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wheel not centered in wheel well.. help!

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Old 06-02-2007, 10:19 PM
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wheel not centered in wheel well.. help!

Ok well i noticed this cleaning the car this morning. On the drivers side, i could fit my cleaning brush into and all around the inside of the wheel well, on the passenger side i cannot get it completely around the well... looking closer at it i noticed the wheel is not completely centered, in fact looking at the wheel in the well it is pushed alot more forward towards the front of the car on the passenger side and has only about 1 inch space in the front and on the side that is closer to the door its almost 3 inches away.. its kinda hard to explain so i have a pic below that shows what im talking about... this is really got me puzzled.. at first i thought a bent axle but i had them both replaced when the tranny was replaced by the dealer, drivers side lower control arm is shot and i am waiting on parts for both sides to be changed but i dont think they have anything to do with the wheel spacing as far as left to right goes... sorry for this long post im just staring at the car for hours wonder why this looks like that.. anything will help thanks everyone... If you look at the pic u see the spacing im talking about i dont have a pic yet of the actualy passenger side but that basically gives u an idea of what im talking about..

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...eelsapce-1.jpg
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Old 06-03-2007, 08:05 AM
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Alignment issue w/ the set back? But if it's as much as you say, there could be something that's possibly bent. Hopefully someone w/ more info can charm in here.
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Old 06-03-2007, 08:12 AM
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Get a better picture that is not angled. I would assume if the wheel isn't centered the car would drive like poo
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Old 06-03-2007, 08:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Kevlo911
I would assume if the wheel isn't centered the car would drive like poo
What does poo drive like?
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Old 06-03-2007, 09:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Stardust
What does poo drive like?

Squat and take a dump in the intake filter. Exhaust smells quite nice afterwards too
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Old 06-03-2007, 11:01 AM
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ill get some better pictures up soon, of both of the actual wheels
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Old 06-03-2007, 11:06 AM
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Originally Posted by Kevlo911
Squat and take a dump in the intake filter. Exhaust smells quite nice afterwards too
.
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Old 06-03-2007, 01:32 PM
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that drives like poo
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Old 06-03-2007, 02:01 PM
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your drivers side lower control arm has everything to do with everything. i remember when i had my civic i slid and hit a curb in a bad down pour and it pushed my control arm back like 2 inches. I mean you could feel a tightness in the steering but noting huge. I would say take it and have the LCA replaced then have it aligned to see if anything else is bent. Also see if the sway bar is bent as well because those tend to bend w/ anything impact. Overall everything on the drivers side should be checked out to see if it is not sitting aligned correctly. How long has it been like this?

Edit: if the control arm is bent, then the car would pull to the drivers side due to that side being bent. Best way to test it is by finding a empty straight road and getting up to a fair amount of speed and letting go of the steering wheel. Also it the alignment is severely out, then the steering wheel would be crooked when your driving straight. Hope that helps.
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Old 06-03-2007, 04:15 PM
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thats helps alot i have the car at the stealership this week cuz its still under warranty and they said the control arm needs to be replaced therefore they are changing both sides... i ddnt hit anything tho. Also ill have them check everything else out.. i hate goin to dealerships but 1. i have the warrant and 2. i think they know the most about the car as well as the common problems with the max... here are some better pics u can see what i mean... First one is the drivers side and the second is the one that is off center (passenger side)



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Old 06-03-2007, 04:35 PM
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If you hit something hard and bent your control arm, wouldn't your wheel be further back rather than forwards?
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Old 06-03-2007, 05:06 PM
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yes thats true dj, but in my case i did not hit anything... i actaully just noticed this for all i know the car could have been like this for months, also car is not really pulling much at all just slightly to the right, well see once the new LCA's are installed if they help, also ill mention this to them at nissan once they call me back in...
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Old 06-03-2007, 05:32 PM
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How many miles on the car? I'd want to say that maybe your tie rods or PERHAPS even ball joints are on their way out, but that's a relatively significant shift, and you'd have to have some very high mileage.
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Old 06-03-2007, 05:55 PM
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is the primary LCA bolt actually tightened down sufficiently? If it has worked its way loose, it would allow the entire assembly to come forward like that.

also, are you the original owner of the car?
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Old 06-03-2007, 09:18 PM
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the car has only 43000 miles and in the second owner, like i said abve it was at the dealership and they said the LCA needed to be replaced, that after my steering felt unusually loose.. i am worried the car might not be safe to drive until its fixed.
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