Rear Tracking Problem

[Guest Two Gates]

Hi,

 

Just had the 40k service on a (3 year old) 1.9tdi Ghia including cam belt and tensioner ... ouch!! They also picked up uneven tyre wear on the rears and quoted

[Masked Marauder]

They are a semi-trailing arm design, so should not go out of track as a pair. So I am lost on this one....

[Guest Two Gates]

Thanks for the reply. The rears are the originals from new (fronts replaced at 30k) but I'm not sure whether this is a fairly recent development or the wear is over the life. I had a towbar fitted 6 months ago by the dealer but have only towed a folding camper (well under nose weight limit) less than 1k, would the extra weight on the ball have an effect?

[seatkid]

I had this on No.1 alhambra. Conclusion (out of warranty!) was the subframe or mountings were welded together incorrectly leading to incorrect geometry. Unfortunately the rear suspension has no service adjustment so don't let the garage mislead you. Keep hearing about this problem so I think a certain percentage keep being made wrong...

 

Sorry.....

[Guest Dunny]

Dont the trailing arms have bushes ?

[Dave-G]

:lol: Have you owned it since new? :D

 

:o They may have been swapped front to rear by a previous owner :o

 

http://www.citroenpicasso.org.uk/picasso/uploads/post-34-1111516034.jpg

 

:D And possibly been attended to by kwikfit :D

 

They DONE me last January at uppinham road leicester

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Two Gates - if the tyres are NOT unidirectional, may be worth having them switched round on the rims so that the outside edge becomed the inside etc. OK so it may cost a tenner at a tyre fitters, but it should prolong their life a bit.....

[Masked Marauder]

Dont the trailing arms have bushes ?

Yes they do, but bushes gone would normally result in wear on the inside edges, as they either allow the wheels to toe-out or cause positive camber which puts more weight on the inside edge.

[Guest Two Gates]

Thanks for all the replies. I have had it since new, Kwik Fit haven't been near it. The tyre wear is only on the (1st) inner tread of both rear tyres. The dealer has admitted that a 4 wheel alignment check would not help as the rear track was not adjustable, so it won't be going in to have the check done (at the moment). I guess it's just a case of keeping an eye on the wear over the next couple of months.

[Guest Dunny]

Try running the rear tyres at the max loaded pressures. You'll at least take some of the load off the shoulders.

[Ivor_E_Tower]

...yes, but looking at the photo, there must be a small tracking error. If no service adjustment is possible, you are left with an option that is almost certainly going to be more expensive that replacing the tyres more frequently that one would like. A minor assembly error in the rear axle, giving incorrect geometry, will cause this wear problem. Better to just accept it and replace the tyres more frequently because if you do order replacemetn parts, what is the guarantee that they will be dead right? How will you measure/check this prior to fitment? ... and if it is also marginally out of tolerance, you will be left with the excessive wear pattern all over again.