I am away on holiday, and somehow the Mrs has managed to drive the rear right wheel into a large rock on the side of the road, coming out of a car park.

 

The steering wheel is no longer straight, it needs to be turned slightly to the right to keep the car going straight, so it seems as well as damage to the wheel, and rear sill on the bodywork, she has also bent the rear suspension arm.

 

Does anybody have a link to the rear suspension set up on a Combi? I want to see what she has probably bent.

Off home tomorrow. Fortunately I don’t have too far to limp home.

If you are lucky the impact will have moved the subframe on its mountings assuming it has the independant rear suspension set up.

Thanks for the info.

I will have a look when I get home.

 

Unfortunately, I have no idea how big of an impact was made.

Start with pulling a string line from front to rear tyres with the steering wheel central, see if you can see any difference side to side, the rear track will probably be wider than the front which complicates things but you will likely be able to see if the rear axle is crabbing compared to the front or if one wheel is misaligned.

 

More accurate measurements are needed to realign the rear subframe (or front following a gearbox out job) I made up a fixture to hold a laser level parallel to the wheel rim and used a cardboard target at wheel height on the B post, held in place by shutting the door on it, this works very very well and you can see significant movement when making very fine adjustments.

 

Others prefer to throw money at 4 wheel alignment but many of the operators have not the slightest clue of the basic principles, its just a money spinner for them especially when they offer "free checks" when fitting tyres or servicing.

On 12/07/2024 at 18:52, J.R. said:

If you are lucky the impact will have moved the subframe on its mountings assuming it has the independant rear suspension set up.

 

Pretty sure all superbs have IRS.

I had the wheels off for an inspection today, and I can confirm that it is indeed IRS.

There was nothing obviously wrong with the car, so I am going to have to create some space in the garage to get the car in there, as I need the flat floor to perform the geometry checks.

Just measured the front and rear toe settings, using my TrackAce.

The rear suspension has a total toe in of 30’ so is out of tolerance, but not by much.

The front was in tolerance, so I guess the next step is to get a 4 wheel alignment done.