Rear Wheel Misaligned? (UPDATE: some rear axles out of spec; warranty replacement)

[MetroMPG]

old mechanic, thanks for the easy DIY illustrated guide.

[deleted user]

TechLine says... bring it back and have the spring mounts checked. If everything is ok, have the backing plates loosened up and re-torqued by hand. Then, back to Firestone for an alignment check... and if it's still off, back to the phone line.

Neither of those recommendations are going to do anything but lighten your wallet. Removing the backing plate and all brakes does nothing to change the position of the axle stub. You could check the gap around the brake drum and backing plate to see if the gap was inconsistent, indicating the stub axle was "tweaked" after assembly. I checked mine and saw no significant increase or decrease in the gap, indicating the issue is in the individual "trailing arm" section which connects to the central beam.

Beam axles have been around a long time. Our 99 Maxima, bought new had a similar axle. It's not rocket science.

regards
mech

[3dplane]

TechLine says... bring it back and have the spring mounts checked. If everything is ok, have the backing plates loosened up and re-torqued by hand. Then, back to Firestone for an alignment check... and if it's still off, back to the phone line.

Man I just lost all hope. If really TECHLINE said that, there could be either the janitor slipped in the office and answered the phone, or they were talking about a different vehicle other than the Mirage, or they have some serious catching up to do on their training that they DEMAND dealership techs to have!

The spring mount has very very little to do with the alignment on the Mirage rear axle. It could only affect alignment if it was so bent that the vehicle sitting on the ground would appear either jacked up or lowered to the ground.

The backing plate on the Mirage has the same effect on the alignment as the passenger side mirror does. NOTHING!

The backing plate is bolted to the axle AROUND the stub axle which is WELDED to the axle. (The stub axle is the machined part at each end of the rear axle that the wheel bearings slide on and determines the position/orientation of the rear wheels hence the rear alignment itself.)

The backing plate bolts only control the position of the backing plate with the brake shoes attached to it completely independent from the axle,stub axle,wheels.

BENDING the rear axle is the only way to correct for the incorrectly manufactured rear axles. However I doubt that it is a legal procedure to bend suspension parts.

The right way to solve this would be if Mitsubishi decided to manufacture rear axles with the correct geometry and said sorry about the trouble, bring your car to your dealer where they will replace your rear axle with the new updated correctly manufactured rear axle...it seems as I can dream on.

[El Kapitan]

just gotta keep on 'em...

[bcressy1987]

They are putting a new rear axle on the car, with modifications made since the car entered the market, and it's covered by warranty.

[MetroMPG]

That's great news for people who have this issue - thanks for the update!

[deleted user]

They are putting a new rear axle on the car, with modifications made since the car entered the market, and it's covered by warranty.

Best news I've heard since I bought this car, mine is no where near as bad as bcressy's. I have no other complaint and I'll see what they do when I get my first service in Sept.

regards
mech

[Daox]

Wow, that is great news. Thanks for the update.

[R01k]

That's very good news! Please let us know how's the alignment in the new axle.

[Cani Lupine]

I totally forgot to have the alignment checked on my new one when I went down to have the air bag light reset, but I'm glad to hear the issue has finally been addressed. I need to check my alignment after installing the H&R springs anyway, so I'll see how bad the rear end is. If it's out, I'll swap the OEM springs back on and check again, then take it down if necessary.