rear alignment issue?

Just noticed today in the 91 'vert that the drivers rear wheel seems skewed somehow. Well, not the actual wheel but something is amiss. I noticed while looking at the side view mirror (driver side) that the rear wheel appeared to have a visible wobble while rotating at low speed.

Lug nuts are tight, wheel is true (verified when a replacement tire was mounted after purchase) so it appears something is wrong with the hub or the rear suspension frame.

Further examination shows the outer edge of the tire sits out visibly further past the edge of the rear bumper wrap around than the passenger side; almost 1.5"+.

Any suggestions on what I should be looking at first? I am concerned the rear suspension frame assembly may be bent becase the strut seems ok (pushing on rear fender results in normal compression and rebound) and not sure if the hub could be bent or otherwise damaged that much without causing the car to dog track and handle terribly, which I haven't noticed at all. No visible abnormal wear on the tire either, which is odd considering the apparent misalignment. Interested in any thoughts from those here.

KDirk

possible wheel bearing, raise the rear, hold the tire at 12 and 6 and give a shake than in and out.

May want to take to a frame shop and have them take a look. I'd imagine they would give a free or low cost estimate of what is going on and have the equipment to measure both sides and find out what's wrong and how to fix it.

Will probably come to that unless I find something obvious and simple. Will be checking the hub today, but don't think that alone can account for the amount of misalignment that is visible. Not looking forward to the likely outcome of this (straightening or replacement of rear structural member). I just can't belive I haven't felt this in the way the car handles. It looks really bad, and yet is undetectable even at highway speeds. No odd noises either (with top down and no radio playing) that I can discern.

Will report back after inspecting with the wheel off.

KDirk

Have you considered that maybe the bumper was tapped and pushed in making the tire look like its sticking out? That's the only way I can see that big of a discrepancy not having an effect on the handling or tire wear.

You could try measuring the rear track of the wheels on your stable (assuming same wheels and tires on each) and see if it's the same car to car. It's a bit of a PITA, but free and quick.

Ok, an update. Jacked rear of car and removed wheel. Found two of the five studs sheared off this bearing/hub assy. Wheel wobble due to remaining 3 lugnuts starting to work loose.

Will be replacing the hub tonight or tomorrow (depending on how quickly the part gets in) but still have concerns about alignment of wheel relative to body.

Bumper is fine, I'd be able to tell easily if the body was out that much. So perhaps the rear knuckle is bent or something in the rear subframe or suspension is tweaked. However, I will reserve judgement on that until new hub is installed and I can see what it looks like.

KDirk

Wow! That was a disaster that was going to strike soon. Can't believe you didn't feel something in the seat of your pants if it was that apparent to your eye.

Glad you found it in time.

Yeah. It must have just happened yesterday. Checking it out today at low speed (under 10 mph) I could ever so slightly detect some oscillation in the rear end as the wheel would wobble in and out. Was not apparent by feel at higher speeds however.

This is a bit disconcerting, and makes me wonder what the odds of sudden catastrophic failure is. I've seen cars at the side of the road missing a wheel that obviously came off at speed based on visible damage.

This car has nearly 180,000 on it. That is the highest mileage vehicle I've owned and I know there are more age related failures to be expected from wear and tear. Then again, I can't believe these are original hubs at that mileage. Yet, maybe they are. The rear rotors still have the thin steel retainer clips on one stud as used in factory assembly. So they could even be original.

Anyway, will get the new hub on and see where I stand then. Maybe nothing is bent after all. Nothing underneath is visibly bent from impact (such as a curb) but will need to shoot some measurements to be sure.

KDirk