A Body upper controll arm problem/question
...........U could also put on 68-70 B body lower control arm.......there 1/2 in shorter.........kim..
I never knew that. Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.
You cannot compensate caster & camber on the opposite side to correct a problem on the damaged side. You wil most likely cause a tire wear problem(camber only). With the ecentric adjustment bolts it's unlikely you could change caster that much without adversely affecting the camber.
The car really needs to be pulled. Any "problem solver" is not intended to correct such issues as a bent frame. I'd hate to spend the money on adjustable arms etc. & then find out I still fell short of the intended corrected angle & have to pull it anyway. If the car is worth anything $500 is not much to spend to have it right.
How about tracking the woman down who hit him & getting her to pay toward it?
The owner of the car is "daily driving a beat up 71 Duster" and needs some assistance. I don't believe taking THIS car to a frame shop is in the cards.
And YES, you can compensate caster/camber on the opposite side to help correct a drivability problem on a damaged vehicle. (Band-Aid)
Since no alignment specs have been posted in this thread, how do we know it couldn't be compensated for with caster/camber on the opposite side?
Well, changing the caster/camber on the opposite side would, to some degree at least, eliminate the pull, but the problem would still remain that the tires would wear out pretty quickly. Right now I can see the inside edge of the R/S tire starting to "feather".
I don't think the car has been to an alignment shop the whole time he's owned it, so I have no idea where the toe setting is, but with the steering wheel straight, the tires are pointing straight ahead. If the toe setting is off, it isn't off by much. Only time you an SEE a problem is when the wheels are turned. Like I said, he doesn't have too much money to spend on this "repair", so as long as the caster/camber is close to spec so it doesn't go through tires he'll be OK with it, even if it does pull to the right while he drives it.
I agree with all of you guys that say this is a band-aid fix, but he doesn't have too much money, and the car is pretty beat already. Spending $500 on a frame pull (if thats what it would cost?) will most likely over-ride the value of the car. LOL
If I could buy a set of adjustable A arms for a couple of hundred dollars, and we split the cost, he can afford that (and so can I) and it will keep this old bomb on the road.
If using a B body lower arm will work, that'll be even better.
Anyone have a Right Side, B Body lower control arm they wanna sell cheap?? LOL
George