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VR Bent Z-bar, wheel pushed toward the rear of the car.

LostPup

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got a bit of a problem, when i bought my VR and drove it home it drove fine. but when you turn left and there is moment (rough ground) in the suspension it rubs rather badly. having a look recently and you can see that the left front wheel is pushed back and inch or two compared to the right front. weird thing is it drove fine straight as an arrow down the highway. i've got a new LCA and Zbar coming i bought second hand but i'm a little nervous tackling a LCA by myself i'm a competent when it comes to working on car just not every confident. i've worked previously at a mechanics doing a bit of everything but never LCA or a Zbar on a commodore so i'm looking for some advice tips tricks and if you guys think that replacing the whole LCA is necessary and just swapping out the Zbar into the LCA that's on the car will be easier than doing the entire arm less pulling apart. is it possible to get the Zbar out without removing the LCA?. i'll try and post some pics tomorrow when there is some light.
 

Sabbath'

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Undo and remove the castor rod bush at the front, and then remove the nut off the LCA where the Z bar bolts in and you should be able to slide it out.

There's only 2 other bolts to remove to get the LCA out. The one on the ball joint and then the inner one.
 

LostPup

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do you think it's worth replacing the LCA as well or just replace the Zbar and see if that pulls the wheel back forward?.
 

Sabbath'

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While you've got the Z bar out you might aswell replace the LCA aswell. Saves getting under there twice.
 

LostPup

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seen a few vids of front end work on slightly later models (VT, VX) where they remove the calliper and rotor with the LCA. is that necessary?.
 

Sabbath'

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You might need to remove the caliper to get the rotor pushed forward enough to drop the LCA out once the balljoint is undone.
 

vrsprspt

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You sure it's bent? Could be just the bush is screwed, did you buy new bushes for when going to fit new parts? You could do a whole lot of work and still have the same problem
 

vc commodore

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Just check the K-frame, where the Z-bar goes through at the base of the bush, that it's not bent downwards and inwards....Unfortunately, I have seen plenty bent in this fashion and replacing the Z-bar and bush isn't going to solve the problem
 

moneypit

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You need a couple of decent jacks to do this properly and without hurting yourself. If you are not confident why not take the parts and the car to a wheel aligner and get them to look at it for you. Shouldn't cost that much if that's all that's wrong. You will need a wheel alignment after it's done anyway.
 
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