Bent Control Arm?

[GTI Cup]

I noticed that the left front wheel on my 84 GTI seemed to be much closer to the rear part of the fender well when compared to the right front. Upon measuring the distance from the center bore of the front wheel to the center bore of the rear wheel, sure enough, the left side was .75" shorter than the right side.

A visual check leads me to believe that the control arm is perfectly straight. The body itself has never been hit, so I doubt that it has to do with the actual mounting points for the control arm. The tierods are old and should probably be replaced, but even a "bad" tierod shouldn't cause the front wheel to "move back" by almost an inch, should it?

What could be the cause of this???

Please advise...non-technical person on board. :-(

[racer_tim]

Get yourself another set of control arms, and see if the problem goes away.

What kind of bushings do you have on the inside pivots?

Maybe they are worn.

Tim

[machschnell]

Hey Glenn, how's it going?

It's possible also that the balljoints are not mounted to the control arm correctly. If the control arms are slotted, one could be moved forward all the way, and the other all the way back. A visual check might confirm this.

If it's the same control arm you had on the car before your 'incident', I would definitely replace it. Control arms are cheap, but I know you've already spent the winter rebuilding the car...

PJ

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83 Rabbit GTI - future ITB

[Bill Miller]

Glenn,

I would definately get some new control arms. They're only $25/ea. But, as a quick check, if the ball joints have been replaced (and they're not riveted in), take the one from the opposite side, flip the ball joint upside down, and install it on the side w/ the suspect arm, and re-check the measurement. If it's back to normal, it's a bent arm. If it's still the same, it's something else.

PJ, any luck finding a job yet?

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MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI
SCCA 279608

[GTI Cup]

Good tips, all...will most likely replace the LF control arm. However, I'm putting the car on a rack to see if (please, no!) it's the unibody that's fubared.

Tim, I'm using poly bushings with the control arms. Visual check shows nothing unevenly worn, but I might be wrong.

Bill & PJ, I'll test the ball joint theory this weekend.

I'm about ready to give up on this mofo! Everytime I think the car's good to go, I see something new that needs to be addressed. Ah, what fun this is......

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Glenn
MARRS ITB #07 (http://www.geocities.com/gt1vr6/veedubs.html)

[racer_tim]

Gelnn, welcome to racing. Keep in mind, that for every 1 hour that your on the track, be perpared to spend between 3-4 in maintenance.

That's only on the race car. Don't forget the trailer and the two vehicle as well.

Tim