67 cuda caster woes

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golden boy

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After a complete front end rebuild on manual steer street car including new t bars, LCA, UCA (QA-1)took car in for wheel alignment. Cannot get caster below +6 to +8 degrees making it hard to steer on slow turns. UCA adjustments maxed out. Camber -.05 and -.09. Front UCA bushings tight to frame. Rear bushings out all the way. No adjustment left to reduce caster. Would have liked +2 to +3 degrees caster. Any thoughts for correction?
 
Hmmm. That is not usually the problem these cars have, normally it's a struggle to get more than +3. What is the ride height set at? Do you have adjustable strut rods? You have the QA1 LCA's too?
 
You sure the control arms are on the right sides? Stranger things have happened. they WILL interchange.
 
RustyRatRod said:
You sure the control arms are on the right sides? Stranger things have happened. they WILL interchange.
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Definitely worth checking, although, if that were the case the caster should be negative. The QA1 UCAs should have a good amount of positive caster built it, just not quite that much.
 
You could install offset bushings. Normally you would use them to gain 2 to 3 degrees caster. But you could install them backwards to take away caster. But the offset bushings are only gonna be good for a fat 2 degrees.
 
Seems to me there's been discussion on changes in strut bushings. But I think that usually moves caster "the wrong way."
 
All new parts, careful installation/orientation(left/right). wondering about relationship of lower control arm/UCA and the OEM strut rod i used. It occurs to me that even with new bushings, I could have moved the lower control arm forward as i tightened the nut on the front to compress the bushing. Any thoughts on this?
 
golden boy said:
All new parts, careful installation/orientation(left/right). wondering about relationship of lower control arm/UCA and the OEM strut rod i used. It occurs to me that even with new bushings, I could have moved the lower control arm forward as i tightened the nut on the front to compress the bushing. Any thoughts on this?
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The stock strut rods are a "one size fits most" kind of deal. They were intended to work with the stock components and large rubber bushings that have quite a bit more give in them than most aftermarket bushings and components. Even with the stock components the strut rods aren't always the right length, they were intended to be "close enough", not perfect.

With as many aftermarket components as you have, I would suspect you have an issue with the length of the stock strut rods, although I suppose it's possible you over tightened them and compressed the bushings too much. Before you buy a set of adjustable strut rods though, I would put the car back up in the air and remove the rear nut off one of the strut rods. Do this slowly, and watch the position of the LCA. If the LCA moves backward as the nut is loosened, the strut rods may be causing you issue. I'm not sure how many threads you have available on the strut rod, you may be able to loosen it up and recheck your alignment. Obviously, DO NOT drive the car with the strut rods loose.

When you did the installation did you check to see if the LCA's moved freely with the strut rods installed? With the stock non-adjustable strut rods not every one does, but even though the length can't be adjusted the movement of the LCA should be checked. If there's any binding in the travel of the LCA the length of the strut rod needs to be changed. I think if more people checked the movement of the LCA's with that stock strut rods you would see more people running adjustable strut rods...
 
With OEM style strut rod bushings, one piece, the nuts get tightened as far as they will go. They bottom out on the threads.
2071443-P-1.jpg
 
One of two things come to mind. Poorly made upper control arms or the LCA bushing pin is pressed in too far, moving the LCA forward. Are the upper arms adjustable?
 
golden boy said:
After a complete front end rebuild on manual steer street car including new t bars, LCA, UCA (QA-1)took car in for wheel alignment. Cannot get caster below +6 to +8 degrees making it hard to steer on slow turns. UCA adjustments maxed out. Camber -.05 and -.09. Front UCA bushings tight to frame. Rear bushings out all the way. No adjustment left to reduce caster. Would have liked +2 to +3 degrees caster. Any thoughts for correction?
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Are those camber numbers right? If yes, then dialing in some camber will subtract caster.Typical Street camber runs a minimum 1/2* to about 1* maximum.
4* caster steers pretty nice, with my P/S.
Are you sure the hard-steer is a caster issue? And not the new BJs or some other new part?
 
Jim Lusk said:
One of two things come to mind. Poorly made upper control arms or the LCA bushing pin is pressed in too far, moving the LCA forward. Are the upper arms adjustable?
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QA1 makes good stuff. If it were one side I would say it could be a manufacturing problem, but it's both sides which means two different jigs, and the alignment numbers are close side to side which tells me they match the jigs. The LCA pin can't really be pushed in too far, they bottom out just like the stockers. The upper arms are not adjustable.

AJ/FormS said:
Are those camber numbers right?
If yes, then dialing in some camber will subtract caster.
4* caster steers pretty nice, with my P/S.
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Good catch, I read right through that and thought it was at -.5 and -.9. If it's at -.05 and -.09 then yes, you could use the front camber bolt to decrease the caster. I try to set the camber at no more than -1 degree for street use. I've heard of as much as -1.5 being run without significant tire wear issues. I'm not sure that would dial the caster back enough though. The OP's car is manual steering. Power steering is easy, I run +5* caster on my challenger and would run more if I could get it. Manual steering is a whole different ball game, once you get much past +3 things start to get a little heavy. Especially if it's a fast ratio box.

What is the ride height set at? The alignment settings change with the ride height.
 
What type of stance does this car have? If it sits level or favors the rear, that will not help your caster problem. Of course, I don't think that's "the" problem but it certainly will not help. Usually you see people have problems with not enough caster when they raise the rear of the car. So if yours sits low in the rear, that could be an issue.

Since you've not bothered to post any pictures, that's just a stab in the dark.
 
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