I bought this car used, and discovered later that the front wheels are not centered (front to back) in the front wheel-wells. Looks like they are back about one inch too far. I checked the front suspension, and noticed the radius rods are curved slightly, and the front cross member that the radius rods are bolted into seems to have taken a hit. Is there enough adjustment room in the bushing end of the radius rods to pull the wheels forward ...or is that cross member (the one with the front motor mount bracket on it) adjustable, front to back? Is there a chance the previous owner may have moved the wheels back on purpose to lower the front end? (it is quite low as is, with stock suspension). Are new radius rods perfectly straight? Any help appreciated. Thanks

 

Radius rods are straight..and if they are bent then the control arm is most likely bent,,and if the crossmember is bent it will need replacement..My passenger side wheel is like yours..It almost touching the back of the front fender,,

Sounds like you need a crossmemer,radius rods,and lower control arms..

 

..so, if one wheel on your vehicle is set way back, how does that effect the handling? Is it putting stress on the bushings, axle and maybe the differential/transmission? On my car both wheels are set back about the same ..that's why I thought maybe the last owner did it on purpose to lower the front end. I had a "professional" wheel alignment done last spring, and they didn't notice / catch this ...or offer to correct it. I inspected the lower control arms this morning, and they appear to be as straight as the ones on my 88 hatchback. What are the radius rods made from ...hardened steel, or??? Can they be straightened?

 

Check the bushings in the front cross-member, once they get worn out, they start to let the wheel fall back, check to see that the bar is tightened properly, then start trouble shooting. Old bushings tend to make things unallign.

 

Yeah ...that's what's puzzling me, too. I replaced all the bushings in the both lower control arms last spring (before the wheel alignment was done) ..and they adjusted the radius rods in the process (I can see their fresh markings on the nut and washer). You'd think they would have spotted bad radius rod bushings ($$$) and offered to replace them ...??

Thanks for the tips guys .....keep 'em coming!!

 

what did your caster measurements say when you got an alignment? you sohuld measure your wheel base, from center of the front to rear wheel. both sides should be the same.

if all thats off, it changes many things in minor and major ways.

sounds like you still have accident damage. radius rods are easy to replace. just repalce em, dont try to straighten them out.

you can shim the bushings to adjust caster a bit, but if the radius rods are bent, replace em thats the best solution.

 

I didn't get the measurements from the shop that did the alignment job. And yes, the distance between the center-hub on the front wheels to the center hub on the back wheels is the same on both left and right side ...but the front wheels are still too far back (visually) ...compared to another Civic sedan (1989) that I measured, the front wheels are back about almost 2 inches. Unless the previous owner hit something REAL hard (like a concrete curb) and dead on, I can't see how a collision would cause this particular problem. The "caster" is definitely off ..I'm going to check the radius rod bushings this weekend. I'll post my findings.

 

did they mess with the upper control arms? they are assymetrical, maybe they swapped em???

either way, your radius rod should not be bent. replace that.

 

That's a very interesting suggestion on the upper control arms ....hmmmmm. I'm going to check that out.