replaced everything....

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mailman

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1974Duster, replaced all parts of the front end. New uc arms, new ball joints, all tie rods and sleeves. all bushings, idler arm. didn't replace pitman arm or gear box. Duster steers great for a while and than alignment goes to crap. any suggestions? New torsion bars, and spc upper control arms. almost everything that could be replaced was. ty for the help.
 
Try checking the sleeve thats welded to the x-member for the lower control arm shaft. It's difficult to see & often overlooked........
 
Next time you get an alignment, mark the upper control arm bolts and washers so that the next time it goes out, you can see if things are shifting around in this area. Do the same thing with the tie rod adjustment sleeve.

Check to make sure the ball joint in the UCA is in straight and is not backing out of the hole. You also may want to check the joint in the pitman arm to make sure it isn't wobbling around. Check to make sure steering box is bolted in tightly.
 
everything is tight. inside of tires are bald so we're off to the alignment shop at pep boys again. mopar guy down there,so I'll accompany my son this time to see if we can figure this out.
 
KitCarlson said:
Toe out, and negative camber?
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THIS. "Alignment going to crap" doesn't tell us much.

These old girls are just not that complicated. Either there is something loose or there isn't. Either the alignment has been done right or not.

If you are going to the same shop you might consider "not."
 
mailman said:
everything is tight. inside of tires are bald ....
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This is a more specific complaint. The causes are, either singly or in combination; toe-out, or excessive negative camber. The alignment settings of these two are to spec or not. If the vehicle ride height is set after the vehicle is aligned, it will throw the alignment values off.

When the vehicle is moving, the LCA will sweep back very slightly adding toe-out. It is caused largely by compression of the control rod and control arm bushings. The closer the alignment is to set 0º, the more pronounced this will be.

The UCA is a little on the short side by design.* The problem with the short UCA is that when the suspension is in full extension, the UCA pulls the top of the tire in toward the center of the car. The LCA acts like a pivot and pushes the bottom of the tire out. This situation has the weight and traction of the car resting on the inside edge of the tire.

The difficulty created by this design situation is exacerbated in cornering. Body roll lifts the front tire on inside of turn causing the car to run on the inside edge of the tire tread and because of the turning of the vehicle, scrub the tread on the inside edge of the tire. Faster, tighter turns over rough textured roadways amplify tire wear. The effect is much like dragging one of those big old flat pink pencil erasers sideways across a rough surface. IMHO Installing front and rear anti-sway bars will help reduce the body roll situation, but will not eliminate it completely.

* The front end of the A-body, like most mass-produced cars, is a compromise. The designers were faced with two choices, either make the car wider for longer control arms, or make the engine bay narrower. All things considered, the choices made by Ma Mopar were pretty decent. The cars handle acceptably well and will accommodate nearly any motor that Mopar offered to the general public.
 
this is crazy! I just backed up about 20 feet and the front end settled down again. drive dorward and it lifts up. it'll be good when it leaves the shop, and a few days later it lifts up and the tires turn in. everything is tight. the shop is as bewildered as I am. 1 more visit to the shop, after that.....e-bay
 
mailman said:
this is crazy! I just backed up about 20 feet and the front end settled down again. drive dorward and it lifts up. it'll be good when it leaves the shop, and a few days later it lifts up and the tires turn in. everything is tight. the shop is as bewildered as I am. 1 more visit to the shop, after that.....e-bay
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Sounds like you might have issues at torsion bar mount location(maybe rot?)For the car to go up and down moving forward and back..20ft.Have you replaced the pivot bushings in your lower control arms?Also check for rot at your upper control arm area.Good Luck.
 
This might be a dumb question, but when everything was replaced, was everything tightened with the car in the air? I know that the suspension will do some odd things if the bushings are pre-loaded, specifically the lower control arm bushings. Sorry if that's a little insulting, that is not the intention, just thinking out loud..and wouldn't want you to sell it over an alignment issue...
Also, what about the strut rod bushings?
 
your toe in and out will be off if the front end was aligned with a sloppy pitman/idler arm. I dont know if you replaced them or not.
 
pettybludart said:
Sounds like you might have issues at torsion bar mount location(maybe rot?)
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That was my thought from your description. Check the crossmember where the torsion bars attach on the back end of them. Also check the torsion bars themselves.

Do you notice any kind of bumpy ride?
 
6pk2goDemon said:
Try checking the sleeve thats welded to the x-member for the lower control arm shaft. It's difficult to see & often overlooked........
Click to expand...

Here's a couple pics of the area referenced before. I'm not sure this is the problem, but it's worth a really good look over.....

This is the rear of the x-member on the drivers side. Where the screwdriver is pointing, you can see a sleeve that's welded to the x-member from the factory.

View attachment P1090164.JPG


Here is the passenger side rear of the x-member.

View attachment P1090165.JPG

Passenger side with a lower control arm pin inserted into the x-member. You can now see why it is so difficult to visually inspect this area when it's mounted in the car. There's very little room.....

View attachment P1090167.JPG

Pin is pulled out for reference of area again.

View attachment P1090168.JPG
 
6pk2goDemon said:
Here's a couple pics of the area referenced before. I'm not sure this is the problem, but it's worth a really good look over.....

This is the rear of the x-member on the drivers side. Where the screwdriver is pointing, you can see a sleeve that's welded to the x-member from the factory.

Here is the passenger side rear of the x-member.

Passenger side with a lower control arm pin inserted into the x-member. You can now see why it is so difficult to visually inspect this area when it's mounted in the car. There's very little room.....

Pin is pulled out for reference of area again.
Click to expand...

Thanks C! I'm a better visual person.
 
6pk2goDemon, you nailed it. do you know anyone who has 1 for sale? I would like to thank everyone who took time to think and respond to this post. I'll try to locate a k-member at The Mopars at the Strip show, hope I will see you there!
 
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