Rear Alignment / Bent Suspension ? +.45 Toe On Rear Wheel

[paulr]

So over a month ago, This happened.

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php?s...p;#entry1315432

(car hit in parking lot, screwed up rear door, scratched rim)

Rear left (driver's side) was the side hit. About a week ago, I noticed I was showing cords on the Rear RIGHT side of the car, and that the rear left while better, wasn't far behind it. Took the car into Tire Kingdom because I have an alignment policy with them, etc. Had them put on two new tires.

They put it on their rack and said the rear left was way out of alignment and that was probably the cause for the increased wear on the back end of the car. They told me one of my suspension components was bent, that toe could not be adjusted on the rear, and I needed to take the car to a "Frame Specialist" or a good body shop.

Took the car to my parent's independent Volvo mechanic (I'm not in Orlando right now) and he said that while toe IS adjustable that something's "probably bent somewhere", but that it's not bad enough for me to worry about it.

My question is, who's right, and what can I do about it? Tire kingdom said it's serious and he says it's trivial. I understand the basics of alignment, but I don't know much about what the numbers mean in the real world. Replacing $200 tires every 5000 miles on a daily driver sucks. The insurance claim is still technically active and if I can prove this was a result of the accident they'll cover some or all of necessary repairs, but that's a big "if" (proving it).

Anyway, insight from people who understand this stuff better than me is highly appreciated. Here's the alignment report from tire kingdom (the one from the independent shop is basically the same, but didn't look as nice scanned)

[Ozark Lee]

The rear toe is adjustable. I'm not sure what its limitations are.

The rear toe is adjusted by loosening the bushings between the delta links.

...Lee

[mbsl98]

It sounds as if one of the two rear Delta Links is bent, or the bushings that hold them onto the car are trashed. If so, the car will always be going down the street in a "crabbing" position, with rear slightly offset from front. I would think that this was a serious condition, as your overal handling will definitely be affected - things such as emergency swerving, etc., as well as huge tire wear issues. The rear alignment is adjustable, but not with a very wide range. Sounds as if teh shop did make an ajustment (numbers changed) so I would think that they have it at teh max now, and still way off.

[paulr]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

What is the normal cost to repair / replace a rear delta link?

The toe is so bad you can actually see it. As for handling it's hard to tell because my car is so full of junk I risk taking out a window with flying debris long before the car starts to let go.

The mechanic I typically use is in Orlando and I won't be back up there for several more weeks, and repairing it up there would complicate insurance stuff. Is this something a "generic" mechanic could handle, because I don't think I'll have the best luck going back to the independent volvo guy and trying to convince him he's wrong and it actually is a serious issue. I also don't think insurance will even talk to me unless I can get a certified mechanic to convince them it is a serious issue.