BrazenStang

^ Bingo! I'll say 100%, lol

OP, I don't understand how "shimming" the axle would minimize the bend. Once you have bent the axle (which is a shaft inside of the axle tube) there is no going back. Maybe you could explain where they put the shim because it makes zero sense to me. If they put it outside the axle, somewhere on the tube, then they don't know what they are doing and I would find a new shop.

To address your thought about the rear LCA, if it was the LCA it would only happen when the suspension is travelling up and down. The frequency of your squeak increases and decreases with the speed of the car so it wouldn't be related to the LCA.

Cruzinaround

OP...

A Shim would also change the offset and the center of gravity for that wheel...sitting slightly farther out from the hub on a bent axle would likely also cause some wobble .... which would also be more noticeably experienced on a lowered suspension.

Did the shop think the wheel was bent? If that was the their diagnosis, then perhaps the shim was to move the wheel spoke out away from the calipers and provide more clearance. Which would mean they went more on the side of caution to avoid damage to the brakes. I wouldn't say they don't know what they're doing... but more like using a process of elimination and allowing you to still drive the vehicle while sorting things out...on your time. They are your friends after all... why would they want to screw you over.

Just saying

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tbear853

Well, as I read it all .... they shimmed the wheel on the axle to try and get the tire to run true, but not the rotor which is still wobbling on the bent axle ..... hence the noise. Applying the brake forces the caliper to move left right with the wobbly rotor so no noise then.

Shimming a wheel and even the rotor to quieten a noise or stop a wobble in a wheel or to kill a vibration from a wobbling wheel is not a good fix, it needs a new axle on that side. Once bent, there is no straightening.

On the rear the axle revolves in a outer wheel bearing and the inner differential side gear that rides in the differential carrier that rides in a differential side bearing. Axles that suffer a severe sideways impact like sliding sideways on ice into a curb often get bent slightly at the outer end between the flange with wheel studs and the outer bearing. If bent .... usually they start a crack .... and sometimes they actually break much later when stressed in a curve, etc.

I've seen broken axles where you could see clean metal at recent break, and rust where a crack started the break .... a crack from an old injury. I've worked a few wrecks, some serious that showed such evidence. When a buddy slid into a curb (snow / ice) in his nearly new 1974 Mustang II Mach I, there was no damage to the factory forged alloy wheel, but the wobble gave it away. He bought a new axle and I helped him install, in the week he had driven it you could see the fracture line right behind the flange next to the place where the bearing rode. It sounds crazy, but best is if an axle bends, replace it ASAP if you were lucky enough to not flip or have it snap and do body damage.

Inspect all mounting points and housing as well.

Also, back in the old days, stamped steel wheels usually bent way before axles so often, you just replaced a wheel ..... which is good and why we still run steel on our police cars. But alloys either break themselves if cast aftermarket .... or they transfer all energy to the axle and suspension if forged top grade alloys. They may bend a lip, but alloys seldom bend the centers (I've never seen one just bend).

IndecisiveS197

Anybody else notice this is from December 2012? and OP has not been active since May. Don't think we'll get answers

tbear853

Not I, I sometimes look, sometimes not ....

BrazenStang

You did not read that, you are making an inference because OP did not say that...

tbear853

Yeah, that's right .... I inferred that from details in his post .... I inferred an understanding by applying his few details with what I know from experience .... hence .... "as I read it .... " like "I think what he's saying is ..... ". You never heard that phrasing used before?

There's no other place to shim that will straighten a wheels rotation on a bent axle except at the lugs.

Was there a problem with that?

BrazenStang

Yes, because you said as I read it ALL meaning that I did not read his whole post. Just saying as I read it is a little bit different and I know what that means

.

Anyways, you're right. I didn't check.

tbear853

No, I wasn't saying anything about your read as I was largely in agreement (see the "Yeah") .... you just inferred it the wrong way.



Later ......