71 Dart Camber Issues

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Walker434

Walker434

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Hello, I've got a 71 Dart swinger that won't stay in alignment. When I bought the car I noticed the drivers side wheel and tire where leaning to the inside at the top. Meaning too much negative camber I think. You could see this was wearing the inside of the drivers side tire. Passenger side looked good. So before I bought the car I made the owner have it aligned. The tire and wheel then looked straight up and down and it drove better so I was happy. Now less than 1 year later the wheel and tire seem to be leaning in at the top again.

What would cause the car not to be able to hold its camber? I am assumming worn out parts of some sort but where to start?
 
Most likely is probably a worn out lower control arm bushing, or even a cracked/broken LCA pivot pin mount in the K frame.

Of course its also possibly that the shop that did the alignment didn't torque the camber bolts properly and one or both of them backed off, but that's a lot less likely than just worn out bushings etc.

Sounds like its time to rebuild the front end. I'd take apart that side first, and inspect everything as you go. Pay special attention to the upper and lower control arms. Most likely its just worn out bushings and mounts, but there's always the possibility that something is cracked/broken.
 
Yup, yup. The lower control arms bear almost all of the load to hold the front of the car up. That's why whenever I rebuild a Mopar front suspension, I install poly bushings in the LCA even if I plan to run rubber everywhere else. You might also check the upper control arm cam bolts, because every now and then, they get where they will not hold an adjustment anymore. The bolts get worn and stretched and they just cannot tighten down properly anymore. The most likely culprit though is what 72bluNblu already said. The LCA bushings. It's very common.
 
It is also important that the LCA front nut is fully tightened, only after the correct height is set and wheels on the ground. Otherwise a preload twist on the bushing will lead to early failure.
 
Thanks for the replies. At least now I have a place to start, I will gather some parts and start doing my research on how to replace the LCA bushings and cam bolts.
 
Kit made a very good point. Make sure after doing suspension work, not to fully tighten the bolts until the weight is on the wheels.
 
I really have to disagree with "it's this" or "it's that." As old as these girls are getting, it could be ANYTHING and a combination of "anythings." Could be something damaged/ broken. There is no way, without knowing the history of the car, that I would NOT rebuild the entire front end, all bushings, and upper and lower ball joints. Tie rod ends, pitman, and idler can be evaluated on an individual basis.
 
67Dart273 said:
I really have to disagree with "it's this" or "it's that." As old as these girls are getting, it could be ANYTHING and a combination of "anythings." Could be something damaged/ broken. There is no way, without knowing the history of the car, that I would NOT rebuild the entire front end, all bushings, and upper and lower ball joints. Tie rod ends, pitman, and idler can be evaluated on an individual basis.
Click to expand...

Oh I totally agree. The LCA bushings are the most likely culprit, but I'd never replace just LCA bushings. If it needs those, it probably needs everything else anyway, ie, a full rebuild. And if the LCA's are coming off for bushings everything else is pretty much apart anyway, might as well only do the job once.

And there's always the possibility something is broken, which is why I would inspect everything as I disassembled it for the complete rebuild. It could be anything from bad bushings to bent/broken frame mounts, and everything in between.
 
I'd pull it all apart, including dropping the k-member out. After everything has had its bushings removed they should be cleaned. I've got the easy way in that I've got a hot tank, but I have been known to drag k-members to a coin car wash and start by using oven cleaner and then the soapy water, etc...67Dart273 is correct that an entire front end rebuild is most likely in order.
 
It's not hard at all either if you use poly bushings on the lower control arms because you can leave the steel shell from the old factory bushing in the control arm.
You don't have to leave everything loose till the cars weight is on the suspension with poly either, because it moves inside the greased shell.
It's not molded to the shells like the rubber bushings.
Just recently did all my front with poly.
You hear and feel more road noise but the increased stability is worth it to me.
 
I chased one problem then a second comes up couple months later on the front end. I did what all advised on second go round, change it all. Clean it all up and make sure nothing broke. I also changed torsion bars and shocks to KYB's and hellwig sway bars front and rear as I had none before. Went from what is wrong now to wow this thing rides so fine
 
Another vote for tracking the problem, but it depends on what you're doing with the car and its history.

Investigation should proceed something like this:
Car on ground, check wheel bearings by trying to move the top of the wheel in and out.
Lift one wheel off the ground by jacking under the lower control arm. This keeps both ball joints loaded. It also holds the other wheel so it doen't move. Check for movement in and out from top and bottom as side to side for steering.
Look to see which joints are moving. ( A second person helps but its possible to do alone).
Then repeat with by jacking from the frame so you can check ball joints and lower control am bushings. This is easiest to do on a lift if you have access to one. A pry bar helps.

Camber is not going to be related to steering. It is going to be most related to control arms, especially upper control arm bushings and lower control arm bushing. Next balljoints. Bad strut rod bushing most noticible effect will be on braking (fore/aft movement).

Sometimes the upper control arm adjusters get worn too. So if replacing those bushings, be prepared for possibly replacing the adjusters.
 
Stoopid question but did you install a new tire there ?
Once a wear pattern is set in a tire, it cant be changed.
 
Yes I put new wheels and tires on after it was aligned. Thanks for the advice and I will start planning a total front end rebuild.
 
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