Plastic Alignment Shims Rear Toe '94 Grand Am

[benjamming]

My '94 Grand Am needs the rear toe adjusted but has a non-adjustable rear axle. So, I'm looking for some plastic alignment shims. Do the shims come with the template? The Hunter alignment machine gave the following information to adjust the left rear toe (actual 0.20°; spec 0.00° with 0.18° tolerance). However, I'm having a difficult time finding these online except for a listing on ebay for 48 shim packs at $100 which I obviously don't want. Do stealerships carry these items?

Hunter STD p/n RP5-46-1202
Color: Gray
Template C
156°/2

Thanks.

 

[bdcardinal]

Hunter shims are aftermarket. See if you have a jobber that specializes in suspension and undercar parts, they usually carry these. The trick is you have to cut the shims to the adjustment required, that is usually on a template printed off the alignment rack. You also have to make sure that there isn't one already installed since they cannot be stacked. Some applications also require extended bolts to make up for the threads not making contact due to the shim being in there. O and be careful cutting, they are very fragile and if you are off when you install it, even by a couple millimeters, it will screw your alignment up even more.

 

[yonyon]

Another other issue with plastic alignment shims is that they may squish or crack or fall apart or otherwise fail to retain their shape during installation. When installed successfully, on some vehicles (not sure about the Grand Am) you're still faced with the issue of bending brake parts to make them fit. You can make it work if you really want to, but there is an easier way:

Get a length of rope or cable or a big hammer and take a few minutes [okay maybe hours sometimes] to straighten out the bent axle.

 

[benjamming]

Understood that they're aftermarket, just wondering if GM has an alternative.

There's no other alignment shims installed.

It's not enough to be able to visually see anything bent on the rear.

 

[Cardenio327]

Originally Posted By: yonyon
Another other issue with plastic alignment shims is that they may squish or crack or fall apart or otherwise fail to retain their shape during installation. When installed successfully, on some vehicles (not sure about the Grand Am) you're still faced with the issue of bending brake parts to make them fit.


^^This^^

Plastic alignment shims are just another upsell, they don't work well at all. Put a ton of Loctite on the bolts if you do use plastic shims. Any alignment shop should be able to sell you 1 or 2.

0.20° is nothing on the rear of a front wheel drive car. Rear wheel drive pickups come about that crooked on the rear axle new from the factory. 0.20° is enough to destroy a front tire, but inconsequential on the back.

 

[benjamming]

I fail to understand why rear toe doesn't really matter on a FWD vehicle. The tire is "dragging" no matter where it's located, no?

 

[Papa Bear]

I had a go-'round with GM on the rear alignment on my 2007 Uplander solid axle. They eventually installed those shims on the left rear and got the alignment a lot better.
Mine was a camber issue but the shim(s) seemed to remedy the problem.
I believe the shims came from GM, not Hunter. It was a warranty repair.

Good luck.

Bob

 

[Cardenio327]

Originally Posted By: benjamming
I fail to understand why rear toe doesn't really matter on a FWD vehicle. The tire is "dragging" no matter where it's located, no?


The rear wheels of a front wheel drive only do 30% of braking; 0% of propulsion; and 0% of steering, they basically just hold up the car and spin. You generally need about 0.50° of total toe-in or toe-out before you are going to see measurable wear due to misalignment on the rears.

Many Volkswagens come new from the factory with 0.40° to 0.50° total toe-in in the rear. This extra toe-in helps them "turn in" to curves better, and might make the rears wear a little bit faster.