Upper control arm

[ratty dart 340]

Hey there, I recently drove my 73 dart sport to the alignment shop and most stuff is solid and going well. However, they are saying the upper control arms should be replaced with adjustable ones because they have maxed out the alignment on them, but it’s still in the “red zone”. With the adjustable control arms they say they can properly align the camber. Thoughts on this? If they aren’t trying to pull one on me, how do you think this happened? These are new upper control arms but could they be bent or what else could cause this?

Thanks.

 

[Murray]

Stock components will align fine. I would suspect that the lower arm bushings are worn not allowing complete adjustment.

 

[CFD244]

A common issue with the original set up. Can't get enough caster (affects camber) for radial tires. Adjustables are one way to get it, but Moog has an off set upper control arm bushing set that can get you there. How does it handle? Tire wear?

Moog Chassis Parts K7103 Moog Control Arm Bushings | Summit Racing

 

[junkyardhero]

replacing the bushing in your UCA's with the moog "problem solver" bushings should get you more than enough caster for any application short of damn near track set up. they're the ones CFD linked there.

was anything else changed or recently rebuilt? that could be contributing to the inability to dial in the alignment. even with stock components, you should be able to get close to reasonable numbers.

 

[Professor Fate]

If you go with the Moog bushings referenced above, install them according to the supplied directions to increase your camber. If you're after increased caster, make sure you (or the shop) do NOT install them according to the supplied instructions. To increase your caster, they are installed like this:

 

[cudamark]

What camber spec are you trying to achieve? A negative half degree should be easy to get with stock bushings and control arms, unless some of your components are bent or completely worn out. Was the car ever in an accident? Are the upper control arm brackets on the frame rail in good shape and not rusted out? K-member straight and the control arm sockets solid?

 

[abodyjoe]

well you really don't want the alignment in the "green" those are shitty stock specs on the machine.

 

[72bluNblu]

What camber spec are you trying to achieve? A negative half degree should be easy to get with stock bushings and control arms, unless some of your components are bent or completely worn out. Was the car ever in an accident? Are the upper control arm brackets on the frame rail in good shape and not rusted out? K-member straight and the control arm sockets solid?

well you really don't want the alignment in the "green" those are shitty stock specs on the machine.

These guys have it right, “in the red” doesn’t mean anything at all unless we know what specs the shop is trying to set the alignment to. If their computer has stock alignment specs in it, the alignment you want would be “in the red”.

And as others have already said, Moog offset bushings are good enough for most average street going cars to get to decent numbers.

Do you have a print out of what you’re at now? This is what you want…