1973 Dart Swinger steering pull

[SputnikOne]

Hey all, while I continue to work on the electrical system for my Dart, I figured I would start collecting opinions on one of the other annoying issues it has had since I got it.

It pulls quite abit to the right when driving, and feels unstable at higher speeds. I'm almost certain this is because one of the tires seems to have a Toe and the other doesn't, in the images you can see the tire angles are off by (atleast) a degree.

I have no experience with the mechanics of these steering systems, I understand there is a way to adjust the Toe, but as I don't really have a place to do a full alignment, I've been putting it off for some time.

I have access to a self service center with frame lifts and drive on lifts but they pay hourly so I try not to do anything that might prevent the car from being able to drive whilst there.

I also understand the camber seems to be pretty bad, it still needs to bushings in the suspension I assume, it's awfully squeaky on only the front right side.

 

[72bluNblu]

If the suspension hasn’t been rebuilt then I would plan on rebuilding the front suspension and then having it aligned.

You could try having the toe and camber adjusted, but, if the bushings are shot there isn’t much of a point.

 

[RedFish]

Have you been around it with a tape measure? Stance looks to be off to me. A failed leaf spring or torsion bar might not squeak though. Upper arm bushings squeak and cause a directional pull. Good luck

 

[toolmanmike]

If you take it to an alignment shop, they will inspect the suspension and steering . They won't align it with worn parts. Once it is repaired it can be aligned and you will be good.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Toe will not cause a pull. A quick, easy and free way to eliminate the tires is, jack up the front and cross the front tires. If it pulls the other way, or stops pulling, then the tire that was on the passengers side has a radial pull. Even with modern radials it still happens more often than you might expect. Real easy to eliminate or confirm.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

Take it in for a professional inspection and alignment. With wheels that crooked that you can see it by just looking at it you have severe issues.

Just by asking this question you clearly need someone to personally look at your car. There is no advise that can safely be given to you by showing pictures alone.

 

[SputnikOne]

Yeah, I would also like to find somewhere that knows about old cars like mine, but I live in Hawaii, and it seems like not a single mechanic will work on a car newer than the 90s.

 

[toolmanmike]

Yeah, I would also like to find somewhere that knows about old cars like mine, but I live in Hawaii, and it seems like not a single mechanic will work on a car newer than the 90s.

If you can't find a shop, mechanic, or friend that can do the work, you will need to do a ton of reading and studying before you dive into it by yourself.

 

[AJ/FormS]

I bought a Duster once, that actually drove fine, for most of the roadtest. But on the way back home, we crossed some bumpy railroad tracks. Instantly, the car turned right, bounced over the curb and from 50/55 went crashing thru the ditch and up into a field.
I had it towed a couple of miles back to my shop, and the hunt began.
What I found was that the passenger-side apron was no longer attached to the firewall.
In those days, a 73 Duster wasn't worth more than a couple of hours wages, so I stripped it out and called a scrapper.
So what's the point?
IDK, maybe you got frame problems, after all the car is 50ish years old.

I had a 73 Swinger once, that I loaned to a younger brother who had fallen on hard times. Well one day, he calls me up and says the car is sitting wonkey and squeaks a lot.
So, thinking it's just a LCA bushing, I say bring it over.
A couple of days later he shows up and the P-side is sitting really wonky. It turns out, that the T-bar had snapped, and he drove it an hour to my place like that! Upon inspection, it turned out that the LCA bushing was also shot, actually both were; and now I had a wonky P-side fender to deal with as well. Can you imagine that ride?

I had a 68 Barracuda once that, if you backed it up with the brakes on, it would make banging noises. It turns out that the UCA pinchbolts were no longer pinching, and the UCA would get power-flopped by the brake-system.

I had a ......
Well, I think you get the point, which is; don't drive it like that in traffic..

 

[SputnikOne]

Lifted the car up while I was at the shop to look at the suspension and besides the pretty obvious needs-to-be-replaced bushings everything seems okay, besides the rust of course. Anyone see anything that might be an issue?

 

[SputnikOne]

Hey, little update, I've acquired a rebuild kit pictures below with just about everything except actual control arms, which hopefully I won't need.

I'm definitely not an expert in this practice, so I'm still looking for shops around that will help me out, but either way I don't currently have the ball joint socket I assume I need now.

From my understanding it's the 1 59/64th for a 73 drum brake car?

Would it even be worth it to replace everything /but/ the ball joints? Shipping out here usually takes about a week, and if I can get the control arm bushings replaced I feel it would help out a lot, even though it would be a perfect time to replace the ball joints aswell.

 

[72bluNblu]

If the ball joints are shot then replacing everything else and leaving the ball joints is still gonna leave you with issues. Maybe fewer issues but it still won't hold an alignment if the upper ball joints are toast. Based on your pictures the upper ball joint boots are torn/leaking grease and have been for a long time, which likely means the joints are shot too.

You have to pull everything apart to change the other bushings, changing the ball joints out at the same time only makes sense. You will want to remove those upper ball joints while the UCA's are still on the car, otherwise trying to break the ball joints loose and hold the UCA without damaging it at the same time is pretty difficult.

 

[SputnikOne]

Yeah, I've heard as much about the UCAs, guess I'll wait for the socket to arrive, is 1 59/64th the right size for this year?

 

[72bluNblu]

Yeah, I've heard as much about the UCAs, guess I'll wait for the socket to arrive, is 1 59/64th the right size for this year?

I mean you could change out all the bushings, reinstall the control arms and then replace the ball joints last before you put it all back together. But the car would still be apart until you got the ball joints. Not like it's drivable the way it is so certainly no harm in starting everything else.

1 59/64th should be the correct size for the large upper ball joints, which is what a '73 should have.