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Front end alignment question
https://slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29901		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  sublimed [ Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:02 am ]
Post subject:  Front end alignment question
Hi all, I just got done replacing the bushings on my front end and ran into a little problem upon reassembly. I have the factory service manual and followed all intructions but now my tires are sitting to far forward in the wheel well and they rub the fender pretty bad when the shock gets compressed. For example, when I back out of my driveway. I never had this problem before I changed the bushings so I figure I just need to make an adjustment somewhere but I don't know where. I just need to make the car driveable so I can take it to the alignment shop. Any advice?
Author:  wjajr [ Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:28 am ]
Post subject: 
Just guessing here, but perhaps the left & right upper control arms have changed sides when you weren't looking.
Author:  Sam Powell [ Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:24 am ]
Post subject: 
Did you replace the ball joints? Did you have the lower ball joints loose from the backing plates? If not, then you could not have switched the upper control arms. If you did replace ball joints, then perhaps wjajr is right. Once you are sure you have the parts on the correct side, you can get things right by adjusting everything.

Loosen the locking bolts on the cams, and turn the front cam so the eccentric moves the upper ball joint as far out as possible. Then loosen the back one, and rotate the cam so that it moves the back side as far in as possible. This should get you in the ball park. Re-tighten your locking bolts. Then drive to an alignment shop and ask them to try and align it with at least a positive 1.5 degrees of Caster.

Sam
Author:  sublimed [ Mon Jul 07, 2008 9:12 am ]
Post subject: 
Yes I replaced both the upper and lower ball joints but I'm cetain the upper control arms are on the correct sides because I completed one side at a time.

I will try those settings and let you know what happens. Thanks
Author:  sublimed [ Wed Jul 09, 2008 4:15 pm ]
Post subject: 
ok, I got a free morning today to go out and tinker with the duster. I adjusted the cams on the UCA so that the front is as far out as possible and the rear is as far in as possible. Something still isn't right, my driver side tire still snags on the fender when I turn the wheel. Is there anything else I can adjust to fix this problem? Do the strut rods have anything to do with adjusting the LCA forward or to the rear?

Attached is a pic of the driver side tire hitting. Tires are 215 70 14s and I never had a problem with them before I rebuilt the suspension.


Image
Author:  Sam Powell [ Wed Jul 09, 2008 7:36 pm ]
Post subject: 
Honestly, that does look like the uppers are on the wrong side, but you say that is impossible. I am wondering if they wrong before, and beat down bushings allowed the uppers to sag in enough to mask the problem. It may just be the light, but it looks like the fender is bent in some. Is there a crease in that fender just below the marker light which would allow the fender to bend inward?

That size tire should fit.

Sam
Author:  Joshie225 [ Wed Jul 09, 2008 8:01 pm ]
Post subject: 
Can you show us a picture of the strut rods and bushings and the upper control arms?
Author:  Sam Powell [ Thu Jul 10, 2008 5:20 am ]
Post subject: 
Good idea Josh. Also, there is supposed to be a rod going from the bottom rear corner of the fender forward to the frame. There should be holes in both that this rod bolts to. Can you give me a measurement for this distance. I will compare your measurement to the rod length of my car. Is this a Dart, or Valiant/Duster? It may be tht your fender is bent in too far. Let's rule that out as a problem if we can.

Sam
Author:  sublimed [ Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:07 pm ]
Post subject: 
Car is a 73' Duster. I just measured and it is 11.5" from the corner of the fender to the frame. In the pic my fender is bent a little, that happened when I first test drove the car after the front end rebuilt and I noticed the tire rubbing. However the damage wasn't bad and I bent it back after the pic was taken. As I mentioned before, the passenger side is fine. The only difference I can see from each side is where the strut rod bolts to the LCA. The passenger side nut is screwed on about twice as much as the driver side, does this make sense?

More pics will have to wait a little bit. I went out this afternoon to take some and I dropped my camera on the way out the door :shock: . I needed a new one anyways...

Thanks for all the help.
Author:  Joshie225 [ Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:38 pm ]
Post subject: 
Who knows what happened with your strut rods in the past 35 years. Some are slightly shorter than others, but your car should have the slightly shorter ones anyhow. I had a strut rod problem with my Valiant after the disc brakes were bolted on. I was getting rubbing on the right side under braking. Turns out my friend (who was still going to be buying the car at the time) who bolted the front end together didn't tighten down the right strut rod bushings. Neither did the mechanic that aligned the front end even after asking him to check everything over since I wasn't the one that bolted it all together. Maybe my lift should also be an alignment rack? :?
Author:  sublimed [ Fri Jul 11, 2008 8:29 pm ]
Post subject: 
Rechecked the whole front suspension and re-torqued everything. Nothing poped up as unusual. However, I adjusted the tie rod end on the driver side and I now have some clearence to get down to the alignment shop. Hopefully I'll take her down to the shop on monday to get this thing drivin straight again. Thanks for all the help and I'll post again when it's all done.
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