Inner Wheel Arch Fouling

[NevSpit]

Spitfire MKIV

Hello all,

After a rare trip to Sainsburys at the weekend I drove the car back to the garage, the entrance to which is a sharp left hand turn. Upon driving in there was a grinding noise which appears to be the o/s front wheel coming into contact with the lip of the inner wheel arch and bending it back.

I had a quick look under the bonnet and nothing was obviously amiss and the springs looked normal. What I did notice on closing the bonnet was that there was less of a gap between the top of the tyre and bottom of the wheel arch on the o/s compared to the n/s - not sure if that is a new feature or has always been there. 
 

Any thoughts and clues where I should be looking would, as always, be gratefully received. Standard wheels and tyres are fitted.  

[NonMember]

I have (had?) exactly the same tyre contact issue on my Spitfire, although I'd put it down to an over-sized repair patch on that part of the inner arch. I also have the same difference in "gap" - because the car leans to the right, which is not at all uncommon. The anti-roll bar quite often acquires a twist from many a year of being driven with only the driver in.

It might be worth checking the suspension geometry to be sure the O/S/F wheel isn't further forward than the N/S/F - it can be hard to tell. In fact, I suspect my GT6 may be "wonky" in that way because the near-side one rubs on the bulkhead...

[chrishawley]

Quite a lot of possibilities here. Oversize wheel/tyres can easily foul the arches but since you mention you have a standard set up (4.5J wheel with a 145/80 or 155/80 tyre) this can be discounted.

Roughly speaking the correct ride height at the front should be such that one's stretched out fingers can slide in horizontally between the apex of tyre and the lip of the wheel arch. Much less than this, or if the wheel is sitting 'inside' the arch, all is not ok. If they have never been replaced on the car then fatigued springs is a possibility (more noticable on drivers side which carries more weight most of the time).

Deteriorated anti-roll bar bushes or links can produce fouling problems like this because the roll isn't controlled.

Other things to check might be;

• All four inner wishbone bushes (inspect and lever strongly with pry bar to check for free play)

• Check ball joint for free play.

• Worth checking for problems in the trunnion. Would need to remove the bolt and inspect the bushes. Also the the trunnion bolt holes in the lower wishbone can develop extreme wear and allow the vertical link to flop around.

I couldn't say that any one of those things in necessarily the cause, but given what you describe a pretty comprehensive examination of the suspension units is called for. Hope that's a bit of help.

[Colin Lindsay]

On 18/01/2021 at 21:22, NevSpit said:

Any thoughts and clues where I should be looking would, as always, be gratefully received. Standard wheels and tyres are fitted.  

 

Look at the tyres, hopefully they'll tell you what's making contact. Any rubbing or grating will appear as fresh black rubber (and I'm assuming it's the tyre that's rubbing, not the steel of the wheel.)

I had this on the first GT6 I owned, the tyres were quite wide and there was an enormous lip on the front wheelarches which ate into them on tight turns or large bumps. It cost me two new tyres by the time I found out, but I'd never have noticed except for the black marks on the tyres.

[Pete Lewis]

how about  bend the inner arch to clear  ???

Pete

[Peter Truman]

Not a cause in a case where it hasn’t happened before but can wheel offset be an issue daughters Spit rubs on bulkhead using 165 by 75 tyres and I’m pretty sure it’s the Superlite aluminium wheel offset!

[NevSpit]

Thanks for all the comments, much appreciated. 
I will hopefully have some time to take a closer look tomorrow and will start with springs and anti roll bar. It has done less that a 100 miles since the MOT so would have thought any play would have been picked up then. I recall having a quick gauge of gaps at the time and I could get two fingers cleanly under the ns but not under the os. I have never replaced them in 10 years of ownership - could be time to!

[DanMi]

yep I think Pete is right it looks like the inner arch just needs to be pushed in towards the centre of the car a bit, plus that is an easy cheap fix

[JohnD]

Nev, 

Rather obviously, something has bent the inner edge of the wheel arch.

A short session with a block of wood and a hammer will put it back in line.

Don't forget to paint it again after!

John

[Pete Lewis]

as for a lean  i dont have IV  front   spring data on hand but 3 was fitted lengths 

green  7.8" 

light blue  7,42"

so a tape measure of the spring on the road  side to side gives you some clues 

pete

[NevSpit]

Finally found the time to take another look. Driver side sits about 17mm lower than the n/s going from the top of the tyre to the wheel arch. I straightened the metal in the arch (to where it normally is) and the same thing happened again. Nothing else has changed so I am going to order a couple of springs and shocks and replace them (near side looks a bit bowed anyway). Trouble is, whilst the springs are off how much of a refurb do I give it and where do I stop!  
Will report back in due course.

Thanks all. 

[Clive]

21 minutes ago, NevSpit said:

Finally found the time to take another look. Driver side sits about 17mm lower than the n/s going from the top of the tyre to the wheel arch. I straightened the metal in the arch (to where it normally is) and the same thing happened again. Nothing else has changed so I am going to order a couple of springs and shocks and replace them (near side looks a bit bowed anyway). Trouble is, whilst the springs are off how much of a refurb do I give it and where do I stop!  
Will report back in due course.

Thanks all. 

More important is getting the correct springs and shocks. I believe the std black shocks have or had, the spring pan mounted too high. Possible this has been corrected, but worth checking. Better is to get a better quality shock. The other option is to swap the units side-to side, If te problem persists the shocks/springs are not the issue. 

Other stuff while you are "in the area" include a trunnion thread inspection and re-oil, check upper balljoints, all 8 rubber bushes, ARB links (are there any good new ones made??) and arb bushes (use poly, cheap enough) Fresh brake fluid is a good idea, check hoses and wheel bearings. 

[Dallas Herald]

Just a thought, it’s not a loose bolt/bush on the bonnet?