Crazy alignment problems

[Craig Burriss]

First off let me say that I have no idea what I’m doing and just want to get the car to an alignment shop without trashing my tires.
I’ve completely rebuilt the suspension on this 1970 Plymouth Duster. I had the whole car torn down to nothing but a shell at one point.
I installed a QA1 kmember, KYB stock replacement shocks, POL front disc brake kit with their 73 and up tubular UCAs, I still have stock LCAs, strut rods and torsion bars.
I don’t have any level ground to work on the car but the alignment shop is less than a mile away.

Ok so now that you know the details,
I’ve been fighting my alignment for weeks trying to find the “sweet spot” but haven’t had any luck whatsoever.
When the car is sitting there on the ground, I just try to eyeball the alignment so that everything is straight enough. Whenever I get in the car and back up, the front wheels get a crazy amount of negative camber and toe out, whenever I drive forward, they do the opposite, toe in and positive camber.
WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

 

[1969383S]

Just a guess, your upper A cam bolts may be bottomed. Did you use new aftermarket ones or the originals? Some of the new ones are not threaded far enough.

 

[Craig Burriss]

Just a guess, your upper A cam bolts may be bottomed. Did you use new aftermarket ones or the originals? Some of the new ones are not threaded far enough.

I used the original cam bolts. They didn’t seem bad so I didn’t replace them.

 

[1969383S]

Are they snuggled up all the way? Sure seems something is moving.

 

[1969383S]

What about the strut rods, lower A pivot etc.

 

[Craig Burriss]

What about the strut rods, lower A pivot etc.

Strut rods are stock and so are the LCA pivots. But all the bushings are new

 

[Craig Burriss]

Are they snuggled up all the way? Sure seems something is moving.

I've tightened them after each adjustment with the car on the ground and they don't seem to be changing position

 

[prorac1]

Are you jouncing the front suspension and rolling forward and back a little after adjusting?

 

[1969383S]

Get a buddy or someone to help while someone is watching underneath to see what’s moving.

What lower bushings did you use? Rubber or poly? Are you sure the tabs up top are pulling in hard when you tighten the upper cam bolts, are the eccentrics seated up correctly between the adjustment tabs?

 

[Jadaharabi]

Can you borrow a trailer and haul it to the shop? You said you don't know what your doing. Haul it to someone that does. No sense dying over it.

 

[Arron tate]

Hello Craig.
Agree with other posts that something could be loose.
You could try putting the car on 4 jack stands. Rear stands under axel and front under LCA as far out as possible to similate ride hight.
With someone Or something (ratchet straps work well) hold the stearing wheel so it can't move.
Now if you try to move the tires left to right by hand and have someone watch the suspension components wile you are shaking the wheels this may uncover what's going on.
You can also put a long bar / pipe under the tire and move it up and down to see if any thing is moving around. .
As always be careful wile on stands.
Hope this helps.
Keep us updated
Happy Mopar
Arron

 

[Syleng1]

If you don’t have the correct ride height. (Torsion bar adjustment) you will never get the camber correct. Also you need to “run the suspension to get it to settle out. Rolling back and forth in the driveway is not enough. Just around the block. You won’t kill the tires around the block going slow. Becarefull as the “alignment is out.”

 

[rustycowll69]

Can you borrow a trailer and haul it to the shop? You said you don't know what your doing. Haul it to someone that does. No sense dying over it.

not enough info, too many possibilities to run through. a lot of pics of UCA, LCA, strut rods, tie rod ends, idler arm, etc. would help, but lacking those, I agree with the post to put it in a dolley and drag it to the alignment shop.

 

[1969383S]

I wouldn’t drive it that way.

If you managed to replace all that stuff correctly then you are selling yourself short on what you know or not.

Lots of folks struggle with the lower A bushings.

 

[BigBlockMopar]

This is just a guessing game.
Why not show pics of your install under the car. Linkage and stuff. Left and right.

 

[Craig Burriss]

There’s a lot of replies so I’ll try to answer all of them.

I can’t get the torsion bars adjusted properly because my driveway is older than the car and super uneven so I never know what’s level.

I replaced all of the bushings with polyurethane.

I haven’t driven the car on the street but have been driving around the yard tearing up the grass with the bad alignment, forwards and backwards, until the tires start to hit the fenders.

I could rent a tow dolly to get it there but I’m trying to avoid that.

I’ve tightened everything with the car on the ground. The strut rod nuts seem like they’re not threaded on as far as they used to be.
I’ll post some pictures now

 

[Craig Burriss]

All of these pictures are taken with the front end jacked up so I could easily get under it. It almost seems like the passenger side is the main culprit but I’m not sure.

 

[Jadaharabi]

You are way off on your rear cams and your tie rod ends. So of course the toe in is way off also.
Haul it to the shop. Jmho which I highly regard. LOL

 

[rustycowll69]

All of these pictures are taken with the front end jacked up so I could easily get under it. It almost seems like the passenger side is the main culprit but I’m not sure.
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it's hard to say for sure, but it looks to me like the left rear cam bolt is loose.
I agree, take it the alignment shop to figure it out.

 

[Craig Burriss]

I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and rent a dolly to tow it half a mile.
Thanks for all of the help anyway. The people on this forum are way cooler than others I’ve been a part of.

 

[1969383S]

Tie rods look weird cause the wheel and box was likely not centered and locked. Each assembly should be close in over length with the same amount of thread showing from the sleeve.

Looks like the cam bolts are not tight enough, there appears to be some air between the eccentrics and the frame in two of those pictures.

 

[1969383S]

Can’t tell in the pics but is the lock washer there on the nutted side?

 

[BigBlockMopar]

I would be fairly certain to say some of the cambolts are still loose indeed.

And, you installed a new subframe and all, but why is everything else still so rusty?
Personally, I would take apart most of the suspension, slap some paint on all the linkage and stuff, and 'then' get an alignment.

 

[meathead66]

Can you borrow a trailer and haul it to the shop? You said you don't know what your doing. Haul it to someone that does. No sense dying over it.

I agree with Jadaharabi and call a tow truck. I’m almost done with mine and screwed something up too and my alignment shop is only 5 miles away. Got too much invested in my project to take a chance.

 

[1969383S]

Do you really trust the alignment shop! Do you know them and do they know old Mopars?

Get it right and close before hand. Chance of them making it worse from inexperience is far less.

How many shops really know the older stuff anymore.