Having Problems with alignment.....
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 2,161
Likes: 17
Having Problems with alignment.....
The shop can't seem to get the left front aligned properly - I noticed the car was darting all over the place at speed and the shop now says that I need a new alignment cam because the old one is worn...is this possible?
He can't seem to get the castor dialed in without driving all the other specs out of range.....
He can't seem to get the castor dialed in without driving all the other specs out of range.....
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 6,511
Likes: 730
From: Sausalito CA
Re: Having Problems with alignment..... (OliverM5)
That is a weird part to wear IMHO. Seems like an inexpensive part and easy to install.
Caster is the position of the wheel front to back. Camber is the position of the tilt of the wheel left to right. Toe is the angle of the wheel left to right.
I'd look for something not torqued.
Are you the original owner?....look for bent rim (from road hazards/ pot hole) or other damage.
Wear-wise...check the tie rod ends or for a failed bushing.
It is so difficult (at least for me) to find someone to fix my vette with care when needed. Maybe you could try another shop.
Good luck.
Caster is the position of the wheel front to back. Camber is the position of the tilt of the wheel left to right. Toe is the angle of the wheel left to right.
I'd look for something not torqued.
Are you the original owner?....look for bent rim (from road hazards/ pot hole) or other damage.
Wear-wise...check the tie rod ends or for a failed bushing.
It is so difficult (at least for me) to find someone to fix my vette with care when needed. Maybe you could try another shop.
Good luck.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 920
Likes: 2
From: Rogers, AR, USA
Re: Having Problems with alignment..... (OliverM5)
Alignment cam's don't wear, that's not to say that they can't de damaged, but an alignment cam is basically a washer with an off-center hole and is bolted down tight with no movement to cause wear.
A bent wheel would be noticed during setup of the alignment equipment on the wheels.
Basically, you set the caster first with individual adjustments of the adjusting ends of the lower control arm. Then you set the camber with identical adjustments on the ends of the lower control arm. Toe comes last and usually isn't an issue. What your guy is telling you is that there isn't enough adjustment left in one or both ends of the lower control arm to get the desired camber while retaining the caster angle that was just set. Assuming the car was properly ligned up at one time, the first thing to look for would be bent alignment components.
If you are convinced there are no bent parts, then change the spacer washers on the top control arm to reposition the top ball joint so the proper relationship of the bottom ball joint to the top ball joint can be obtained from the normal cam adjustments in the lower control arm. This should let you get the alignment specs you want.
Hope you understand what I said. :D :D :D
Hope I understand what I just explained! :confused: :confused: :confused:
A bent wheel would be noticed during setup of the alignment equipment on the wheels.
Basically, you set the caster first with individual adjustments of the adjusting ends of the lower control arm. Then you set the camber with identical adjustments on the ends of the lower control arm. Toe comes last and usually isn't an issue. What your guy is telling you is that there isn't enough adjustment left in one or both ends of the lower control arm to get the desired camber while retaining the caster angle that was just set. Assuming the car was properly ligned up at one time, the first thing to look for would be bent alignment components.
If you are convinced there are no bent parts, then change the spacer washers on the top control arm to reposition the top ball joint so the proper relationship of the bottom ball joint to the top ball joint can be obtained from the normal cam adjustments in the lower control arm. This should let you get the alignment specs you want.
Hope you understand what I said. :D :D :D
Hope I understand what I just explained! :confused: :confused: :confused:
