The suspension adventure...

[azruss]

do not tighten the long upper a-arm bolt or the 2 lower a-arm pivot nuts until the weight of the car is on the suspension. this is true of the rear trailing arm bolts as well.

[garion]

Adventure complete!

I finished up the suspension today.. I heeded advice to tighten the control arm bolts/nuts until after it was on the ground.. I actually drove it up onto ramps, jacked up the rear, put jack stands under the axel, had the wife get in, and tightened.. So I had more than just the car's weight on the suspension. Had her sit on each side as I tightened.

I ran into the same thing on this side, where the control arm wouldn't lower all the way.. This time I got smart.. I loosened the control arm nuts, which then allowed it to drop more freely..

I then did the method that was actually outlined in the mirafiori page, where I line up the spring with the top, and jack up the control arm.. It worked well.. Wish I had done it for the other side..

Once I got everything buttoned up, lowered it, tighten the top shock nuts as best I could.. The passenger side I'm not worried about, but the drivers side is a royal pain.. I actually used crowfoot wrench thing I have.. It was the only way I was getting onto the nuts.. Next time I have things apart, I'll double check it.

Took it for a short test drive.. What a world of difference! But I certainly need an alignment.. It goes straight, but.... holy camber.... Check out the passenger side:



The drivers side had a bunch of shims that I left there. Apparently its needed.. I'll have to call around and see if I can find a local place to do the alignment.. Otherwise that IMM place in Tempe is 30 miles... Not sure I wanna drive that far, considering I *must* take a highway. I do have AAA, maybe I could have them tow it

[azruss]

any alignment shop that knows old cars should be able to take care of you. ask around your local mechanics shops down there and see if they recommend anyone near by. I doubt if MMI does their own alignment work. Might call them. They would probably sure someone close by them. There are a lot of alignment shops on Chandler Blvd and that would be much closer.

[RoyBatty]

Like it or not, you are a mechanic.
Do a little research on the Internet, buy a digital smart level, and get a piece of aluminum straight stock from the hardware store that it about 8' long.
You can do the alignment at home with these items and a tape measure and some patience.
I do it in my driveway, have more than 30k miles on the tires on my Spider.
You CAN do this.

[4uall]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sguZ-gRF9I

[garion]

That vid only does toe unfortunately.. Toe I know how to do, and have done before with the same method in the vid.. Its the camber this time.. From what i can tell, I'll have to measure, jack up, add/sub shims, lower, repeat as necessary.... Any one have an easy way to calibrate camber?

[4uall]

[RoyBatty]

You need to be every bit as concerned with caster as you are with camber.
Caster will affect your steering effort and on center feel. Caster is adjusted by varying the thickness of the shim stack from the front to rear on the lower A arm.
Good info here.
http://www.aligncraft.com/terms/terms.html

[garion]

Thats why I'm going to let someone who knows what they are doing handle it..

Anyways.. I found a place to do it over on Chandler Blvd that deals in classic cars.. They mainly deal with American, but I figure this shouldn't be too different.. I'll grab the spec that someone posted in another suspension thread and let them have it.. Unfortuantely, its 20-25 miles for me with the bad alignment.. Tires are good currently, so I should be ok, if I take my time.

I did some other clean up tasks today, hoping to do the alignment this week... Changed the diff fluid (see my other thread about not having a gasket), tightened up the casing around my steering column, swapped the flasher relay for my turn signals,, and made sure all my bulbs and such work.. I ended up having to sand down the bulb connectors in the rear, as a couple of them didnt want to work.. All in all a good day, with no real surprises other than a missing gasket on the diff.

Hopefully I'll get her aligned this week!

[baltobernie]

Have you looked at your car from the side? Is the right-front wheel centered in the well. Compare to the left-front.

[garion]

I haven't looked closely.. But I just went to the garage, and it may be that the passenger side is slightly forward? I'll have to look more closely when I go to wash her tomorrow.

I went back and looked at my old A arms, and there are *no* shims for caster, on either side. As I mentioned, I'll be bring it somewhere later this week, so hopefully that'll take care of it.

[baltobernie]

.. But I just went to the garage, and it may be that the passenger side is slightly forward?

If that is the case, you may have the wrong A-arm installed on that side. Show us some photos L vs. R

[garion]

Ok, took the car out to wash it up some, since its been in the garage for about 6 months.. It looks like the suspension settle a bit now, and camber doesn't look as bad.. Also took it for a drive, and all smiles! Other than an antifreeze smell (no leaks that I can find), everything seems fine! I have a few tweaks to do (adjust the starting idle rpm, etc.), things look good!

First a front shot, in horrible light:


Now the side in question, the right:


Closer up:


And the left side:


I think they're pretty close to equal, looking at it now.

[RRoller123]

That antifreeze smell (if in the cabin) is likely the heater valve slightly leaking? Look under the right side of the dashboard, just to the left of the relay tray. Mine leaked a tiny bit when I bought the car, probably from disuse as the car mostly sat and was only driven about 50-100 miles per year for almost 10 years. The valve was likely never moved (opened and closed). So I made a point of moving the valve on and off multiple times every time I drove and the valve does not leak now. It took only a little while for it to stop leaking and the smell go away. Hopefully this is an easy solution for yours too!

[baltobernie]

If the wrong A-arm was installed, you'd see a noticeable difference in the wheel placement; I think you're OK. Good luck with the alignment. Caution the technician against over-tightening the nuts on the "dogbone" (lower arm pivot spindle) ... only 44 ft. lbs. Snap those studs off, and it's a new crossmember.