suspension/wheel alignment problems

[TJC46]

As per the title. Had the car out today and everything seemed fine.
Although it felt a little different when really pushing on. The front seemed to feel a little skitish.

Now i may be lucky but my car has always felt really planted, and very stable at speed. 6 laps around Spa is testimony to this.
Tyre pressures are as i have always had them 22 front and 24 rear.
Only thing i did over the winter was to rebush the shocks. They are original bilsteins and were perfect last summer except for worn bushes.
I thought the car looked lower, but dismissed this as just me thinking it looked lower.

Anyway back to the problem,as i turned right on full lock into my drive today, there was a horrible scraping noise.
I had similar a few years back when the nut on the bottom ball joint started to work loose and the inside edge of the wheel was scraping on the bottom wishbone.
With this in mind i jacked the car up and the drivers side front tyre is actually touching the wheelarch.
With the front of the car on axle stands i cannot turn the steering from lock to lock without the drivers side tyre catching the wheelarch/sill area directly behind.
At 9 o clock is a good description of area where it touches. On the passenger side there is a 10/15mm gap.
I did manage to get the tyre past this point to attain full lock and the wheel then scrapes on the bottom wishbone.
Also noticed that the inner wheel arch is showing signs of the tyre rubbing in a few places, so it must be sitting lower at the front.
All the ball joints are tight and have no play. The bushes are poly ones and are good, top ball joint is secure where it bolts to the top wishbone,track rod ends are good,so im at a loss as to what has caused this.
All of the front, ball joints, track rod ends bushes etc were renewed 3/4 years back and straight after the car had a full geo set up at Track v Road.
The car is mainly used during the summer months so limited mileage in the past 3/4 years.
Would appreciate any help or suggestions

[phazed]

The tyres always touch the inner part of the wrap around cill when on full droop.

I would get the car set up again, ride height etc.

Apart for the loose nuts, (why?) nothing to worry about it seems.

[GTRene]

maybe one side can turn in more then the other side...
I mean, when the steering axle/pin is not in the middle/centre of the steering-rack, all could be fine only when you steer max right or left (depends which side has then the longer 'arm' ) you touch the inside or in your case the outrigger.

I had that once on a car were they put another steering rack on but it was put on just a little out of centre, and when I went to the MOT? they noticed the rubbing on full lock on one side and that is not aloud! so I let a garage check again what they did and it was out of centre, so the steering rack had to be aligned better, (there are marks on) and after replacing it all was fine again

[TJC46]

phazed said:

The tyres always touch the inner part of the wrap around cill when on full droop.

Mine never did.

Always about a 10/15mm gap. Just wonder how the drivers side now touches and the passenger side still has a 10/15mm gap.

[Steve_D]

Are you sure you have not lost a coil from the spring?

Steve

[Hedgehopper]

Mine's the same, rubs at the bottom of the arch on the O/S but not the N/S (when wheels are off the ground).

Cured the wishbone rubbing by winding the track-rods an equal amount in the appropriate direction until the wheel/wishbone gap was equal..now have equal lock side to side.

[QBee]

If it were mine I would go to a TVR expert with decent 4 wheel alignment kit and exper knowledge. Get the car up on the ramp first for a good look, then do a full alignment. Changing the bushes is IMHO enough to misalign it.

I know an expert in the east of England, but you are in Cheshire.....

[TJC46]

QBee said:

If it were mine I would go to a TVR expert with decent 4 wheel alignment kit and exper knowledge. Get the car up on the ramp first for a good look, then do a full alignment. Changing the bushes is IMHO enough to misalign it.

I know an expert in the east of England, but you are in Cheshire.....

Ill have to book it in with TrackvRoad.

Been in the garage today, everything is tight there is no play anywhere.

Tryin to logicallly work this out...........The wishbone bushes are ok, even if they was knackered there would be movement/play in the vertical plane, but no movement horizontally.

Play in the top/bottom ball joints would give movement horizontally, but i have checked them and they are both ok.

As i said in my first post, it seems as though the drivers side wheel as moved back towards the sill/wheelarch by about 5/10mm.

There is no damage to the wishbones, and they were all new 3/4 years back.


Although the ball joints seem ok with no play, im wondering if the bottom ball joint is showing the first signs of "pulling through".
By this i meen becoming detached from the bottom wishbone.

Im sure i have read a post about "cheap" bottom ball joints failing completly this way.Maybe mines close to letting go and this could possibly explain the 5/10mm movement.

Im grasping at straws here a bit, but this has got me completly baffled, and i need to sort this soon,as im gettin rather pied off with problems just lately.