Front nearside wheel not central to arch.

W

whiterocksurfs

Member
I have bought a T6 van and noticed that the nearside front wheel has a bigger gap at the front than at the rear inside the arch.
Front gap is around 10cm's and the rear gap is around 6.5cm's

On the Drivers side, Front gap is around 8.5cm's and rear gap around 8.5cm's.

I wanted to ask what peoples thoughts were? I would imagine a kerb impact at speed at some point, but wondered what components could have moved/ bent or could be possible to adjust back into place.

I have 16" standard Highline alloys fitted. The offending side alloy does show some signs of being hit but not cracked at all.

Many thanks
 
It doesnt affect your problem but are the standard wheels not 17” on a Highline?
 
whiterocksurfs said:
I have bought a T6 van and noticed that the nearside front wheel has a bigger gap at the front than at the rear inside the arch.
Front gap is around 10cm's and the rear gap is around 6.5cm's

On the Drivers side, Front gap is around 8.5cm's and rear gap around 8.5cm's.

I wanted to ask what peoples thoughts were? I would imagine a kerb impact at speed at some point, but wondered what components could have moved/ bent or could be possible to adjust back into place.

I have 16" standard Highline alloys fitted. The offending side alloy does show some signs of being hit but not cracked at all.

Many thanks
Click to expand...
Seems a bit of an odd one, but I would get the wheel alignment checked and while it’s being done ask them to inspect all of the front end suspension and steering components for damage.
 
whiterocksurfs said:
I have bought a T6 van and noticed that the nearside front wheel has a bigger gap at the front than at the rear inside the arch.
Front gap is around 10cm's and the rear gap is around 6.5cm's

On the Drivers side, Front gap is around 8.5cm's and rear gap around 8.5cm's.

I wanted to ask what peoples thoughts were? I would imagine a kerb impact at speed at some point, but wondered what components could have moved/ bent or could be possible to adjust back into place.

I have 16" standard Highline alloys fitted. The offending side alloy does show some signs of being hit but not cracked at all.

Many thanks
Click to expand...
Do you have a photo showing the whole van, side-on?
 
Wow, that definitely does not look right. Are you still under warranty? Can you get underneath it and do some comparisons of the shocks and suspension arms etc? How does itfeel when driving?
 
Do you know the history of the van? To me id suspect a poorly repaired light front end impact as opposed to a pothole, i'm guessing bent lower wishbone. are the nut caps also missing on that wheel or is it just the light/angle?
 
sparkzer said:
Do you know the history of the van? To me id suspect a poorly repaired light front end impact as opposed to a pothole, i'm guessing bent lower wishbone. are the nut caps also missing on that wheel or is it just the light/angle?
Click to expand...

Nut caps only missing as I have had the front wheel off. I think its a bent wishbone. As I measured across the curve of the drivers side and the problem side curve seemed to be about 5mm shorter. I would imagine if this was 5mm longer, would probably correct the 20mm difference overall. I am not a mechanic, so just posted this hoping someone might say, " I had this and Its definitely 100% whatever" I could then get the part and change it myself. I have all the gear and a garage but am a builder not a mechanic.
Any positive comments would be very appreciated.
 
Lukavell said:
Wow, that definitely does not look right. Are you still under warranty? Can you get underneath it and do some comparisons of the shocks and suspension arms etc? How does itfeel when driving?
Click to expand...
It all drives spot on. No pulling in any direction at all, no wheel shake or judder. I was told it had been driven over something like a high kerb at speed, and the knackered parts had been changed. All looked fine except the difference in the wheel position. I bought it as it was a great price, and I thought I am sure I could sort this out myself. First port of call for me was to see if anyone else on here had experienced this first hand and knew what it was. I an sure its is either a bent wishbone or maybe the whole shock absorber at the top fixing has been pushed back a few mm, but I would suspect if this had happened then the wishbone would have gone back equally at the bottom of the shock absorber.

I am just hoping that someone might say. "Its defo this or this" I can then get the bits and change them. I wanted to avoid giving it to a £50 per hour plus vat so called expert, and ending up with a £400 bill, when I could probably sort it for £100 - £150 in parts and learn a bit more about my T6 along the way.
 
If you've been told it's been over a kurb at speed and the wishbones been replaced I'd be surprised if it doesn't need a new subframe hence the cheap price.
 
If it drives OK with the wheel set that far back it is fairly clear that the repairer has made some severe adjustments to compensate.
IMO I’d go for a refund as it takes some considerable impact to cause that much damage. Who knows what else is strained / weakened.
Plenty more fish in the sea.
 
IMO it's worth paying a trusted independent garage or VW specialist to get it up in the air and give you a full detailed report on the extent of any damage, what needs doing to get it exactly right and a cost estimate or quote. Then you know where you stand. We can all speculate but without precise and accurate information I'm not sure how you can come to any informed decision.
If the seller told you that it had been damaged and repaired, and the price was reduced to reflect that, you may have trouble getting a refund, but if you get an inspection done you will know exactly where you are.
 
whiterocksurfs said:
The wishbone hasn't been replaced, Just the suspension strut.
Click to expand...
If it was me I’d look at getting mechanical inspection either by a specialist accident repair workshop or MOT test centre or motoring Organization , but as you said some parts have been changed and If they where the correct parts why does it look like It does....you would hope that any repairs done meet motor industry standards

sorry repeating what’s been said:)
 
A bit curious how it measures left vs. right - from front wheel centre to rear wheel. Measurement L101.
T6-akseliväli.png
 
whiterocksurfs said:
Nut caps only missing as I have had the front wheel off. I think its a bent wishbone. As I measured across the curve of the drivers side and the problem side curve seemed to be about 5mm shorter. I would imagine if this was 5mm longer, would probably correct the 20mm difference overall. I am not a mechanic, so just posted this hoping someone might say, " I had this and Its definitely 100% whatever" I could then get the part and change it myself. I have all the gear and a garage but am a builder not a mechanic.
Any positive comments would be very appreciated.
Click to expand...
Sound like your on the right lines then, in some respects having some parts repaired and not all of them is making your job more difficult (a bit like when you rock up on a job and another builder has started the job and downed tools and your taking over!)

Why i was questioning the history was if the object that came in to contact with the wheel was low enough to go under the bumper without causing any visable cosmetic damage id expect the wheel would have ridden over the object and not bent anything apart from maybe a rim.

As i see it, you have 3 choices..1)do noting, 2) swap out the suspect lower wishbone yourself as if other components had been replaced its the next likely cause (not a hard job generally, i've done plenty but not on a T6) or 3) pay someone else to look at it.
1)i wouldn't recommend, at best, its likely to eat tyres at worst, well the skys the limit when you don't have 4 wheels pointing the right way on your wagon when your heating down the motorway. You can choose if you are confident enough to do 2 or prefer 3 and paying someone else.
 
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