tire rub only only on front right wheel????

[surfingfreeman]

Hello All
I am experiencing a bothersome tire rub coming from my front right tire only when i make left turns. When last doing an oil change i noticed some tire burn on the wheel well. I don't have oversized tires on the rims so i am wondering if there is some play in the linkage somewheres? It's an 82' with only 45K miles which i just bought about 3-months ago and the mechanic mentioned that the shocks were original and i also noticed that some of the bushings looked cracked and in need of servicing. My question is why is only the right tire rubbing? Perhaps i should check for any side-to-side play at the wheel and follow it back? Any thoughts? Thanks.
Mike

[kmead]

You are assuming that you just have a mechanical problem. Remember this car was made in Italy in the days before computer controlled welding, full body side jigs and so on. In addition the car is how old and how many fender benders has the car been in. Thenthere is the whole what was done before lunch and what was done after lunch after a few glasses of grappa. There could also be some misalignment of the front crossmember relative to the rest of the body and not just a mechanical issue.

My vote would be a past fender bender that reshaped the opening on that side. Alternatively a set of really bad ball joints could be the cause. To check this initially you can put your toe onto the sidewall of the tire, grasp the top of the tire firmly and rock it forward and back. This can also uncover bad bearings to some degree as well. If there is problem, you will see/feel motion in the wheel.

[TulsaSpider]

Let us know your tire size as well.

[Danno]

i remember a teacher at a place that i worked at. he was 300lbs+ and you could always hear his tires rubbing when he cranked it hard to pull into his tight parking spot (an old MG). I asked him about whether or not he lowered the car, and he just chuckled and said that it was only the driver's side and that it "only happens when I drive it"

since yours is on the passenger side, i'll have to pass on making a reasonably intelligent guess on your problem.

[surfingfreeman]

300+ ! Gimme a break, I'm 6'2" and 200lBs

[engineerted]

Check to see how many turns of the steering wheel it takes to go from center to full lock left then right. It might be that the PO has the steering box not in the center when the alignment was done. You also might want to see if the center link is mounted correctly on the steering box and idler arm( the upper holes). Lastly it maybe only the plastic wheel well liner has dropped on the right side.

Ted

[surfingfreeman]

Hi Ted
Thanks for the reply. When i examined things closer, it looks like it might well be that the plastic liner has come loose, when i apply pressure to the area that is rubbing there is a fair amount of movement, i will check to see how it is secured to the body and fix accordingly. Thanks again.
Mike