alignment problems

[stangme428 33]

ok -

 

need some input from everyone...

when trying to align the front of my 69 with TCP manual rack and arning 1 3/4 drop with negative wedge kit.

 

we can get the passenger side alignment per spec from TCP but cant get the driver side aligned, it seems the lower control arm needs to move out 1/2" but no more adjustment is available...

 

so how do you resolve this problem?

-adjustable lower control arms?

-adjustable upper control arms?

-frame shop?

 

we welded in a pro-motorsports shock tower reinforcement kit around 1999 and had no prior alignment problems before then.. i drove it 60,000 miles before taking her apart.

 

everyone's input is greatly appreciated!!!

[buening 63]

Have you pulled the eccentric eliminator plates and observed the location of the LCA thru-hole compared to the slotted hole in the lower shock tower/LCA mount? Keep in mind you can flip the eccentric eliminator plates over and add more alignment settings. If the LCA is at the edge of the slotted hole, then something is wrong. I have (and need to back it down) -1.5° camber and I'm at 3/4 slot.

[stangme428 33]

Have you pulled the eccentric eliminator plates and observed the location of the LCA thru-hole compared to the slotted hole in the lower shock tower/LCA mount? Keep in mind you can flip the eccentric eliminator plates over and add more alignment settings. If the LCA is at the edge of the slotted hole, then something is wrong. I have (and need to back it down) -1.5° camber and I'm at 3/4 slot.

 

buening ... well i looked under the car with the alignment shop... trying not to get in the way.. they flipped plates until they reached the max adjustment, or at the least flipped the plate on the driver side to the same setting as the passenger side and didnt have enough adjustment.... ill get under the car this week and check it out!!

[buening 63]

Yeah I'd crawl under there and pull the plates and bolt and look how the hole lines up with the slotted hole. If they tried to use the same settings on both sides (same eccentric plate hole #) on both sides, then yeah it likely won't match. My passenger side actually needed pushed out further than the drivers side to get the camber settings to match.

[buening 63]

You might also stretch a tape and measure the two LCAs to make sure they are roughly the same length. I believe the early model mustangs had longer LCAs, but not sure if you could possibly have an early mixed in with the correct LCA. They are visibly different with multiple strut rod mounting holes.

[69gmachine 15]

The first thing i would recommend is to remove the plates, push the lower arm out until the desired camber is achieved, then find the holes that best line up with that hole in the bracket.

 

You should be able to get very close with that. If there's truly something off then you might have to use a shim behind the uper arm, but that's a last resort.

[buening 63]

Shimming the UCA will make it worse if he can't get enough negative camber, right?

[buening 63]

Also, my passenger side gave me fits in getting the LCA pushed out enough, and had to unhook the strut rod from the LCA in order to move the LCA out. Almost like the stock rubber strut bushing was binding and preventing the LCA from being moved further out. Something you might try if you find there is more slot left with your current settings

[stangme428 33]

thanks guys... yeah what i am after are the TCP street settings ... the Toe and Caster are fine... its the camber on the driver side trying to get to Camber 0° to 1/2° neg. that is the problem...

 

dramatic difference even having it close on the driver side and dead on with the passenger side... top of tire is now pointing inward away from the fender lip instead of outward.. etc... just like you guys noticed in the pics from the show buening..

 

ill crawl under the car tomorrow night and see what i can.... :rockon:

[RPM 1,190]

. top of tire is now pointing inward away from the fender lip instead of outward..

 

So... the top of the tire is too far in??? If so, to correct that either the lower needs to go in, or the upper arm out. From the replies it sounds like I'm not the only one confused.

 

Bob

[buening 63]

So... the top of the tire is too far in??? If so, to correct that either the lower needs to go in, or the upper arm out. From the replies it sounds like I'm not the only one confused.

 

Bob

 

See the pic below. Before he had, what appeared to be in the picture, a ton of positive camber. The top of the tire tilted out past the fender lip. Now that he aligned the car with negative camber, it is tucked back under the lip....where it should be

 

[RPM 1,190]

Well I guess I missed it when he went from positive caster to too much negative caster. And where did that picture come from? If he can't get the proper camber by adjusting the lower arm, would not shims under the upper arm as suggested by 69g machine fix it? Maybe because 69g's advice was nixed was part of the reason I was corn fused.

 

Bob

[buening 63]

The OP claimed the drivers side LCA needed moved out 1/2" to match the negative camber on the other side, meaning he doesn't have enough negative camber (is actually positive camber it seems) on the drivers side. If he is indeed maxed out on adjustment of the LCA outwards towards the wheel (to get more negative camber), then shimming out the UCA will push the wheel into the positive camber range instead of increasing his negative camber.

 

LCA outwards = more negative camber

UCA outwards = more positive camber

[69gmachine 15]

Yes, Buening you are correct, I got confused about which direction he needed to move.

[stangme428 33]

sorry for the confusion -

 

the TCP alignment spec at a minimum calls for:

caster - 2-1/2 - 3 pos

camber - 0 - 1/2 neg

toe - 1/16" - 1/8" IN

 

camber problem - currently the lower control arm cannot be moved outwards any further (per alignment shop), which will angle the top of the tire inward towards the engine compartment away from the fender lip (negative camber). trying to visualize standing over the top of the tire, vertically the tire should be leaning inward..

 

tonight, time permitting ... we will check out the eccentric eliminator plates on the driver side and verify that the plates are in the correct position allowing the further most outward positioning for the lower control arm. :001_unsure:

 

again, the passenger side is perfect, meeting the TCP alignment spec above.. the driver side is the problem.

 

thanks for all the input... digging in and learning!!

Edited September 17, 2013 by stangme428

[stangme428 33]

all...

 

no update.. work won out i was not able to check out the 69 last night.

 

hopefully early next week will work out.

 

:biggrin:

[stangme428 33]

no solution as of yet... but i did verify that both lower control arms are the same length, and it looks like the TCP eccentric eliminator kit has less adjustability than the pro-motorsports kit we removed... the pro-motorsports kit seems to fit closer to the edge than the TCP..

 

link to my progress post -