KillerTA

iTrader: (3)

I did some suspension mods a couple of months ago--LCA relocation brackets, adjustable panhard, lowering springs, shocks--and the car started pulling to the right. It was straight as an arrow before I did any of the mods.

I also got an alignment and the shop showed me the specs and apparently it is within specs. They told me it could be due to the belts in the tires shifting so I rotated them front to back today and it still pulls to the right although it might not be as bad as it was, I'm not sure. Could a bad tire still make the car pull right even if it's on the back?

Could I have screwed something up when I put the suspension mods on? I know the rearend shifted when I unbolted the lower control arms.

DuronClocker

iTrader: (25)

Did you adjust the panhard bar to center the rear axle left/right?

rd_ls1_z

The tires could be the issue, and it is likely that the car is following the crown of the road. Have you made sure that the PHB centered the axle correctly? My car pulls all over, left, right, but that's because of the roads where I live, pavement over sand = ruts. If it's pulling excessively, have it looked at again. If it's just a bit, might be the road, watch for excessive tire wear. Lastly, make sure the tire pressure is good, just thought I shoot that one out too

DevilDougWS6

iTrader: (8)

shifted belts in the tires CAN cause a hard pull. even if you rotate them to the back, it wont be as bad because they are not on the steering wheels anymore. have them check your wheels on a balancer and see if maybe a rim is bent or if the tire wobbles as it spins. more than likely you need new tires.

KillerTA

iTrader: (3)

I know it's not the roads for 100% sure, and it's not the rims because I've never hit anything with them. The tires are all pretty even as far as wear. I

I just find it extremely weird that this is happening after I did all the suspension mods.

Could jacking up the car bend the frame? I know where the jacking points are but I had thec car jacked up on the front right to get the wheels off and it was teetering back and forth (L to R). I then grabbed another jack to stabilize it on the other side.

Disturbed Bird

iTrader: (9)

try putting the tire on the opsite side if its not a directional tire and see if it pull to that side. but if ur rear isnt center it will pull

KillerTA

iTrader: (3)

I installed a adjustable PHB and eyeballed it. I was under the assumption that that didn't affect alignment because the rear end doesn't rotate, it slides L to R but stays straight.

Wouldn't that show up during the alignment if there was a problem with the rear?

LILWS6

Uhh acually i don't remember i had a camaro up on the alignment rack and i don't think they usually look at the thrust angle. witch is what the phb would change you can look at the print out and see what the thrust angle is that would be a reason for your pull.

VIP1

Adjustable LCAs affect the thrust angle. I don't know about adjustable PHB, other than it helps center the rear axle under the car.

* Adjustable LCAs allow you to adjust the rear axle forward/aft/diagonally.
* Adjustable PHB allows you to adjust the rear axle left/right.
* With both you can adjust the rear axle in all horizontal directions (left/right/forward/aft/diagonally) to center it under the car.
* Ajustable PHB isnt necessary for stock right hide, but is necessary when the ride height is changed (ex: lowering the car).

When I say centered, I mean with the running gear (during an alignment) and not just visually.

00formLs1

did you let the shop know that your rear could be adjusted?

thosewhohatedmecreat

when a shop does an alignment, they dont look for much on a camaro, camaros dont have as much to adjust as other cars, but one thing they almost never look for is the rear, its a solid rear axle, who gives a **** it cant move right? they dont know that lowing the car affects that ****... tell them you want the alignment redone free and that ur rear end is adjustable. i used to work at a shop and did alignments on cars, some of the computers don even show rear variables because i would enter chevy camaro and all there was for adjustment was the tie rod ends i beleive

00BlueTA

iTrader: (8)

What are the spec? If you post them I can help you a little more. What Im thinking is as bad as it sounds they might have set the steering wheel just a little bit off, so when you straighten it as little as may be it makes the car want to go to the right (the guy who is doing alignments at my shop now since I wanted out of the pit has this happen too often). I dont know if it would be from the rear end parts unless you found a shop with an older machine that you manually have to compensate the heads so to save time being a solid axle they do a front centerline alignment, as opposed to thrust angle. If they did a centerline and the thrust is off, that can easily cause your problem, again if you show me the specs I can help you more.

mrr23

iTrader: (3)

just because it's 'in specs' doesn't mean it's correct. post up the after readings for the left and right front. it shouldn't be the tires if they were the same ones before the lowering.

mrr23

iTrader: (3)

centered left/right won't cause a pull.

mrr23

iTrader: (3)

correct, it doesn't affect the alignment as far as your pull is concerned.

if they measure axle offset/setback , yes, it will show the axle left/right in degrees.

mrr23

iTrader: (3)

thrust angle is always looked at. it's automatically done, once the sensors have been compensated. thrust angle would have to be seriously off to cause a pull.

the panhard bar does not change thrust angle. it changes the axle offset (left/right from the centerline). adjustable trailing arms fix thrust angle.

mrr23

iTrader: (3)

the same angles are adjustable on the camaro as any other car. camber, caster, and toe. from 1967-2002 all of those angles have been adjustable. the rear isn't his problem.

mrr23

iTrader: (3)

at stock height, my 86TA rear was .29* off to the right with a thrust angle of .12*. the assumption is the rear is centered perfectly from the factory.

00BlueTA

iTrader: (8)

thrust angle is not always checked. Thus if they did a "centerline" alignment the alignment is set off center, "thrust" alignment will align the vehicle to off set the if the rear is off. I asked him to post the after specs to see if it is something obvious you can tell by the numbers. Its hard to diagnos a problem over the computer but if I see the specs I can try to help without seeing the vehicle on my rack.

mrr23

iTrader: (3)

yes, if they do a centerline, the rear specs aren't printed out, but you can still see them on hte screen. i run my own alignment/suspension shop and use hunter alignment equipment. now, the rear readings aren't necessarily accurate, because the rear sensors aren't compensated when using a centerline method. but, the tech can look at the screen and see if there's something way out of whack. so long as the sensors are calibrated regularly, the readings off the rear will be close.

and yes, without having the numbers in front of us, we can't really tell what is wrong, alignment wise.