i just purchased an '89 rs (305 tbi all that jazz). i took it to an alignment shop and they told/showed me i needed a new spindle so i helped them find one. sourced one from a salvage yard and had the shop install it (I'm still REALLY new to wrenching). they managed after some time to align it, but now my tie rod end rubs the inside of my wheel. they think my "new" spindle may be bent. could i maybe use like a 5/16" wheel spacer until i find another one? would that be too wide? or should i try something else?

 

What wheels are on the car? Sounds like the "rear" wheel is on the front. The factory 16" wheels have specific "front" and "rear" wheels and they are marked on the inside of the wheel. This shop doesn't sounds like they are very knowledgeable.

Fwiw, its extremely difficult to bend a spindle. You will destroy the subframe first.

 

previous owner had put 205/65/r15 in front and 205/60/r15 rear, and thats what is still on the car.

 

here's what i have wheel wise

 

Yea, I've seen a bunch of people claim bent spindles on these cars but never seen one when they were checked out, the stock ones are pretty beefy, you'll bend the control arm, subframe, k-member, tie rods... typically before bending a spindle. I doubt that you've run across 2 bent spindles.

If they were the factory 16" rims the obvious answer was that the back wheels are on the front, but those are factory 15x7's and those shouldn't be anywhere near the tie rod ends. Can you get a few pictures of what is actually contacting what? My guess is something else is going on

 

If the steering arm part of the spindle is bent enough to contact those wheels you should be able to tell pretty easily.

Try measuring the tie rod assembly on both sides (from the ball joint in the steering arm of the spindle to the ball joint in the center link, or if you have the same brand tie rod ends on both sides then you should be able to just count exposed threads on either side of the adjustment sleeves. If the spindle is bent badly enough to cause contact with that wheel and they managed to get it aligned, the slack would have been taken up in the tie rod adjustment, you should be able to measure a significant difference in the length of tie rod assemblies.

 

Yeah I'm curious for tie rod pictures too. What you saying should be impossible.