Fiesta mk4 diesel - Wheel alignment

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Mon 3 Jan 2011 12:26
Fiesta mk4 diesel - Wheel alignment - pullgees

I am going to get four wheel alignment done as toe in adjustment has not solved the problem of drifting over to the left. I'm fairly sure everything is good at the front end as it's recently passed its MOT.

What I want to know is as a matter of interest and which puzzles me, is how do they adjust the rear wheels?

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Mon 3 Jan 2011 14:11
Fiesta mk4 diesel - Wheel alignment - Collos25

Trailing arms and suspension to chassis connections are all adjustable to varying degrees on all cars.All cars in the UK tend to drift slighty to the left due to road camber.

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Mon 3 Jan 2011 14:42
Fiesta mk4 diesel - Wheel alignment - jc2

IIRC this car has "twist beam" rear suspension which is non-adjustable tho' the bushes could be worn or parts of the beam bent-couldn't be adjusted-just replaced.

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Mon 3 Jan 2011 14:43
Fiesta mk4 diesel - Wheel alignment - pullgees

Thanks ,sounds like job for the boys with the ramp £35. It drifts to the left no matter what lane of what road. And if the front toe in is done with the steering wheel centered it drifts even more to the left which seems to me a symptom of crabbing.

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Mon 3 Jan 2011 14:55
Fiesta mk4 diesel - Wheel alignment - pullgees

That's odd my garage said they could adjust. With my limited knowledge is it possible to shim out the hub assembly to trailing arm?

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Mon 3 Jan 2011 15:18
Fiesta mk4 diesel - Wheel alignment - Collos25

Correct,

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Mon 3 Jan 2011 15:38
Fiesta mk4 diesel - Wheel alignment - jc2

Has your car suffered body damage at some time-chassis distortion could be your problem-shimming the rear stub axle is not correcting a fault-merely hiding it.

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Mon 3 Jan 2011 15:55
Fiesta mk4 diesel - Wheel alignment - Collos25

If its tracked up using a laser set up then it should show whether its out ofline,certainly could answer your drifting problem.A quick check you can make yourself is to measure the distance between the left front to rear wheels and then the right wheels its not conclusive but gives you a good idea..

Edited by Andy Bairsto on 03/01/2011 at 15:56

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Mon 3 Jan 2011 16:03
Fiesta mk4 diesel - Wheel alignment - jc2

And diagonally as well.Have your tyres been wearing unevenly?-particularly at the back.

Edited by jc2 on 03/01/2011 at 16:05

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Mon 3 Jan 2011 16:39
Fiesta mk4 diesel - Wheel alignment - bathtub tom

Have you tried swapping your front wheels with each other?

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Mon 3 Jan 2011 17:41
Fiesta mk4 diesel - Wheel alignment - pullgees

Hey you have all been very helpful. I'll take those measurements and see. I shouldn't swop the front wheels as the tyres are directional although I did try that and the drifting was less. The rear tyres are wearing evenly.

Using a string line stretched between the two nearside wheels and using the centre of the wheels as reference points so that the string is an equal distance from both hubs I measured a 5mm toe in on the rear wheel. Seems a lot to me.

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