slickfx3

to figure on what the alignment shop needs to do....to crack the nut

the po had it rebushed in 2006 and the car is a california car


i don't see the bolt head, can i check to see if it's frozen or not? by pulling the cotter pin and throwing a wrench on it?

and do i need to by the shims or most shops will have them?

need pictures

Alan 71

Hi s,
"need pictures"
Here are the typical shims/cotter pin, and the t-arm pivot bolts/washers/ nut/cotter pin.
Regards,
Alan





The trailing arm, drilled t-arm bolt, heavy flat washer, slotted nut, cotter pin.
Upper tip of outer shims, long cotter pin.

slickfx3

i still don't get how the bolt comes out on the other side , if i had to remove the T/A, not that i am going to


btw aren't you suppose to bend that cotter pin?

jimvette999

getting the shop to actually do the work required is the problem, their idea of good enough will likely leave you with no trust angle or toe adjustments in rear. They'll set front caster, camber, toe, & and rear camber and hand you a bill. After several attempts at paying shops to do mine, I bought turn plates, lasers, camber/caster setting tools from Longacre Racing and did my own... I consider it perfect. Took me a full day after leveling car, finding chassis C/L, projecting to floor with plumb bob, creating horizontal offsets from said line, checking trust angles, setting toe front rear, caster, camber front, camber rear, rechecking toe, blah blah blah. Used lasers for front to rear checks. No more pulling, darting in rutted pavement or wasted cash to lazy azz clowns.
jim

'75

There is plenty of room to get the bolt out toward the middle of the car. Not so if inserted from the outside with the body off, can't get it out once the body is on the frame.

Alan 71

Hi S,
Yes, one leg of the cotter pin was original bent.
And after repairs the new cotter pin should be bent.
Regards,
Alan

slickfx3

well...idk about my abilities...with some luck ,perhaps the rear toe is perfect now

leadfoot4

IN THEORY, you don't need to remove the bolt completely, if all you're going to do is adjust the toe. You only need to loosen the nut and bolt, assuming it's not "rust welded" to the sleeve in the t/a bushing, so you take some tension off the shims, and shift them around as necessary.

0Willcox Corvette

Here's a picture you can't get with the body on... but it'll give you a good idea about how much room is in there.

slickfx3

how do they measure the toe? tire off?... nobody does that right?

leadfoot4

With all due respect, you CAN'T be serious, are you? Look at it this way, if the wheels/tires are off, how would you get the car on/off the alignment rack? MANY wheel alignment adapters/sensors "clamp" to the rim. Without the wheels on the car, where would these tools attach? More importantly, setting caster/camber, and toe, either front or rear, requires the suspension to be "loaded". How would that condition occur, if the wheels weren't on the car?

The problem here, is quite simple....C-3s are at a minimum, 34 years old. 34 years of dirt, water, and corrosion, have made these bolts difficult to loosen/remove, hence these questions on "how to do it". I highly doubt that GM had 34+ years of usage in mind, when they designed this deal. So, if you're serious about getting your C-3s rear end aligned PROPERLY, your best bet is to obtain a new pair of the bolt/shims package that "Alan71" showed in his picture (above), install them in your car, then go to the alignment shop. For the non-purists, stainless replacement parts are available.

Having NEW parts in place, that can be easily adjusted by the alignment guy, will go a LONG way to getting a good alignment done to your car.

slickfx3

the PO had the bushings changed and hopefully the nut is not frozen etc


how can they get to the nut and bolt, if the tire is on the car? is it possible?

leadfoot4

Yes!! Although the design isn't perfect, GM wasn't THAT dumb! After all, their dealer techs had to be able to align the cars.

Lobzila

I wrote this up awhile back when I did mine.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...r-bubba-s.html

Took it to a shop afterwards and one wheel was spot on, the other needed adjustment. Hope it helps.

No matter what you do, take your own shims and the back ones are different. The original shop charged me for two sets, when one set will do both sides.

slickfx3

do the cars come without shims? mine has a bunch in it already, can't they just move things around?


sssh everything with this c3 thing is a major undertaking

gkull

Don't use those phoney stock shims that Alan posted

Use SS washers from placeslike vbp

resdoggie

My alignment shop had no problem with doing the rear toe but did charge me extra because it was time consuming getting the toe dialed in.

slickfx3

why should they charge for shims? otherwise they can't achieve the "alignment"

what is a fair price? i heard 150 without the toe

leadfoot4

You might be confusing the shims he's talking about. On the FRONT end, a C-3 uses the generic shims that cars have been using for decades. It's the REAR where the shims are A) different; and B) Corvette specific, and C) usually not something an everyday alignment shop has on hand.

I t appears that you aren't familiar with the rear suspension of a C-3. There's a U-shaped "pocket", as defined by a brace on the frame, that the nose of the trailing arm fits into. There are two holes in this brace, one on each side, that the "through bolt" for the trailing arm bushing pivot goes through. By "stacking" the shims between the sides of the pocket, and the nose of the trailing arm, you A) secure the trailing arm's lateral movement; and B) set the angle of the nose of the trailing arm, which, in turn, sets the toe-in.


If you're NOT going to set the rear toe, assuming it's out of spec, WHY BOTHER DOING AN ALIGNMENT? Secondly, if all you're going to do, essentially, is align the front end, then $150 is about $80-90 too much.....



I think you mean "SS shims".................

slickfx3

well idk if they can complete a rear toe alignment, and would only know if they try one way or another

there are already shims in the pocket

question? do stock vettes come with shims in place?