Tech Question
Mark Leonard, Ottawa, ON, Canada, 1969 Dodge Dart 340
Hi Rick, I know you are a suspension guru so I hope you canhelp me out. I have been trying to get a good wheel alignment on my ’69 Dartbut I am still having problems with the passenger side. On the drivers sideI am able to get about 3° positive caster with -0.5° neg camber, this iswith the Moog offset bushing. On the right side however we just can’t getany negative camber with positive caster. If we set it for maximum positivecaster I can get more that +4° but that is accompanied by over 3° of positvecamber. As soon as we adjust to get camber closer to 0 the caster completelygoes away. We ended up with about +0.8° caster and +0.6° positive camberwhich is the best we could get. We duplicated this with the left side. SinceI have already installed the Moog offest bushings to get maximum caster I amwondering if I could change them around to get more negative camber (i.eturn the arrow on the bushing toward the frame on both front and back)?
Obviously something is wrong with the suspension that makes it so differentfrom left side to right side but I would like to get a decent alighmentwithout changing everything. Any suggestions? My alignment guy thinks Ishould install the bushings according to the Moog instructions which callsfor both arrows pointing toward the wheel. He feels this would give him abetter starting point but to me is seems like that would just make theproblem worse with more positive camber, of course he has been doingalignments for 30 years and I have never done one before.
Thanks for your help.
Mark-
I agree with you re: Bushing install. But – something is very wrong (bent).This assumes, of course, that the LCA stud tubes have not broken loose inthe K-member. You need to measure all the diagonals carefully re: FSMdimension, or, much better, put the car on a frame bench.
Next time it is on the alignment rack, check for bumpsteer (or DIY – maketwo 18×24 plywood rectangles, attach w/piano hinge at long side, lean top oflong side against center of tire edge, cinder block on horizontal piece,loosen t-bar adjustments, jack car up ‘n’ down from center of K, see whathappens to gaps at front and rear sidewalls of tires.) Bet it is scary. If Iam right — fix it!
Rick
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