on the right was fine. I can only conclude that the tires are not exactly centered on the wheel.

 

[Norm Peterson]

My front right tire looks like it pokes out more than my left. When I put coilovers on this weekend, the coilover on the left dug a groove into the left tire, while the one on the right was fine. I can only conclude that the tires are not exactly centered on the wheel.

It's not at all likely that a tire can be un-centered on the wheel. I suppose it's possible that the left side tire was somehow wider to begin with, but given the difference in 'poke' I far more suspect the problem to be that the left side strut to knuckle joint has more negative camber built in to it than the right side does. Are you running aftermarket "crash bolts for camber correction?

You probably need to have Ford's 2016 camber adjustment procedure done to correct the tire to suspension interference and make the tire to strut clearances as equal as possible side to side. And then use camber plates to get the camber settings equal, side to side.


Norm

 

[jamieb]

I far more suspect the problem to be that the left side strut to knuckle joint has more negative camber built in to it than the right side does ...
You probably need to have Ford's 2016 camber adjustment procedure done

Norm

Hey Norm, thanks for the reply. I hadn't considered that at all. What is the camber adjustment procedure? Is this something I can do - and if so where do I read about it? Or is it something I need to ask the dealer about?

Is the problem that there is play in the knuckle to strut holes and I've just tightened them in different positions? Or is the problem the structure of the knuckle itself?

I probably shouldn't have picked coil-overs, sway bars, and bump-steer kits for my first ever time wrenching on a car, or a $30k mustang to do it on, but its been really freakin fun so far!

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Yes, there is a little bolt-to-hole clearance in virtually all bolted joints. Has to be, else you'd have to use a press (or crudely, a big hammer) to get the bolt to go through the holes at all. All struts - new or replacement - are also subject to tolerance, meaning that the holes might not be in precisely the same locations (one of the reasons for at least doing an alignment check any time you replace any suspension component).

If you didn't have the problem before (while running the same wheels and tires), the knuckle isn't your problem.

Ford's camber fix involves grinding the holes in the strut in order to allow either pulling the knuckle into a less negative camber situation or pushing it further negative. I don't have the specific procedure, though I do know that Ford limited this method to 2 mm. I know that there are people on this site who used this method of gaining extra (negative) camber for SCCA F-Street autocrossing and that there is more information on this in the 'Road Course, Track, Autocross, HPDE' section.

I probably should have asked this before, but are the lower spring seats on your front coilovers sitting at about the same heights? Did you do any ride height adjusting with the sta-bars disconnected?


Norm

 

[jamieb]

If you didn't have the problem before (while running the same wheels and tires), the knuckle isn't your problem.

Before I did the coilovers, I noticed one side poked more than the others.

I probably should have asked this before, but are the lower spring seats on your front coilovers sitting at about the same heights? Did you do any ride height adjusting with the sta-bars disconnected?

I just counted threads before installing the coilovers, I didn't measure with a tape or anything. Haven't done any alignment or post-install setup beyond taking it for a drive around the block and checking (and finding) rubbing.

I'm wondering if driving a wedge between the strut and the knuckle while the bolt is loose would be worth a try. Seems like my tolerance for hitting things with hammers has gone way up.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Be very careful about wedging the knuckle against the strut. If the strut body gets deformed (out of round) it may not seal internally any longer (you'll lose some - or a lot of - damping capability).


Norm

 

[jamieb]

Yes, there is a little bolt-to-hole clearance in virtually all bolted joints. Has to be, else you'd have to use a press (or crudely, a big hammer) to get the bolt to go through the holes at all. All struts - new or replacement -

Yeah there was! Loosened up the bolts and took a video: knuckle/strut play. Now the clearance is great! Thanks Norm. Never would have thought of that.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Good to hear it was that easy of a fix :cheers:


Norm

 

[Albertcado]

Well I measured best as I could using a tape measure. Now it was hard to eyeball because I needed to move the tape measure so it was a straight line downwards, and the fender sticks out several inches so I adjusted as best I could by guessing where the exact middle of the hub would be it if protruded that far.

I measured 15" from the center of the wheel cap to the highest fender arch on the rear left and right. 14.5" on the front left and right also. If there is a difference I couldn't tell and even then maybe less than 1/4" at most. I thought I recall the Ford Racing springs give about 0.5" larger drop in the front compared to the rear, so that seems right.

I don't know- maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me or more likely it wasn't on a level surface.

Did you ever figure this out? My passenger rear is about 1/4 - 1/2 in higher in gap than other side.. and the suspension is stock. I'm guessing it's just tolerances and how it came from factory? It is noticeable though which bugs the crap out of me, and will probably be even more noticeable if I decide to lower the car...

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