case310350

Have an 07 Uplander. And the rear wheels are tilted in so the inside tread is wearing fast. . It's a solid axle So don't exactly understand what happened, does anybody have a procedure on how to fix this?

Looking for the rear wheel alignment instructions.

tech2

there are no adjustments for a solid rear axle. you only options are to install shim packs behind the wheel spindle, replace the rear axle or have a shop that aligns trailers bend the axle. None of this you can do yourself.
I would send it for a wheel alignment and see what the rear numbers are. its more common for the front alignment to be out and when the tires are moved to the back during a rotation...you notice the irregular wear. Check the numbers first...which means alignment. if the back is out...you need the alignment numbers to know how to set up the shim packs. if you have rear disc brakes...you will have to shim the caliper bracket as wheel.

case310350

do not see how the axle could have bent evenly. both wheels have inner tread wear. hard one to figure out. happen recently over a short period of time.

mountainmanjoe

Unless you have quad-steer, you generally don't align rear wheels because they are rigid and not adjustable

I stand to be corrected, but it seems to me that the Uplander is a front wheel drive vehicle, so it doesn't have a rear axle. Just spindles.

If the wheels aren't straight then either the bearings are dangerously worn out and need immediate attention, or the vehicle has been in a crash and the suspension has been distorted.

tech2

its a dead axle or twist beam axle.

all it takes for inner tread wear on both rear wheel is the rear total toe setting to be out of spec. it most likely toe wear not camber wear. toe is the angle that wear the fastest. its not hard to figure out...have it aligned and post the print out.

Papa Bear

My 2007 came from the factory with excessive left rear negative camber.
GM installed an alignment kit on the left rear and I got 4 new tires under warranty (after a lot of complaining)
As tech2 said, you need the numbers to do the job right. My son is still driving my old 2007 Uplander and the tires still wear very true.

12three

most gm dealers were doing free alignment checks last i checked, been a couple yrs though...
if the original poster says his rear is out of alignment bc of tirewear alone thats bad logic bc of tire rotations... free alignment check with the printout is required for anyone here to -truly- help on this issue...

all sorts of factors could cause tirewear.. improper inflation, bad shocks/springs/bearings... the list goes on.
my guesses would be that the front end is out of alignment and the damage became apparent sometime later after a tire rotation or two... an 07 is likely way overdue for shocks/springs/struts too...

in my 07 i noticed front tires 'dragging/skipping' on turns. i cant think of how to describe it beyond 'dragging/skipping' but i am trying to describe the symptom commonly associated with bad cv axles/joints when you turn...
anyways after new bearings, cv axles, and fixing issues with the serpentine belt/tensioner/a bad pulley i noticed the 'dragging/skipping' on turns is virtually gone AND the front tires quit wearing as hard/uneven... i mention the serpentine belt/tensioner/a bad pulley bc those repairs alleviated problems with the power steering system as well

if the issue truly is a rear alignment issue, which i would doubt unless i saw a printout, shims are the only fix... i remember my rear technically came thru in the red in 2 of the 3 alignment checks i got on it.. but it was only 1 unit of measurement into the red... not worth the cost to try 'fixing' it in my case... may have even been measurement error by the machine/technician...

tech2

Ive seen many of these with rear toe problems. they were fairly new at the time.
the rear toe can be out of spec but what matters is the rear total toe. if the individual toe is out but the total toe is good...it would be corrected by adjusting the front toe to the rear...which is why you do 4 wheel alignments not 2. the thing dogtracks down the road but no tirewear.

12three

yep, if i recall correct that was my issue and exactly how they explained it:
"the rear toe can be out of spec but what matters is the rear total toe..."

one shop said 'it doesnt need it but ill take your money and shim it if you want me to..'
other shop said 'i wouldnt do it even if you wanted me to..'

its always interesting to me that most shops wont even give the printout unless you ask, and then many more cant talk about the measurements at all bc theyre more clueless than i am after a quick refresher...
i always get 3 free checks from diff shops before the alignment and at least one second free check after...
took my business to a few different shops bc the best alignment guy was bouncing around after firestone closed, then his sears closed then his NTB closed... he was way better at explaining what he did and why he did it then all the others so that was usually worth whatever the cost was...