I had a thread a few months ago where I had an 06 converted to Arnott coil overs. the car also had wheel bearings, rack and pinion and rear lower control arms replaced. When I got the car back it rode my 99 chevy truck, maybe even bouncier and more bobble head like. Just had a new mechanic look it over and he found out the wheel base from center of front tire to center of back is 1 inch shorter on the passenger side compared to the driver's side. then we also noticed I can fit three fingers in between the tire and my rear fender on the driver's side But only two fingers between tire and fender on passenger side. Mechanic asked if the car was wrecked --- it wasn't and it rode beautifully after the wheel bearing replacement and before the lower control arms and coil overs.
Is there any way the first mechanic that installed the lower control arms could have screwed something up or bent the subframe ? Anything related to the coil overs that could explain this ?
Anyone ever come across this sort of issue before ? Any thoughts on repair ?

 

I would get it up in the air and start taking some pictures. Post them to the forum to see what others think. With that much out of place it should be obvious what's going on.
.
.
.

 

I will see if I can get images BUT the mechanic said everything looked normal (without taking everything apart) - which is why he asked if the car had been wrecked in the past.

the odd thing is the car drove perfectly with the new wheel bearing, original control arms and original air shocks - then in one 4 hour stay at the garage it all went to hell - what could possibly explain being off 1 inch in wheel base ?

 

Strut replacement does not involve any suspension disassembly except at the front, where the upper ball joint has to come out of the upper arm. No suspension attachment points are involved, and the car won't even need a new alignment. I can't imagine why the original installation would have changed any chassis dimensions.

Unlike McPherson struts and some other strut types, what we're calling struts are not structural parts of the car, any more than tube-type shock absorbers are on an old American sedan like a Crown Vic. You unbolt them, remove them, put the new ones in, and tighten the fasteners. The struts have nothing to do with wheel location or alignment.

 

One of the lower rear control arms the wrong part?

 

I have contacted the ebay company that I bought the control Arms from, they replied that the part # is correct for my VIN but I am wondering about quality control, it's a no name company

 

Measure the control arms - look for same measurements each side. I don't think super precision is required. They would have to be noticeably different to make the car look bent. If they're the same, its not likely to be causing one side of the car to be different from the other.

Check the fasteners each side also - do the look the same? Did the shop use the right size bolts? Do the bushings look centered at their pivot points?

HTH, Dave

 

The control arms are handed right and left.

A mechanic who once worked for me managed to install a left lower control arm upside down on the right side. Is it possible you received two of the same (right or left) control arms and one is installed on the wrong side upside down?

 

Now that would be interesting for sure!
.
.
.

 

Check the part numbers of the rear lower arms. And also the rear upper. Upper are different part numbers left and right.
The x350 2003-2005 had different size bushings on rear lower arms until ... since yours is a 2006 they could have installed the wrong ones .
oem parts is Lemförder .
Rear upper left Lemförder is 39631-01 03-09
Rear upper right 39632-01 03-09

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, I was away from the car for a bit, and wasn't checking the forum. I am getting up on a lift next week - hope to know more then. But I did get a few other images to add to the confusion. Since I can't easily show the distance of the wheel base, these images show that I can get 3 fingers between the rear wheel and fender on the driver's side BUT only two fingers on the passenger side. I found an 05 jag and discovered both rear wheels I can get only two fingers between the wheel and fender - So it seems it's my drivers side that is off by 1 finger width or approx.3/4 of an inch

 

Rear upper Lemförder 39632- 01 right
and 39631-01 left

 

Did shop do wheel alignment after CA change? Have shop tightened bushing bolts when suspension was loaded with car weight? Sorry, may seems stupid questions nevertheless...
I did mine CA at rear both top and bottom about month ago. Can concur both of my rear wheels are 2 fingers away from edge of fenders. measured as you did.
My car still has original air system though.