Front end alignment question
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,503
Likes: 33
From: McGrady NC
St. Jude Donor '15-'16
Front end alignment question
I had my 1980 checked out and the alignment set a couple of months ago. She drove well enough for a 31 year old car and the mechanic (who I know and trust) told me that it would need some attention eventually but wouldn't leave me stranded any time soon. So I drove it a bunch. I recently noticed that the front right tire squealed as I went through an easy right turn. The sharper the curve, the louder the noise. The car also pulls to the left. When I got home I jacked it up and removed the front right wheel expecting the worse. The nearly new tire was excessively worn across the inside half of the tread. All the bushings are in place and the shims are still in the upper arm. There is a little play in the ball joint and wheel bearings, but not enough to cause the problem. I've read about how the frame can settle requiring a spreader bar be installed. I need some advice before I take it to the front end shop again. Thanks in advance!
Racer
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 264
Likes: 1
From: west central INDIANA
You should not have ball joint movement. Its more than likely the lower ball joints, the tops don`t wear much. If your right inner tire is wearing but not the left, its a camber problem. A toe-in problem will wear both tires the same. My 80 had worn lower joints, but the tops were fine.i replaced them at 80K miles.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,503
Likes: 33
From: McGrady NC
St. Jude Donor '15-'16
Thanks for the info, but I realize that the camber is way off on the right and I need to do some front end work. What I'm trying to determine is what caused the sudden change. It went from driving great to pulling to the left while ruining a perfectly good tire. The bushings are intact, the Bilsteins are new, and the shims are still in place. After reading about frame dimensional changes across the front crossmember area in some cars I'm trying to get more info. Thanks!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 992
Likes: 56
From: Baldwinsville, NY
I did a front end job this spring on my 78 and it should have been the first job done when I got it 5 years and 25K ago. What a difference, it gose straight and coners great........
JM2C
JM2C
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 180
Likes: 0
From: Lakefield Ontario
Last year I rebuilt the front & rear suspension on my 69, including 550 lb front springs & a VPB 360 lb plastic rear spring & Bilstien HD shocks.
I also changed out the front sway bar to a 1&1/8", and added a rear 7/8" bar.
The car had passed a saftey inspection but seemed to wander a little.
I replaced everything except the center link, including replacing all the bushings with poly, and I did add the VPB shock tower brace.
I had the car alignment set to VPB's advanced street specs, all four corners, it is a dream to drive now, I now have confidence in the car that I didn't before.
I did all the work myself and found that I enjoyed doing it, however I did fall pray to the dreaded " While I'm Here " symdrome, I changed out the rear diff crossmember bushings and added VPB's reinforcement disks, as well as the rear trailing arm assembley's & brake calipers with SS flex lines!
This winter its going to get a hydro-boost brake and rack & pinion steering.
Good Luck with your car, the are easy to work on, all the information you require are on this site, as well as from vendors and manuals.
I also changed out the front sway bar to a 1&1/8", and added a rear 7/8" bar.
The car had passed a saftey inspection but seemed to wander a little.
I replaced everything except the center link, including replacing all the bushings with poly, and I did add the VPB shock tower brace.
I had the car alignment set to VPB's advanced street specs, all four corners, it is a dream to drive now, I now have confidence in the car that I didn't before.
I did all the work myself and found that I enjoyed doing it, however I did fall pray to the dreaded " While I'm Here " symdrome, I changed out the rear diff crossmember bushings and added VPB's reinforcement disks, as well as the rear trailing arm assembley's & brake calipers with SS flex lines!
This winter its going to get a hydro-boost brake and rack & pinion steering.
Good Luck with your car, the are easy to work on, all the information you require are on this site, as well as from vendors and manuals.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,503
Likes: 33
From: McGrady NC
St. Jude Donor '15-'16
I really appreciate the shared experiences, but I still need some info on the frame dimension changes I've read about here. It almost appears the the frame "moved" on that side. There is no evidence of previous damage from an accident, but there is something going on.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 8,918
Likes: 27
From: New Hill NC
You need to inspect the area of the spring tower socket for cracks. Also look at the lower control arm bracket. sometimes they break loose from the cross member. You should get it aligned and see if it is possible to achieve correct alignment. If you find one or both sides have no shims or a large stack, you will get an idea what is going on.
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Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,503
Likes: 33
From: McGrady NC
St. Jude Donor '15-'16
What a great group here! Upon suggestion by a forum member, I just checked and the bracket that the lower control arm bolts to has partially torn loose from the frame letting the arm pivot killing the camber. Welding time now. He mentioned that this problem is not uncommon (he is a front end tech), so I suggest that anyone with a later edition C3 have theirs checked, too. Thanks to everyone for your input!
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 30,995
Likes: 99
From: Ontario
What a great group here! Upon suggestion by a forum member, I just checked and the bracket that the lower control arm bolts to has partially torn loose from the frame letting the arm pivot killing the camber. Welding time now. He mentioned that this problem is not uncommon (he is a front end tech), so I suggest that anyone with a later edition C3 have theirs checked, too. Thanks to everyone for your input!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 3,030
Likes: 17
From: White Pine / Dandridge TN
I'm in the process of restoring my front end and feel very fortunate that my a-arm to frame mount is in solid (literally) condition.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
Likes: 1,482
From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,503
Likes: 33
From: McGrady NC
St. Jude Donor '15-'16
It apparently happened sometime after it was aligned. It drove great when I got it back. Then problem appeared later so I'm thinking there was no problem when it was in the shop. I know the guy who did the job personally and know for sure that he is one of the best. He would not have missed it as it is very obvious. This is not a result of rust or previous damage. The tear or break is fairly fresh as the metal edge is still clean.
