Front Wheels Too Far Forward

DML19 · Jul 21, 2013

I just bought 4 new Thrust 225x60x15 wheels for my 65 Fastback. Everybody online and people I have spoken to, even the dealership told me that they will fit without problems.
The rear wheels fits fine but the front wheels are too close to the fender. When I turn the wheels they are going to touch the fender. Take a look at the attached photos.

Anybody have an idea of what is going on here? Why are my wheels mounted so much more forward than others? Can it be adjusted without taking the whole front end apart?

dennis112 · Jul 21, 2013

Does the car have adjustable strut rods? With them the wheel is moved forward to induce more caster.

horse sence · Jul 21, 2013

about the only thing you can do is trim the wheel lip, i have had to do just that

valley82 · Jul 21, 2013

I would try the adjustable strut rods to get the lower arms back a little then realign, you should be able to center the wheels better in the wheel well. I am no STANG expert but it worked on mine and I was still able to align it to the Shelby drop specs.

These are 17" with 235/45

Jake2012 · Jul 22, 2013

Guys, I had exactly the same problem but only on the pax side???? Go figure???

I ended up changing to narrower tyres & doing the lip on the guard! Pain in the rear of a job :-(

2+2GT · Jul 22, 2013

You need to have a very good professional look at your wheel alignment, and especially at the physical condition of the front of the car, i.e., are the shock towers distorted or sagging. I'm thinking you'll find you need to have the towers pulled, and should then have an export brace and Monte Carlo bar installed to keep it straight. Actually, you should do those anyway, but I think you'll have to have the front end pulled to do it.

horse sence · Jul 22, 2013

you may be able to pull out on the bottom where it hits just enough to make it clear .the molding on the fender may make it harder because its just that much closer to the tire

j69302 · Jul 22, 2013

You can use the strut rods to adjust it somewhat, but first thing you want to do is compare the wheelbase on each side to the factory spec. Alignment shops will over adjust the strut rods, which can change the wheelbase, because they don't want to do the work and shim the control arm.

Get a plumb bob or straight edge and on a level surface, mark the center line of each wheel on the ground. Then measure and compare it against the spec. Should be 108 inches if I remember correctly. Adjust the strut rods so that you bring your wheelbase back into spec. The rest of the alignment can be finished by having the upper control arms shimmed, then fine tuned with the strut rods.

You don't need adjustable rods, If I remember correctly, the stock rods are adjustable to some limit as this was the original Ford design for adjusting caster. when you do this you will need to loosen the 2 bolts that connect the strut rod to the lower control arm as well or your adjustment will bind.

I just squared up all of my suspension and when I take it to get it aligned I am going to make sure the only thing they touch is the upper control arm.

horse sence · Jul 22, 2013

65-66 factory rods are not adjustable ,only 67 up

dennis112 · Jul 22, 2013

horse sence said:
65-66 factory rods are not adjustable ,only 67 up

Correct, but they are available through the aftermarket which is why I mentioned them in my post.

horse sence · Jul 22, 2013

DML19 · Jul 23, 2013

Thanks a lot for all the information, very helpful. Tomorrow Im going to measure the wheelbase and adjust the upper control arm and the strud rods accordingly, hopefully that will help.

Cdubu52 · Aug 25, 2013

DML, Im having the same issue. What did you end up doing to correct your problem?

Cdubu52 · Aug 25, 2013

Also, would doing the Shelby drop help the problem?

DML19 · Aug 25, 2013

Cdubu52 said:
DML, Im having the same issue. What did you end up doing to correct your problem?

I put some shims under the upper control arm to get the wheel more backwards and also installed adjustable strut rods to get it even more backwards. Now the wheel is perfectly in the middle where it is supposed to be.

Cdubu52 · Aug 26, 2013

DML19 said:
I put some shims under the upper control arm to get the wheel more backwards and also installed adjustable strut rods to get it even more backwards. Now the wheel is perfectly in the middle where it is supposed to be.

Where did you get your adjustable strut rods?

DML19 · Aug 26, 2013

I got them from Mustangs Unlimited here:
http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=ASR4+01

Rusty67 · Aug 27, 2013

If you are running into really weird issues with where your wheels are ending up and no amount of aligning is helping you may need to take your car to a frame shop and have it double checked.

DML19 · Aug 28, 2013

Wheels aligns perfectly and runs like a dream now...

valley82 · Sep 5, 2013

Nice! happy motoring.

Front Wheels Too Far Forward

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