Street lynx outta wack ?

[garyfish340]

I've been trying to build this hemi duster project, and all the help I was promised dried up. I knew I had to race to beat the winter to do a suspension, engine, and transmission. Now everything I've done, seems to be undoing it self.
This is the street lynx, 4 link rear. It was suggested that I install it, do some preliminary adjusting, snug it up, and let the professional alignment guy deal with it.
I had to push the car around while dealing with another issue. A QA1 style k member that was off centered. I noticed when the car leaned, the left side rear tire would rub. I thought I snugged it up. Could something have gotten loose ? If anyone sees anything in the video that represents a clue, let me know please. I'm a cylinder head guy, not a suspension guy. This is all new to me.

[ame]http://youtu.be/PVjnQ3ltzZM[/ame]

 

[HemiDenny]

it appears it has something to do with the upper bars that locate/ center the housing.......possibly a mounting point that attaches the upper bars has come loose OR bent.

That is where I would focus to start with.

 

[garyfish340]

There's one pipe that get's welded between the frame rails on that is the mounting tabs for the shocks and the upper links.

it appears it has something to do with the upper bars that locate/ center the housing.......possibly a mounting point that attaches the upper bars has come loose OR bent.

That is where I would focus to start with.

 

[garyfish340]

I'm going to post more info in a minute.

 

[garyfish340]

I'm wondering what happens if I loosen the U bolts and push it over 1/8".

 

[abodyjoe]

what a shitty *** video. i'm freaking dizzy from watching it.. would have been better to just take still pictures of what the problem is.

so is the issue that the tire is closer to the one lower bar then the other?

not sure how the one bar could be closer then the other. they sit on the welded on spring perch. are the spring perches welded in the proper location?

 

[abodyjoe]

here is how mine was installed if you want to compare the pics to what yours looks like..

 

[HemiDenny]

His looked like mine in mock-up stage before I hooked up the panard (locator) bar.....leaning to the left and off center.

that is why I suggested to look at whatever locates the rear.....either on the rear itself or on the chassis.....just trying to help

 

[abodyjoe]

the upper arms adjust pinion angle and will move the rear left/right

 

[HemiDenny]

they also keep the rear centered which make the coil overs shocks work in unison.....i think

from what I see in the video, the rear may have shifted somehow (????).....shifting the weight per coil over....one handleing more weight than the other.....that is why it is leaning and off center

 

[Old Man Mopar]

Did it not say in the directions posted that to adjust the side-to-side
fitment, do so by adjusting the upper links (and then re-check the
pinion angle)?

Seems you should lengthen the driver's side bar a turn or so and then
shorten the passenger side bar the same amount. Mark them with a
sharpie and count the turns. You can always put it back.

I'm basing this on the assumption that it is too far over to the passenger
side.

 

[Spun Bearing]

I agree. Those upper links are the only adjustment that should affect
side-to-side positioning and are in fact the parts that determine that
position. Anything else and you're going to have to start measuring
the position of the pads and plates on the axle housing.

 

[garyfish340]

here is how mine was installed if you want to compare the pics to what yours looks like..

Trust me it's hard to aim that stupid camera, and actually see what your trying to shoot. And the acting sucked too.
The axle is 1/8" over the the passenger side, so the drivers side has like a hair in between it, and the tire. Bill Reilly says, " the axle can't move from side to side. but when I pushed the car forwards I heard the screech of rubber, the ground pitches right there for the back driveway. so I looked under it, and it was rubbing. I pushed it back to the semi flat ground, and it stops rubbing, but just by a hair. than it started snowing like a son of a *****, and getting dark.

 

[garyfish340]

When I did adjust the upper links, I fought to get the bolts back in. It said to coat them in anti seize good, because they gall easy. I shortened the drivers side, and lengthened the passenger, by one turn each. I was under the understanding that each turn moves it quite a bit. It hardly moved at all.
I called Bill, and asked him what to do, and he said I was doing it right. Now all of you guys that know your ****, know that it sucks dealing with somebody who doesn't know his *** from a hole in the ground about these things. I'm just learning this stuff as I go, suspensions are alien to me. I know well enough not to keep calling RMS, and bugging the carp out of him though. So it's up to me to figure it out. I really want to look at how the u bolt on each side relate to the perches. That would be sweet if that was it. The perches are factory welded on, and RMS welded the upper link mounts. What are other things to look at ? I got a suggestion, from Hemi Denny. There must be someone auto crossing this deal that changes adjustment regularly?
I'm going to go lay down in the snow, re center it,and snug things up again. Than roll it over the change in grade again, and keep going until it stops doing this. Sorry if I misspelled anything, I'm cooking dinner now. Thanks everyone.

 

[garyfish340]

Abodyjoe's street lynx is different than mine. They revised the position of the upper control arm links, hangers, and tabs. I know because I was there when Bill, and Chuck were writing down the numbers for the new revision, positioning the jig, and I held the stuff while Chuck welded the two tabs on the Axle. I trust Bill enough to figure that it must be something very small that I'm missing, or not seeing. I'm really stuck here because we're out on the farm, and I've nobody to watch my wife, ( Multiple sclerosis ) so I can't just run over there, and figure this out. I think that's where I'm making my mistakes, I do a lot of really heavy work, in an abbreviated amount of time, than I have to run inside my house, and take care of life business, than I run out, and start again. That's why I think I'm overlooking something simple. But I need all of you because I can't keep my attention in one place anymore, and this forum is the ultimate sounding board like on the TV show " HOUSE ".

 

[Old Man Mopar]

I shortened the drivers side, and lengthened the passenger, by one turn each.

That is the opposite of what I suggested to move the differential to the LH (driver's side).
I think you're making it worse.

Look at Joe's and picture it the way I'm telling you. If you shorten the driver's side you're
pulling it to the right. You need to lengthen the driver's side and shorten the passenger side
to push/pull it back over to the left in relation to the body of the car.

 

[garyfish340]

Thanks, that did cross my mind. Next I'll try it your way. In the mean time Bill wrote back.
Hi Gary,
Looks to me like the ride height isn't adjusted yet, or if the front of the car is on a hill perhaps. Park it on a flat spot somewhere, if it goes away it was a hill. If it's still cooked, the springs need to be adjusted up or down till it sits evenly. Be aware, the front height also needs to be evenly adjusted to get a true measurement. I just measure from the ground, up to the top of each wheel opening and adjust until both sides are the same. The rear measurement can be different from the front, but they have to be the same from side to side, front and rear, on flat ground.
On that front wheel, the camber angle might merely be that it isn't aligned yet and the ride height isn't set yet.


- Bill

That is the opposite of what I suggested to move the differential to the LH (driver's side).
I think you're making it worse.

Look at Joe's and picture it the way I'm telling you. If you shorten the driver's side you're
pulling it to the right. You need to lengthen the driver's side and shorten the passenger side
to push/pull it back over to the left in relation to the body of the car.

 

[garyfish340]

Thanks everybody for throwing your ideas out there. I guess, weather permitting, I'll try again sometime tomorrow, or Tues. to get out there, and toss around some of these ideas. I'm going to have to read exactly what Bill means, ( pertaining to the rear ) on how to set the ride height.
When I assembled the street lynx. the car still had the slant 6, and the front suspension which drove straight. So I just adjusted the rear back to the ride height the car had with the leaf springs and 205/75-14's, and popped those tires back on for moving it around. Since the car had the skinny tires, that's where I missed the 1/8th". I needed to be more serious about the measurements than I was. I figured it was the way I was holding the ruler, and accepted it as centered I guess.. Bad. I need to listen to Old Man Mopar, and set it back to the way it was, and than go the other direction. Than I'll do the articulation test.

That is the opposite of what I suggested to move the differential to the LH (driver's side).
I think you're making it worse.

Look at Joe's and picture it the way I'm telling you. If you shorten the driver's side you're
pulling it to the right. You need to lengthen the driver's side and shorten the passenger side
to push/pull it back over to the left in relation to the body of the car.

 

[garyfish340]

Dear Bill,
Long story short. after reading what you said. I checked the cambered tire. I had replaced a rounded out esentric washer, with a washer, and bolt from the Barracuda. It has two flat sides instead of one, inside the washer, and on the bolt shaft. I have it on wrong. instead of pushing the arm in, and out, the washer is on backwards, and twisting. ( opps.) So that, solves that, I hope. The rear ride height was just return to the height it had with the slant 6, 7.25 rear, and 205/75-14. So I have to find a new height, and the instruction say something about 12-13 inches between the top, and bottom of the shocks as being a good recommendation. I was hoping to get the wheel well to just barely cover the top of the tire, by like a half inch, and rake the front down a smidgen. I really need the 28" tires to compensate for the lack of overdrive. Next a guy on Forabodiesonly says I adjusted the upper rear links backward, and to get the axle moving toward the drivers side, I should have lengthened the drivers, and shortened the passenger. I guess imagining it as a triangle, instead of a radius it make sense. I only turned them once though, got scared when the bolt didn't go back in too easy. I can't believe how much I got wrong on things. I was so ecstatic at how quickly things fell in place. guess I'm fired ha ?

 

[HemiDenny]

Glad you got it figured out.... sounds like it simply was initially installed incorrectly.
I was under the impression it was originally fine, but somehow shifted.

All is good again in Mopar land

 

[garyfish340]

I was with you HemiDenny. My budget is such that I really can't afford to redo anything if it cost money. Bill explained one thing that's really messing me up, non-car related.
My Gramms broke her leg. So she can't live in her 3 story house anymore. ( stairs.) So the family has been building her a little ranch house. My car is parked down the mountain about 150 ft. I grated the area flat with a back hoe, but the ground is all rock, so it moves weird. It compresses in some spots, and there's underground gaps in others.Where the ground pitches up ( my articulation test area so to speak.) is the entrance to that house. All the big trucks they've been running up, and down there, are actually changing the levelness of the ground. I can fix the stuff on the car good enough to get it on a trailer, install the eccentric bolt correctly, move the axle over some, but the ground is too distorted to realistically think I could do much more.

 

[garyfish340]

what a shitty *** video. i'm freaking dizzy from watching it.. would have been better to just take still pictures of what the problem is.

so is the issue that the tire is closer to the one lower bar then the other?

not sure how the one bar could be closer then the other. they sit on the welded on spring perch. are the spring perches welded in the proper location?

I don't know that this issue is solved, but I know great opinions were shared, and the help was here. That said, you mentioned that I would have been better taking still photo's. I bought Dawn a Nikon D3100 for Christmas. So once I learn how that works best, I could do that.
After the holidays, would it be worth, revisiting this thread with quality photos of different parts, of this suspension, and explaining how they work, and what they do. I mean, we have a few people on this thread that understand the mechanics of these things. People who could add their commentary to photos. I just know there has to be other people like myself, that need schooling, and are probably pleading for a little explanation. Plus there are a few auto cross guys who haven't chimed in on this. I'm not asking them to give up their secrets, but maybe some basics on set ups for different conditions. In the instructions it mentions the second shock position being for drag racing. Maybe you guys could do a little tuning seminar here. Anybody ?

 

[garyfish340]

Maybe you guys could chime in on this sway bar ?

 

[abodyjoe]

That d3100 will take some damn nice pictures.

 

[garyfish340]

Dawn deserves it. She's had bad M.S. for a over 12 years now, and never gives up, she keeps marching on. She was supposed to go for an interview to be a photographer for Maxim, and she lost he vision. That's when it began. She was blind for 6 weeks, and her career was over. It was really heart breaking. Giving her this camera could maybe spark something in her to be artistic. I also like the fact that she keeps asking me to check FedEx tracking to see where it is now. She's truly like a kid, who can't wait for Christmas. I love it.
As for me, I hope I do better with the camera, than the suspension. At least let me get past the stage where people take pictures, but forget to take the cap off the lense.