I recently installed 195/60 R14 tires with 14" aluminum rims on my 2007 GEM e4. The right rear tire rubs the wheel well when a passenger sits on the right back seat. The right rear fender is definitely lower than the left by one inch. So is this a worn out shock on the right rear or something else? Thanks for your help…
Get out your tape measure. you could have a bad shock or a bent bracket…
Rodney
Sounds like the shock may be your problem. The 195/60 is fairly wide but should fit with proper wheel offset and if left side is OK sounds like a go. I put on 205/50 with 12" and both rears rubbed also. Turned out the new wheel offset was the problem. I saw some used shocks on Ebay a couple of weeks back.
Never thought about the bent bracket. If so this would be a cheap fix
There is a bracket located at the lower front of the rear fender that is slightly bent and rusty. This may be a problem to fix. I thought about replacing the rear shocks with a 14" rather than the stock 13.25"…
Would that work?
[quote=Drson;32091]There is a bracket located at the lower front of the rear fender that is slightly bent and rusty. This may be a problem to fix. I thought about replacing the rear shocks with a 14" rather than the stock 13.25"…
Would that work?[/quote]
Unbolt the bracket and see if it lets the fender move out enough to stop the rub. It doesn’t have to bend very much to warp the fender enough to rub. Another way to check the effect of the bent bracket is to put a long straight-edge(4’ level) on the outside surface of the fender and see if it points in towards the forward body. Do the same on the left to compare. It shouldn’t be a big deal to straighten the bracket, you will have to pull the spat in order to get to the shocks anyhow. If bent bracket is ruled out then check the right side shock.
Thanks for the help! I will work on it very soon…
If your car is setting level - measure from the frame to the ground both sides - and the fender is cockeyed you have bracket problems. Make sure all 4 tires have 32 pounds of air in them
You also need to check for bad shock bushings. I have a shipment coming in next week if you need some…
Normally GEM shocks don’t squat, they lose oil and the ride gets bad.
You don’t have to buy shocks for an inch.
Move the mounting holes.
Drill a new hole 1 1/8 down and 3/8 in from edge of bracket (Center to center)
Use 13 mm or 1/2 drill
Rodney
Do what Rodney suggests. He has worked on Gems for years and knows what he is talking about. I am a newcomer to gems so just guess a lot.
Thank you …I will measure from frame to ground next weekend…I will be back where the car is located…
Rodney…I want to be sure the I understand which bracket could be causing the problem…In your picture there is a black steel horizontal bracket that extrudes out from the frame horizontally…the front bottom of the spat screws into it…this is the one that is rusted on my car…
I alos see in your pic that there are aluminum brackets the hold the battery tray and also serve as a structure where the shocks are mated to the frame…
Do you have a pic of the bracket that could be the problem?
Thank you
No I dont.
There is a bracket on each side of the car that holds the fender . if the car is level and the fender is down on the right side. Grab hold of it and pull up on it to straighten out. Or take the wheel off and put a jack under the bracket, (with fender attached), to straighten it out.
I think I know which bracket it is…thank you