Finished!! Forged piston block, Custom valve head (flowbenched)

[Ondonti]

Big O tires in Seattle gave me the printout for the Spirits Alignment which was very nice.
I dont care about camber because I am going to mess it up whenever I pull the axles...but I would like the toe etc in spec.

[Reaper1]

The thing I would suggest is to get a warranty of some kind on the alignment then. That way at least you can get the car aligned so it drives better now, then when you mess it up again you can be like....I hit a dog?! LOL

[Ondonti]

*WINK* (no offense to wink )

[Reaper1]

^^ Lol

[Ondonti]

Found a local place that I will try. It was suggested on a Rock Crawling website.

And if I need a really expensive alignment then I can go up to salt lake to the place my friend suggested (and that has done some of the 9 second FWD cars here).

I still need to make sure the steering rack is okay and possibly swap tires from my spirit to the front of the duster because they might not like the tread depth of the fronts.

[lookin]

[Ondonti]

I measured across the tread lines of the tires and used an online triangle calculator since I cant remember the math and found that my tires are toe'd in about 0.9 degrees.

There is more wear on the outside of the tire like my Spirit suffered so I have two witnesses :P
The steering rack seemed to be fine. Now I dont know why toe in 1 degree would cause these problems.

Not sure if I should adjust it to zero and test it out or just take it to the shop.

[speeduphoria]

I have mine set to 0, I read Carl say a little toe out is good b/s it pulls to 0 under load, which I think the cornering setup is to set toe out slightly also

[lookin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ondonti Not sure if I should adjust it to zero and test it out or just take it to the shop.

Even someone with experience needs a good machine. Why scrimp after doing so much work and spending so much money on parts?

Spend the lousy $50 and get it done right Brent.

[mwinkle353]

I had a lifetime warranty on the lebaron when I had it aligned at a Bridgestone dealer/service department. I did pay $120 for the service and warranty. But, after 5 years, it more than paid for itself. Bar-none the best $120 I've spent for the car. They even "recommended" shimming the rear (at added cost). That to me, was a great customer based company.

Good luck in finding something similar. Most places act as if they're doing you a favor just putting your car in their shop.


p.s. no offense taken Brent

[big_P]

Brent, why do you pull the knuckles when you replace the axles? That's a big waste of time and alignment.

I didn't even think P bodys had adjustable cams for camber...


If they do, just mark it so you know where it is when you go to insert the bolt again so you don't mess it up.

Anyway, I just drop the two sway bar brackets on the outside and swing the swaybar downwards. Pop off the ball joint nut, a few swings of the sledgehammer and it comes right out, voila, theres your axle.

[lookin]

Bridgestone offers a lifetime alignment for $120.00?

That's a greast deal!

Thanks for telling us.

[Ondonti]

Quote:

Originally Posted by big_P Brent, why do you pull the knuckles when you replace the axles? That's a big waste of time and alignment. I didn't even think P bodys had adjustable cams for camber... If they do, just mark it so you know where it is when you go to insert the bolt again so you don't mess it up. Anyway, I just drop the two sway bar brackets on the outside and swing the swaybar downwards. Pop off the ball joint nut, a few swings of the sledgehammer and it comes right out, voila, theres your axle.

Because I can get an axle out faster when the only thing I remove is two bolts from the strut. I dont remove anything else.


My toe is actually 0.45 degrees on each tire because I forgot to divide the difference between the two wheels by two.

[Reaper1]

You had it right the first time...you want to look at total toe.

There is a way to replace you axles without even touching the alignment!
Swing the sway bar down.
Take the bolt out of the knuckle for the ball joint.
Remove the 3 nuts that hold the strut in.
Pull whole assembly off the ball joint and remove/replace axle!

It does help to have assistance to do this...especially putting the thing back on the ball joint.

P-bodies are just like any of the other K-based cars, they do have adjustable chamber using cam bolts on the strut.

[c2xejk]

I have always removed the axles by just disconnecting the ball joint, swinging the knuckle to the side and pulling the axle stub out of the knuckle... Can take a little wiggling, but generally it is not that bad...

Worst part is generally finding the right pry point to seperate the knuckle from the ball joint... Sometimes I hit it right away, sometimes it takes some effort...