[brian_WK]

So longtime reader on the forums but first post on here. Done lots of searching on my problem. Anyways what i have is a 05 forester xt (also have the 2000 RS but that's not what my question is on). I took in the forester to have it aligned after putting on new tires and the tech was not able to get the rear toe into spec. He suspected that the lateral link bolt was bent or the hub was bent. (BTW this is a not a Subaru dealer) . Does this sound feasible to bend the bolt or hub but not the lateral link itself? Anyways the print out read that the toe is at +0.26 not sure if this is a toe in or toe out condition.

Any help would be appreciated as I have read that removing this bolt is a huge pain.

Thanks

 

[yarrgh]

Have you hit anything with that wheel to cause something to bend? I suppose it's feasible that this bolt could bend. It could also be the rear subframe that's bent. You can compare your lateral links to new ones to determine bendy-ness.

 

[JWalker]

I'd think the lateral links themselves would bend before the hub would in an impact.

 

[equinox92]

a lateral link and subframe would DEFINITELY bend before a a hub

make sure your lat links aren't twisted or bent, or that the subframe isn't pushed in or anything. small amounts make a difference, ask me how i know haha

 

[Supraru]

Toe out like this? lol

This was from the doner cars roll over. It actually wasn't till a couple months ago I realized the other side knuckle was bent but the lateral links weren't. So really anything can happen.

One other thing you can't be sure of is it's possible he's bs'ing. Not sure how well you know the mechanic. A lot of times those rear bolts freeze and you have to cut them out which isn't really worth the time. Maybe that happened and he came up with that bs to get out of having to do it. Always a possibility.

 

[Mykul]

When I hit a curb in my WRX I cracked the rear hub and bent the subframe. The lateral links were unaffected.

Crawl under there and really look close at everything. Pics would help, especially of the adjusting bolt.

 

[brian_WK]

Toe out like this? lol


This was from the doner cars roll over. It actually wasn't till a couple months ago I realized the other side knuckle was bent but the lateral links weren't. So really anything can happen.

One other thing you can't be sure of is it's possible he's bs'ing. Not sure how well you know the mechanic. A lot of times those rear bolts freeze and you have to cut them out which isn't really worth the time. Maybe that happened and he came up with that bs to get out of having to do it. Always a possibility.

No not that extreme LOL Id be able to spot that one. Ill get the alignment specs scanned and pics up tonight.
Thanks for all the replies guys just hoping I don't have have to cut out the bad ass bolt my garage is currently occupied with my RS

 

[ride_bmx38]

Toe out like this? lol

My car looks exactly like this right now after hitting a tree in the trails. I already changed my lateral arms and strut but its still way off
I know the bolt is bent too but I know that either my knuckle or subframe is bent and i cant figure it out

 

[brian_WK]

 

[brian_WK]

Alright got the scan of the alignment specs

 

[Mykul]

Alright got the scan of the alignment specs

Your alignment bolt for toe on that side is set at full toe out, and you're still getting a positive toe reading.
Positive toe is toe IN, negative toe is toe OUT.

Something connected to the front of the hub is being pushed towards the centerline of the car. Check the front lateral link for unity, and the front of the rear subframe (where that link mounts to the car). Check the hub for cracks (it should crack, not bend).

Beyond that, check the strut to see if its twisted towards the front of the car, and check the trailing link for unity.

Good luck!
Mykul

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930 using Tapatalk

 

[brian_WK]

So I crawled under there again I took some measurements. Strapped a piece of steal that was flat in parallel with the lateral link and i'm positive neither of them are bent. I can't imagine the knuckle bending 1/4" without cracking. The lateral link bolt is the last thing i would believe to bend. But the one thing that i did find that is strange is one of my measurements from the inside bolt on the front link. I measured from the threads of the bolt to the same place on the sub-frame with a digital caliper and found that the bolt on the messed up side is closer to the out side of the sub-frame then on the good side by about 1/4 inch not sure what would cause this to happen unless the bushing failed. But I would assume that the wheel would be able to be moved back and forth moving the bolt inside the bushing when on a hoist. Anyways going back in for an alignment on Saturday with a mechanic I know. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

^how i measured the bolt on the sub-frame minus the bolt cap^

 

[Mykul]

Sounds like you're on the right track. Look really close at the subframe for bends, mine took a little while to spot

Good luck at the alignment!