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Marty wrote:
...Here is an update on my suspension. First, thanks to Dick, Richard,
Steve and Mark for all the helpful information. I went out tonight and
measured the camber and toe. Drivers side camber is 1.3 degrees and the
pass side is (.67) degrees. I measured toe by dropping a plumb line from
the center line of the front and rear of each back tire. I made a mark
on the garage floor at each point. I backed the car out and measured the
distance between the two front marks and the two rear marks. The
distance between the front marks is 49 3/8 in. and the distance between
the rear marks is 49 7/8 in. Is this the same 1/2 in. that the drivers
side is sticking out? There are shims behind the inside trailing arm
bracket on the drivers side. If I remove those do you think it will
"fix" the toe and thus bring the driver side wheel back in to the center
of the car?
Thanks again!!
Marty Romagni
******
Marty---Finding the center of the rear track was a good start. It shows
that there is considerable toe in. The "shim pack" between the trailing
arm brackets and where they bolt to the frame should be vary close to
equal value at each of the four brackets. (Usually within one or two
shims for a 1/8" toe in)
Another check to help determine what's out of whack would be to measure
the wheel base on each side. It should be at 88 inches, taken from the
center on the front hub to the center of the rear hub. (A helper can
hold a steel tape to one end while you extend the tape to the others.)
Of course the car should be driven so the front wheels are known to be
straight ahead before the measuring takes place.
While rearranging these shims can solve the toe and wheel base issues,
it won't change the camber, if it is as you measured at 1.3 deg. (pos.?)
This can only be changed by the total height of the spring package,
and/or with the arrangement of the different brackets. If what's on the
passenger side looks right to you, consider duplicating all that's
involved here.
Dick
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