When I was rotating my tires I noticed that my right rear wheel would move up about an inch as I was snugging up the lug nuts when the it was still up on the jack. The left side was rock solid. Also I haven't noticed anything whilst driving, but I'm curious to what might be bad. Is it a shock issue or spring or ???. Any help is appreciated.

 

I'd be worried about a bad ball joint or tie rod end or something like that.

That's a lot of free play - I'd be reluctant to drive a car in that condition until I figured out what it was.

I don't think a bad shock would give a symptom like that. A completely broken spring might, but think it would be visually obvious and also cause the car to sit funny.

 

Jack up the car to get the wheel a couple of inches off the ground. Then put a breaker bar under the tire and lift up and see where the play is. Don't crawl under there unless it is on a good set of jack stands. And if you don't know what you are doing or looking at, leave it to someone who does.

It is not something that you should ignore because you can't feel it while driving.

///Rich

 

Did it move up and down as in the 6-12 motion or 9-3 motion? How many miles on the car and are the rear tires cupping? That would signify you may need shocks or wheel bearings. As per what Rich said that's an easy check and do it safely if you can

 

Keep in mind that when you tighten the lug nuts you're applying a force the the suspension arm as well. On the right side, the force will tend to lift the arm. On the left side, the torque will tend to pull the arm down, but the suspension is already in full droop so it won't move.

 

Do you have aftermarket rear control arms? The bushings in my H-sport arms went out after about a year. Fortunately they sell replacement bushing kits for cheap.

 

Thanks for the feedback so far. To answer several of the questions asked:
1. The motion in up and down in th 12-6 axis.
2. The car has 95K miles, but did not notice any unusual tire wear or cupping.
3. No aftermarket suspension components on the rear, all stock and original parts
4. I rotate the tires every 5K and did not notice this motion at 90K miles.
5. The car was in for routine service about 2K miles and they didn't mention any issues.

I'll get out there today or tomorrow and see if I can seem more of what's moving (on good jack stands, of course) and reply back.

 

You've nailed it. There's nothing wrong with the car.