any help is appreciated., front passenger wheel not centered in wheel well. Options

[celicaracer8o5]

i need help trying to diagnose a problem i noticed with a celica a recently bought. the front passenger wheel looks off center in the wheel well. when driving, there is a noise coming from that side too. being off center, when i make right turns the wheel rubs on the inside plastic cover. what can be the problem/problems?? thanks in advance guys.

[xrav22]

i need help trying to diagnose a problem i noticed with a celica a recently bought. the front passenger wheel looks off center in the wheel well. when driving, there is a noise coming from that side too. being off center, when i make right turns the wheel rubs on the inside plastic cover. what can be the problem/problems?? thanks in advance guys.

This is a tricky problem. I bought a z car years ago and it would pull and it took me 6 months to find it was damaged in an auto accident. It could not be fixed easily(the bottom of the wheel hit a curb and shifted the brace over) so I transfered all the interior to a functional engine and shell and had a nice little car. On the other hand My celica when I bought it for 1500 was pulling slightly to the right. I measured everything and it seemed ok. As a last resort I replaced the struts(front) and noticed the spring was twisted out of the seat making the strut taller on the right side. That being said the wheel was angled and after I fixed it my car drives perfectly straight. You really have to inspect
both sides.
Good luck

[celicaracer8o5]

thanks xrav, im going to have a look at it today after work. judt wanted to know where to start first. hopefully it isnt too much work to do myself.

[Special_Edy]

Off center which way? Up/down; front/back or in/out.

Your best bet may be to take it to an alignment shop and let them diagnose it. Just tell them you want a 4 wheel alignment(2 wheel is useless on ours) and that you suspect something in the front end is bent. Perhaps you can work out a deal where they could find the problem for you and then realign it once its fixed.

Good luck with it and let us know the details

[celicaracer8o5]

the wheel looks like its sitting back more. the back of the tire rubs when making right turns.

[ricochet1490]

bent lower control arm?

[trdproven]

damaged suspension or something else damaged pushing more to the rear.

[Spider77]

Caster? On a Celica? Didnt know that we had that option.....

[Akirad1]

check the lower control arm bushings

[azian_advanced]

bent lower control arm?

x2

[celicaracer8o5]

ill get pics of it up tomorrow.

This post has been edited by celicaracer8o5: Jul 19, 2012 - 2:16 AM

[celicaracer8o5]

Front Passenger's side

Front Driver's side

[ricochet1490]

I maintain....

[celicaracer8o5]

lower control arm?

[rave2n]

Looks just like my ST's wheel after the wreck. Bent lower control arm as others said, or the bushing around the bolts that hold such arm are blown I estimate.

[richee3]

Does that tire show any signs of uneven wear? I'm assuming so, but it's worth checking. Put the car on jack stands and see if you can find anything loose or immediately see anything that is bent.

Any strange knocking noises? Do all body panels line up and have uniform panel gap? If you're lucky, it's something as simple as a previous owner hitting a curb and bending the control arm. If you're unlucky.... That might be frame damage and the previous owner neglected to mention any accidents. For right now, I'm leaning towards bent control arm.

[Spider77]

......Put the car on jack stands and see if you can find anything loose or immediately see anything that is bent.

Well at that point you might as well remove the wheels and get under there and check everything out. I'm surprised that you havent done so yet.......or maybe you did.

[mkernz22]

Yeah that passenger wheel is a lot farther back than it should be

[jordisonjr]

I'd definately have to say Bent Lower control arm.
OR, if there is a clunking every time you engage the car in gear, or begin breaking (Meaning the wheel is moving forward and back, pivoting about the lower control arm) then check out the bushings. Thats what happened with my car before I replaced the bushings.

[purplegt4]

also check where the strut tower connects to the car / compare to the other side.

[Special_Edy]

I say run the driverside jnto a curb till it matches. The 2 inch shorter wheelbase will be easier in parking lots

[xrav22]

I say run the driverside jnto a curb till it matches. The 2 inch shorter wheelbase will be easier in parking lots

If someone did not put the strut in correctly it could cause that . If nothing looks bent like the control arm, check the strut tower there is a hole in the bottom half(strut base) then the spring must be in orrectly(seated in rubber bottom), then on the top part they have another little hole . The two holes(are there in case you forget to mark the strut before you take it apart) have to be lined up(up and down) that should put the top 3 bolts at the right angle so when you install it the wheel is perfect. You may have to jack up the car to see the top part of the strut. I just looked at your pic again and I can see your strut is angled back so if the strut is not bent it is not properly installed. I say that because if the control arm is bent it would then bend the strut.
Good Luck.>/

This post has been edited by xrav22: Jul 25, 2012 - 4:29 PM

[PaukST]

I had this problem when I bought my celica, my cause turned out to be a bent lower control arm. Mine was also passenger side.

[njccmd2002]

so what was it?

[celicaracer8o5]

Update: I finally had the time to really get in there and inspect things around. The culprit is a bent lower control arm. Now I'm shopping around for a lower control arm.

[BonzaiCelica]

Update: I finally had the time to really get in there and inspect things around. The culprit is a bent lower control arm. Now I'm shopping around for a lower control arm.

what city you in?? look at pick your part junkyards. they also list celica's online whenever they get a new one for inventory.

[jordisonjr]

If you find one, bring a biiiig ass pry bar :lol: and a hammer would probably be helpful too.

[Special_Edy]

Just lift both front wheels off the ground. There should be enough slack that you can pry the ball joint off the control arm(just loosen the bolts/nuts). If there is still tension on the strut rent the Macphearson Strut compressor tool from Autozone. Its a poor fit but it works.