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MG MGA - Help: lop-sided rear axle

Hi guys,

I have finally got round to fitting my wheels and I have now noticed that the rear axle appears to be out of line.

It appears to be about 10mm further over to the left than the right (left wheel is about 10mm outside the wheel arch, where as the left is about 5mm inside the wheel arch).

I appreciate that old cars are "special", but can anyone out there tell me:

1) what the geometric measurements are to ensure the rear axle is central (as the body might be mis-aligned).

2) how do I go about centralising the rear axle, assuming that it needs moving?

Many thanks in advance,

Grant :-)
G Hudson

Grant,
I'm sure someone here has technical drawings that might have the proper measurements, but I would start by dropping plumb bobs from either side of the frame and taking measurements from the string to the backs of the hubs. I'd imagine it's then just as simple as loosening your suspension U-bolts and tapping the axle over until it's centered on the frame. I hope it's not a case of your body being mis-aligned, because the wheel 10mm outside of the fender arch would make that one heck of a mis-alignment. Both of my wheels are well inside the fender wells.

Mark
Mark J Michalak

Mark,

and anyone else. I realise that I should have pointed out that I'm running (or will be) 195/65/15 tyres, so they are a tad wider than normal.

cheers,

Grant :-)
G Hudson

I am staggered that the wheels are outside the wheel arch, is it an MGA axle? are they normal wheels? With the standard set up the wheels are well inside the arches.

I suspect that the rear wings are a different width/girth and thus one side covers the wheel whilst the other side does not, a common thng on MGAs that have had odd wings fitted.

There is no way to centralize the axle although I have measured a number of axles that have been less than symetrical you could check the dimension from the spring mount to the brake back plate on either side to see if yours is symetrical

Robert (Bob) Midget Turbo

Grant, I suggest you measure the fit in relation to the chassis. The mudguards could be all over the place and not very accurate.
The important course of action is surely to centralise the axle on the chassis. I would measure from the inside of the wheel to the chassis centreline.

Barry
BM Gannon

Here's what it should look like with 195-60-15 tires and correct wheel offset (ignore the gold paint). Tires stand well within the fenders with lots of space left. What kind of wheels do you have on your car?

Barney Gaylord

Barney,

I suspect that the offset of my wire wheels isn't quite right, as your wheels appear to be more inboard than mine, and i think these wheels may originally have been off an Aston Martin DB3, but that aside, even without the wheel on, the rear axle seems to be mis-aligned.


Barry / Robert(Bob),

I will take some measurements and get back to you all, though it won't be for a couple of weeks, as I'm off to Africa to shoot animals with a very big camera and maybe a bit of video whist trying not to get eaten or stamped on.

Thanks for your input, all of you.

Cheers,

Grant
G Hudson

By my simple math, you will still need to change out your wheels for some with less offset. Your axle would seem to be 5mm off center. Realigning it would put the tires in line-to-line contact with the wings on BOTH sides. Am I missing something?
rpb bunch

This thread was discussed between 27/09/2009 and 29/09/2009

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