Disc Brake Swap, Now One Tire Points To The Curb

[Jeremy Freitag]

I swapped the 10" drums on my '67 Barracuda to 11.75 rotors; all parts came from either a '75 Dart or new ('78 Cordoba specs for rotor, caliper etc...), to include the larger caliper mounts for slider calipers. All ball joints, lower and upper, and any other wearing part were brand new. I did not adjust the tie rod ends. I swapped the knuckles left to right, so I could avoid the factory sway bar by having the calipers to the rear. One front tire more or less points straight ahead but the other tire is way out of alignment and is turned well out to the side, as if the wheel is cranked. I cannot see how I installed anything incorrectly, it is pretty straightforward. How could one tire point straight and the other point outside? I cannot see how anything is installed wrong, I've read loads of disc brake swaps and I used two factory service manuals. I've looked for answers here and elsewhere but cannot find any. Any help would be appreciated. Jeremy

 

[67Dart273]

There is no guarantee that your lower joints are going to produce the same toe as the old, and when you went to the new upper arms and ball joints you changed the caster/ camber to who.....knows.....what. There was a recent thread on alignment. It really is not that hard to do yourself, but you can rough it in enough to "get downtown

In short, you need a full alignment "from scratch."

 

[GeorgeH]

X's 2 Any time you replace suspension pieces, parts, or bushings you're going to need an alignment.

 

[zombywoof]

i just did a disc swap on my car and the toe was off so its common to have that happen. mine wasnt as extreme as yours but the tires were pointing in different directions. just make sure your steering wheel is straight and adjust it as best as you can and get it to the alignment shop

 

[Jeremy Freitag]

Thank you for all of the replies, I just raised the front end back up and saw that once the steering wheel was "straight" both wheels were roughly pointed outwards a little bit. I'll try to figure it out enough to get down the road to the alignment shop. Thanks for the help.