Controll arms ?
10-24-2010, 07:38 AM
#1
Controll arms ? My car has been put away for the winter, but i want to get the front suspension straightened out. I have had the car in to get aligned twice now, but they never get it right. The problem is in the camber angle. The tires are not sitting plumb with the road and it is wearing out my tires unevenly. So question is should i buy upper and lower control arms for it and have it realigned and hope for the best? The ball joints and everything are still tight, but they are all certainly on the downhill side of there lifespan. Or should i just take it to a dealer and get it properly aligned? The car is getting up there in age and miles, so i am not trying to get to much $ tied up into it at this point. Where is the most reasonable place to get a good set of control arms? I don't really want to tie up more then $500 into parts for it. Any advice is appreciated.
10-24-2010, 08:55 AM
#3
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you will be spending $700 or more on a set of uppers and lowers if you want adjustable and just slightly north of $500 for non adjustables. if you are looking for stock replacememnts then i got no suggestion for ya there.
EDIT: my bad, you said PLACE not PRICE
EDIT: my bad, you said PLACE not PRICE
10-24-2010, 09:31 AM
#5
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You should figure out the alignment problem, not throw parts at it. What camber angle are the shops setting it to? Are they running out of adjustment on the lower control arm slot?
You could be trying to fix a $50 problem with $700 worth of parts (if those parts even fix it).
You could be trying to fix a $50 problem with $700 worth of parts (if those parts even fix it).
10-24-2010, 02:01 PM
#6
You should figure out the alignment problem, not throw parts at it. What camber angle are the shops setting it to? Are they running out of adjustment on the lower control arm slot?
You could be trying to fix a $50 problem with $700 worth of parts (if those parts even fix it).
You could be trying to fix a $50 problem with $700 worth of parts (if those parts even fix it).
Correct!
When you say that the tires are not "plumb" with the road, what do you mean? Are the tops of the tires tipped "in" or "out" with respect to the road? As strange as it sounds, "zero" camber actually makes the tires look a little tipped in at the top....How are your tires wearing? Flat across, or edges worn more. If so, which edge, inside or out?
Away for the winter, already?? I live in the snow belt, and we haven't seen any flakes yet!
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10-29-2010, 07:27 AM
#9
The reason i put the car away had more to do with it getting broken into, then the weather. They butchered up my electrical harness i when they tore out the stereo and amp. And messed up the seal between the door and the T top so first time it rained the car got swamped with water, I didn't notice it for a week or two and it smelled really bad in there, so i cleaned it up and put it in the garage for the winter to dry out and fix some nagging problems. And for the camber angle question, The drivers side tire is tilted in at the top aprox 8*, and the passenger side is tilted out at the top 3-4*. I have checked it with a straight edge and level on flat ground so its not an illusion. The tire wear is enough to diagnose the problem anyway. I want the adjustable Control arms for the weight reduction, and the extra adjustment..
10-29-2010, 01:09 PM
#10
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You really need to find the source of the problem before trying to solve it. Aren't these alignment shops giving you an alignment read out? If they can't get the camber in specs and won't tell you why, find a new shop that can.
Camber adjustment in these cars is not complicated, I've aligned my own to straight-edge standards in my home garage for the drive to the alignment shop.
Camber adjustment in these cars is not complicated, I've aligned my own to straight-edge standards in my home garage for the drive to the alignment shop.
10-29-2010, 07:11 PM
#11
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10-29-2010, 07:31 PM
#12
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A good shop will be able to show you or print out some numbers, for example (camber, caster, toe in/out) along with what the factory numbers are, and what the car is currently sitting at.. and how they tried to get as close as possible to the factory specs- even if you have suspension work, or different wheels.. shop around man..
