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Front end adjustment
Posted: Fri Feb 16, 07 4:36 pm
by Anonymous
Just had the car back after backhalf job,at the shop they lowered the front end of the car,now the front end does not sit square,whats the process for adjusting the suspension,the car is a '71' 340 duster with stock front suspension
Posted: Fri Feb 16, 07 4:59 pm
by Jeff
wel..... show pics!
Posted: Fri Feb 16, 07 5:06 pm
by Dave-R
Each LCA has a bolt in the bottom to adjust the height. Adjust until the car is level.
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 07 1:28 am
by Anonymous
As Dave says,just take the weight off the vehicle before you start
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 07 10:58 am
by Dave-R
I always do it with the car on the ground. Turn the bolt and measure, turn measure, etc
My bolts are in perfect condition and well greased though.
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 07 2:19 pm
by Anonymous
May chance it when lowering,but I think it wise to take the weight off when raising.
Mine are greased,reckon your bein lazy Dave.
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 07 2:44 pm
by Dave-R
Adam68 wrote:
Mine are greased,reckon your bein lazy Dave.
Me and Geof Hauser both. He does the same.
I really don't see the problem with doing that as long as the bolt and the plate it screws into are in good shape. Which I know mine are.
If it was silly to do then it would fail when driving over bumps in the road.
Raising/lowering the car un-settles the shocks so you don't get a true height measurement. Just a minor bounce on the wing after every adjustment will do in this case.
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 07 2:49 pm
by Dave-R
Nothing in the manual about rasing the car off the ground.
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 07 7:19 pm
by Anonymous
Your absoloutly right Dave,but I thought it best to mention,as most of the front end on some of these cars have not been overhuald & the adj bolts/plates are seized. Also the torsion bars may not be up to much & the rear torsion bar anchours weak.
40 year old motors,can't always go by the FSM.
Better playin safe,than gettin squashed under the motor.
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 07 9:02 pm
by Blue
I Had always done it with the weight on the car, that was until I was raising one up a bit and the bolt was getting a bit stiff, then without warning it stripped the thread in the cast bit in the LCA, and the car came crashing down. It would have probably killed me had I not been doing it on a ramp. So now I take the weight off to adjust and then let it down. Takes longer to get right, but I feel safer doing it that way.
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 07 9:56 pm
by Pete
Just done the 62 Dart. I jacked the car up and it was SO much easier than struggling with the weight on the car as I do at the track with the Sox.
Blue gave me a tip about driving the car back and forwards a couple of times to settle it and that works well. Using these two approaches works out quicker in the long run in my opinion.