Hey Guys, I'm going to be putting on new upper and lower ball joints tomorrow. Being as the lower joints are sold as a one-piece unit with new control arms, will the car have to re re-aligned after replacing the lowers? I think I remember that there is a cam of some sort on the lower arm that is used in alignment, but I could be brain dead or something. Anyone have any input...it's getting harder to find an alignment shop that can do a decent job on these older cars...the young guys have never messed with anything this old. Thanks Later,
Absolutely! I did this on the PoliceMav. As soon as you put the car back down on the ground, you'll likely see how badly it is out of alignment right away. The cam does act as an alignment adjustment and you should take care removing the part that you do not round out the hole on the cam. It has a flat side that lines with the bolt only one way and should be a snug fit back on the bolt. This is a good time to look at your various bushings to see if they could use replacement. You should also check the idler arm at this time as if the bushing is worn, you will not get it in good alignment no matter how good the tech is. I found that out when the alignment tech had it on the rack.I found an 'old school' guy who does alignments very near here. He did it perfectly and knew exactly what he was dealing with as well as had the specs to work with. There are still guys out there who have experience with the older suspensions. It just takes time to find them sometime.
to help lessen the amount of work on the alignment shop....put a marking line across the entire surface of the cam bolt BEFORE disassembly....that way they can get it done sooner.... and you can also get it close so that you dont end up having the tires pointing out on both sides
The eccentric bolt on the inner mounting point of the lower arm adjusts the camber angle, whether the top of the tire leans out (positive camber), leans inward (negative camber) or is vertical (0 camber). Camber also affects toe setting. Camber and toe have the biggest affect on tire wear. For little more than what you pay a shop to do one alignment you can buy some gauges and do your own alignment. Takes a little longer doing it on the garage floor than having a rack and fancy lasers but it more than pays for itself and you don't have to run to a shop every time you hit a curb or pothole.
Anybody have the alignment specs for a 71 Mav? I may look into getting one of the gauges. Never done it before, but have seen others do it on roundy round cars at the track. I like the idea of being able to do it myself. Later,
Maxx a Chilton's manual will get you in the ball park, I just replaced all my front end components and set my camber good enough to get me to an old school alignment mechanic. It may be too late for this advice, don't try and save a few bucks by going with cheaper components... I ordered TRW thinking they were a good product, then I compared it to a Spicer arm...I told the guy to keep the TRW's. Spicer is an excellent product for around 10 bucks more per arm.
If you still need the specs, I'll get them for you. But, I set mine to around 0.0 camber, caster went around 1.0 positive (factory is negative) can't really remember toe, .15 degrees positive maybe? Easy way to get camber close is to just use a framing square, you have to space it away from the tire bulge at the bottom, and just measure from the rim. Is this a power steering or manual car?
The specs will change slightly with radial tires, most of our cars were designed for bias belted. I set mine at +1 1/2* caster, 0 camber, 1/16" toe-in. If you have power steering you won't need that much caster.
Yep, just like he said...I use 3-4 degrees caster in the Mustang, just because it's a drag only car. More caster is better for straight line stuff.
Thanks Guys, The lower arms and bolts only affect camber...correct. I don't know if I'll be able to get the gauges in time to do it this time, but I have a digital angle finder and may use it to get it close enough to take to an alignment shop. But I think I will be taking a look at my Longacre or Rebco catalog and ordering up a set of gauges in the future. Thanks again...If I work my butt off, I MAY be able to be ready by Friday! Later,
