Ok, so I'm sitting out front of my house and notice that "Bob" has what appears to be a cupped left-rear tire. Upon further investigation, I notice that the tire has been rubbing against part of the strut. (Right side similar)


Looking underneath, I notice that it appears that the bushings need to be replaced. (Right side similar)

Attachment:

So, I guess, my questions are these: are the bushings causing the cupping of the tires?? If they aren't the cause, what would be doing it?? If so, where can I get some poly bushings to replace the stockers with?? Any other relatively cheap "upgrades" that can be done whilst I'm doing this??


TYVM!

I'd replace both bushings on both sides, both struts, and shocks if possible.

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2004 Grand Prix GT2: cone air intake, rebuilt HD transmission, rebuilt camshaft, rebuilt top, repainted black rims, rebuilt suspension, slotted/cross drilled rotors, Pioneer AVIC-D3 TV stereo, and more!

it is unlikly that the tire is rubbing on the strut there. there is nothing in the suspenion that moves from that point to the wheel. (that moves intipendently) it all moves together. the strut is bolted to the spindle, wheel bearing is bolted to spindle, wheel bolted to bearing. all of those are solid mounts. if the tire is truly rubbing there, i would be very very worried, and baffled that something hasent fallen off yet.

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2001 white gt coupe with enough crap to make it run mid 13's with 3 bad pistons
2002 40th GTP sedan mostly stock

^^Yeah, there is no way that the tire can rub on the spring perch like that since the spring perch moves up and down with the tire so for the tire to move 2+ inches up and hit the perch would be next to impossible/extremely dangerous. The trailing arm bushing (the thing you are concerned with) only controls the caster in the suspension so that "worn bushing look" and extra area where the washer isn't touching the bushing really isn't that big of a deal since there is no lateral load onto the trailing arm, the lateral arms (2 of them per side and right above the trailing arm on the spindle) control the camber and if anything is out of aligned or messed up, it would be those, not the trailing arm. If you wanted to do poly/HD trailing arms and lateral arms though BMR makes some nice stuff. There's other companies out there as well though.
In all honesty though the first step I'd take before spending tons of money on this is take the car in and get a 4 wheel alignment. Oh, and get 4 matching tires
Wear on the inside of a rear tire is, in 9 out of 10 times, related to camber issues, which can be caused by having something heavy in your trunk often or if your car is lowered.

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Dubs:00 VW GTI VR6, Low and Slow 91 VW GTI 8v, Shave the Bay!! 91 VW Cabriolet 8v, bitch Basket
GP's:04 GP GT, Past now G-Ma's Girlfriend's 97 GP GT, "Project Pink Power"

well it does look like something has been rubbing on the sping perch of the strut. so that like matt and steve said is worring

only thing that i can even think of that makes even some sense is that the bolts that attacht he strut to the spindal are loose and when you go oever a bump the top of the wheel moves in ward and makes contacked with the spring purch. this could also explane the cupping becuase of the changing camaber angle.

was there any work done to the car lately? like and alignment?

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92 LeBaron Convert: Turbo 3L 97 Grand Prix GT 4dr "Frankenstein": L67 4t65 swap
97 Grand Marquis: Summer DD 99 Grand Prix GTP: Top Swap Beater

^^Clever idea Tom. That is about the only thing that could even cause that sort of rubbing, it's a big longshot but stranger things have happened. So yeah, check those 2 bolts and make sure they are nice and tight.

Are you 100% positive that that is tire rub on the perch and not just something like tar or something that the tire flung onto it? Because if it is indeed tire rub somehow, you should stop driving the car immediately.

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Dubs:00 VW GTI VR6, Low and Slow 91 VW GTI 8v, Shave the Bay!! 91 VW Cabriolet 8v, bitch Basket
GP's:04 GP GT, Past now G-Ma's Girlfriend's 97 GP GT, "Project Pink Power"

Well, I'm not driving Bob right now. This was a bit to worrying for my blood. I'll pull the wheels and do some further investigation.

Nothing heavier than a 9 and 5 year old along with a full tank of gas has been in the car. Bob's not lowered any more than a stock GXP. I'm a bit baffled, hence, I thought it would be wise to ask others. Especially since this is a very recent incident.

I like the BMR stuff, are there any other suppliers/vendors out there for the arms?? Google doesn't seem to be much of a friend to me for this search. :/


Thanks to all for their help thus far!

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"Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt..." - Jimmy Buffet

2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP: K&N CAI, mismatched tires, and a bunch of other issues to be dealt with...

These are the only 2 link I can think of off hand.
http://www.bmrsuspension.com/?page=prod ... incatid=53
http://www.westshorefabricators.com/WBody/index.htm

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Dubs:00 VW GTI VR6, Low and Slow 91 VW GTI 8v, Shave the Bay!! 91 VW Cabriolet 8v, bitch Basket
GP's:04 GP GT, Past now G-Ma's Girlfriend's 97 GP GT, "Project Pink Power"

Got Bob back from the mechanic after his alignment and O2 sensor swap. All seems good with the alignment, now. I told them to put all 4 flat on the ground, but he said that he couldn't get the rears totally flat due to no camber bolts (which I didn't provide). It was confirmed that the rear tires were rubbing on the spring perch, though. (Yikes!)

So, a basic rundown of what was done to the suspension at the mechanic's shop:
new tie rods
new hubs at all four wheels
new rear spindles
new rear sway bar
new rear control arms

Lots of parts and expensive labor - but all covered by the extended warranty.

I need to replace the rear tires. I was looking at the General G-Max AS-03's in a 235/50/18 for the rears (seems about as wide as I can get on the stock 7" rim). Any thoughts on these??

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"Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt..." - Jimmy Buffet

2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP: K&N CAI, mismatched tires, and a bunch of other issues to be dealt with...

Oh boy. I have an odd feeling that this was about to turn into another one of those "rip off mechanic" stories. Either way, whoever pays the extended warranty just got bent over and unneeded replacement parts and labor.
First, have him explain to you how the tire was actually rubbing on the perch. As we have all said in this thread, the actual requirements for that to happen would cause you to not even make it out of your driveway due to have a suspension so messed up that it would allow that much vertical motion.
Second, why all need hubs? Was there any play in all 4 of them or is this just the mechanics suggestion
Third, tie rods, sure. Easy enough, but again, if there was no play (jack the car up and grab the wheel at 3 and 9 oclock and try to move the wheel. Doesn't move, tie rods are fine, if it does, they are shot)
Fourth, new rear spindles?!?! What the heck? Were your's broken somehow? I'm assuming not since if they were, again, you wouldn't be able to drive the car very far
Fifth, why new rear sway bar? If anything needed replaced it would be the endlinks and/or bushings, which naturally are a lot cheaper than the entire bar plus new links/bushings. Again, sounds like the shop tried to get you.
Sixth, Wbodies don't have rear control arms. They have spindles, lateral arms and trailing arms, no control arms.

Also, you can run very slight negative camber without an issue, they don't all have to be at 0* "flat." Postive camber though is not good since any sort of turn with a MacPerson strut design just adds even more positive camber to the loaded side of the car.
So luckily you didn't have to foot the bill, but I'd be leery about all this "work" and "parts" done to the car when almost all of it seemed overkill or completely unneeded. Not trying to be a pain in the ass, or rude or anything, it all just sounds way too fishy to me and if I were you I'd be under that car right now looking at everything that was supposedly changed and make sure that it all was.

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Dubs:00 VW GTI VR6, Low and Slow 91 VW GTI 8v, Shave the Bay!! 91 VW Cabriolet 8v, bitch Basket
GP's:04 GP GT, Past now G-Ma's Girlfriend's 97 GP GT, "Project Pink Power"

I understand what you're saying. I was skeptical, too. However, my wife followed me to the shop and she said that when the car went through a dip in the road, she saw sparks from the rear wheel wells (both sides) and there was a distinct rubber smell. When we got there to the shop, there was yellow paint on the inside tire tread.

Rears needed to be replaced. They were howling for a while now. The fronts were replaced at the warranty company's suggestion. That one shocked me.

Yes, there was play. I checked them myself, but I didn't consider it bad enough. *shrug*

See point #1.

It was bent. They showed me at the shop when it was up on the lift. Granted, I didn't stay and keep an eagle-eye on them, so they *could* have bent it just to have it replaced.

I believe that the shop was calling the same part a different name. The "exploded view" of the W-body rear in the GM Parts catalog calls them control arms. (http://parts.nalleygmc.com/products/Che ... 90164.html)

The shop that I used is a very reputable shop. They come very highly recommended by many in my community - enthusiasts and daily schmucks alike. I've used them for the last couple of years on various cars. They've never gouged me or tried to tell me that they needed to replace the "flux capacitor bushings" in my wife's Grand Caravan. Oh, and I did look under the car - I made them put it up on the lift prior to me signing the paperwork.

BTW, I don't consider it "rude", "a pain in the ass", or anything like that. I consider it good advice. Imagine someone reading this post 3-6 months from now who might not really know diddly-squat. You gave good, sound, sage advice. Period. Same goes to the other posters in this thread.

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"Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt..." - Jimmy Buffet

2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP: K&N CAI, mismatched tires, and a bunch of other issues to be dealt with...

That just seems like alot of shit going wrong at once... If the tire rub was the only thing indicating to you that something wasn't right, I would seriously question the mechanics diagnosis not only because that is a big list of repairs, but also because alot of those repairs deemed necessary, would give you other, more obvious indications of an issue, such as loud clunks, wheel bearing squeels or howls, groans, etc. while driving, and the performance of the car itself. Alot of these parts that are listed don't all of a sudden just crap out; you will notice the signs as they gradually become inherent with the failure of the components over time.
Even if it's a warranty covered bill, I would still be questionable and may have gotten a second or third opinion.
Next time, the bill might be yours to pick up, that's all I'm getting at.

Well it's over and done with now, regardless of what was necessary, unnecessary, and the smell of fish in the air , and I'm glad that it's all good to go now . As Caz said though, next time something like this happens and you're the one footing the bill, don't just go with "the mechanic said so." Get other opinions and research the stuff yourself and then proceed. There are way to many stories out there of mechanics ripping people off, hence why I learned how to do this stuff myself.

So now onto some matching tires?

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Dubs:00 VW GTI VR6, Low and Slow 91 VW GTI 8v, Shave the Bay!! 91 VW Cabriolet 8v, bitch Basket
GP's:04 GP GT, Past now G-Ma's Girlfriend's 97 GP GT, "Project Pink Power"

was that car jumped at one point to bend and mess up the spindal enough to aloow the tire to hit the strut

becuase that is impressive damage lol

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92 LeBaron Convert: Turbo 3L 97 Grand Prix GT 4dr "Frankenstein": L67 4t65 swap
97 Grand Marquis: Summer DD 99 Grand Prix GTP: Top Swap Beater

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Dubs:00 VW GTI VR6, Low and Slow 91 VW GTI 8v, Shave the Bay!! 91 VW Cabriolet 8v, bitch Basket
GP's:04 GP GT, Past now G-Ma's Girlfriend's 97 GP GT, "Project Pink Power"

Naw... Thought that I'd get a snow tire for the left front, a all-terrain for the right front, a racing slick for the left rear, and a highway tire for the right rear! This way I'm all set for where ever I might drive.

BTW, the car with wings is funny stuff!!

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"Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt..." - Jimmy Buffet

2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP: K&N CAI, mismatched tires, and a bunch of other issues to be dealt with...