Bent Strut

[Chacheska]

O.K., the second problem I have with my '96 Metro 4cyl auto is supposedly a bent strut. When I bought this car 4 weeks ago I noticed the right rear wheel was tipped in noticably at the top. I found a receipt for new tires in the glove box. There was a comment on the receipt that said 'bent right rear strut. I jacked it up and it doesn't look bent to me. If it is, it isn't an obvious bend. The strut is wet so it must be leaking. I got to thinking that if the strut was actually bent wouldn't that bend other components that attach to the strut? If so, will a new strut solve the problem? I don't think so but I'd like to see what anyone with strut experience has to say. My '94 shop manual says there are no rear adjustments for toe-in problems. I assume '94 would be no different than my '96. Thanks in advance.

[unbe]

Chach
I think what your talking about is not toe-in but camber
Unbe

[Chacheska]

I'm certainly no expert. I was going by the '94 shop manual which had a diagram looking at the wheels from the back showing the wheel tilted inward at the top and calling it toe adjustment. I'll look at it again to see if I might have missed something. Thanks for calling it to my attention.

[mik13usa]

There may be a miscommunication here! The common name for a suspension piece on the metro's is Mac Pherson Strut, this is the gas and oil filled cartridge that does the same thing as a shock absorber. Then there is what I refer to as a strut rod. This is an adjustable bar or rod that controls the camber of the rear wheels on some cars. My experience is from corvettes, and the strut rod is a spherical mount that allows suspension travel and holds the camber to spec's. The strut rod or "toe Rods" as some people call them, are adjustable on the metro for optimal settings for your camber choice. This may clear the water some!

[carpenter_jai]

Toe-in is an adjustment to the tracking of the tire. Looking at the rear right tire from above, if the front of the tire rotates in towards the middle of the car, it will cause your stearing wheel to sit off centre, more to the clockwise direction. This is toe-in. This is easily adjusted, but have it done at an alignment shop.

Looking at the car on the horizontal plane, If the tire rotates away from 90 dergrees (straight up and down) that is the camber adjustment. This cannot be adjusted on your car, so the manual says. I have not tried, myself.

For your sake, I hope it is the strut bar (or MacPherson strut) and not the body of the car that is messed up. I took my car off-roading last year (was I drunk??? I wish I could say I was...) and I bent the body. These cars don't have frames, they have a uni-body construction. This is a fancy way of saying, don't mess up your car. Cost me over $600 to get it staightened out.

In trying to get it all figured out, (before the frame shop) I replaced the suspension arm and the suspension rod. The bolt holding the rod in place, which also does the toe-in adjustment, was so seized that heat didn't free it up, and I ended up cutting it off with an angle grinder.

If your pretty sure it's the strut, then replace it with a used one, cause one new, and three old struts will not for a smooth ride make. Take it to an alignment shop. They should give you a free estimate, and if anything is wrong with the suspension, they will not try to align it until those problems are fixed first.

Good Luck!

Jai

[Chacheska]

Two excellent posts. This car does have a little body damage on the right side near the rear. The rear door has a few white scuff marks on it like it sideswipped something as does the right rear fenderwell area. Hmmm! Yeah, I think it's time I drove it over to an alignment shop. I don't trust those guys so I'll probably take it to 3 places to get a consensus of opinion. Methinks this is going to be a bigger problem than I initially anticipated! The former owner drove it for 8,000 miles over a 12 month period with this problem. That's when they had the new tires installed and the notation was made at that time. If the fix is prohibitively expensive I suppose the only harm leaving it alone will do is wear out the tire prematurely along the leading edge. It's a little bouncy sometimes but not too bad. Thanks for two thoughtful replies and the clarification between camber and toe in. If I find out what the problem is I'll post it so those who replied will know. Thanks very much!

[carpenter_jai]

Also expect your hub to wear out prematurely. You'll hear it when it does.

[unbe]

Originally Posted by mik13usa

There may be a miscommunication here! The common name for a suspension piece on the metro's is Mac Pherson Strut, this is the gas and oil filled cartridge that does the same thing as a shock absorber. Then there is what I refer to as a strut rod. This is an adjustable bar or rod that controls the camber of the rear wheels on some cars. My experience is from corvettes, and the strut rod is a spherical mount that allows suspension travel and holds the camber to spec's. The strut rod or "toe Rods" as some people call them, are adjustable on the metro for optimal settings for your camber choice. This may clear the water some!

If I'm reading my Haynes manual correctly you can't adjust rear camber.

[Chacheska]

My '94 shop manual also says you can't adjust anything in the rear. Again, I assume nothing changed for '96.

[carpenter_jai]

quote: "If I'm reading my Haynes manual correctly you can't adjust rear camber."

I thought I said that "...the camber adjustment. This cannot be adjusted on your car, so the manual says."

quote: "My '94 shop manual also says you can't adjust anything in the rear. Again, I assume nothing changed for '96. "

I have a 95, which has the same suspension as 96, and I have adjusted the toe-in myself. Your manual, as ussual is full of shit.

Not trying to be a mister-smarty-pants, it's just that I've spent allot of time and money on this part of my car, and I know it all too well.

Jai