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#1
Chassis, Suspension, Brakes, Wheels, & Tires / Re: Align your car at home?
Last post by Kern Dog - Today at 01:19:49 AMWhat started this project is that I recently raised the red car 1 inch to quit scraping over speed bumps. The suspension is firm so it isn't bottoming out due to saggy bars and springs.
These tires are 200 treadwear and very sticky.
In February last year I had it aligned at a trusted shop. I told them I wanted .75 degrees of negative camber, 1/8" toe in and as much caster as they could get. Since these were not "book specs", I had to pay for the alignment by the hour to the tune of $160. Not a terrible price if it is right though, right?
The man told me that they got 5 degrees of caster on the left and 5.5 on the right.
How do you know if it is right if you don't have a way to check it yourself? Are you a good enough driver to know just by feel?
I'm a decent driver but not that good.
These tires are 200 treadwear and very sticky.
In February last year I had it aligned at a trusted shop. I told them I wanted .75 degrees of negative camber, 1/8" toe in and as much caster as they could get. Since these were not "book specs", I had to pay for the alignment by the hour to the tune of $160. Not a terrible price if it is right though, right?
The man told me that they got 5 degrees of caster on the left and 5.5 on the right.
How do you know if it is right if you don't have a way to check it yourself? Are you a good enough driver to know just by feel?
I'm a decent driver but not that good.
#2
Chassis, Suspension, Brakes, Wheels, & Tires / Re: Align your car at home?
Last post by Kern Dog - Today at 01:07:33 AMThe same thing happens on the other side.
You see, usually when you have a Mopar up off the ground and then set it down, the track/width of the suspension isn't established because it is in a bind. You usually have to roll the car forward and back a few feet to let it settle. These grease plate sandwiches/turning plates allow the top sheet to slid over and the suspension settles. See what they do when you turn the wheel:
Now you bounce the front end down a few times and it will settle. You can crank on the torsion bar bolt to raise or lower the car to where you want it. Be sure to bounce the car up and down a few times after each adjustment to get it to settle.
The next step is to establish the caster and camber angles. For that, I'm going to use this:
There are many variations of this tool. Some are battery powered but the one I bought uses a bubble like a level. No batteries to replace and the bubble is basic technology that has worked for 200+ years. I ordered this one through Amazon.com but it hasn't arrived yet.
To establish Toe, I ordered these:
Now these are designed to bridge past the tires so you can hook a tape measure over the edges and measure the distance in front of the tire and behind it. These haven't arrived yet either.
Years ago, Mopar Muscle magazine printed an article where a guy mapped the alignment curves of two popular disc brake knuckle/spindles that we use in our cars. One was the 1973-1976 A body version, the second was the much more plentiful "B" spindle that was used from around 1973 to 1989. Here are the maps he charted starting with the A body unit:
The numbers he recorded really surprised me. I couldn't believe how much the alignment really does change in such a short amount of wheel travel. Look at the changes from zero (standard ride height) to 2 1/4" dive and 2 1/4" rise. I was shocked at how the height dramatically changed the caster.
Now look at the later "B" knuckle/spindle:
With the A unit, you gain 3.7 degrees of caster at dive. The B unit you gain 3.4 degrees.
I recently raised the car 1 inch. Doing so cost me about 1.8 degrees of caster. I am still amazed at that. It seems impossible that so much changes in such little difference in ride height.
Metal plates: $44
Caster/Camber gauge: $136 plus shipping.
Toe plates: $34 plus shipping.
Total so far, $214 plus whatever the shipping charges may be, if any.
You see, usually when you have a Mopar up off the ground and then set it down, the track/width of the suspension isn't established because it is in a bind. You usually have to roll the car forward and back a few feet to let it settle. These grease plate sandwiches/turning plates allow the top sheet to slid over and the suspension settles. See what they do when you turn the wheel:
Now you bounce the front end down a few times and it will settle. You can crank on the torsion bar bolt to raise or lower the car to where you want it. Be sure to bounce the car up and down a few times after each adjustment to get it to settle.
The next step is to establish the caster and camber angles. For that, I'm going to use this:
There are many variations of this tool. Some are battery powered but the one I bought uses a bubble like a level. No batteries to replace and the bubble is basic technology that has worked for 200+ years. I ordered this one through Amazon.com but it hasn't arrived yet.
To establish Toe, I ordered these:
Now these are designed to bridge past the tires so you can hook a tape measure over the edges and measure the distance in front of the tire and behind it. These haven't arrived yet either.
Years ago, Mopar Muscle magazine printed an article where a guy mapped the alignment curves of two popular disc brake knuckle/spindles that we use in our cars. One was the 1973-1976 A body version, the second was the much more plentiful "B" spindle that was used from around 1973 to 1989. Here are the maps he charted starting with the A body unit:
The numbers he recorded really surprised me. I couldn't believe how much the alignment really does change in such a short amount of wheel travel. Look at the changes from zero (standard ride height) to 2 1/4" dive and 2 1/4" rise. I was shocked at how the height dramatically changed the caster.
Now look at the later "B" knuckle/spindle:
With the A unit, you gain 3.7 degrees of caster at dive. The B unit you gain 3.4 degrees.
I recently raised the car 1 inch. Doing so cost me about 1.8 degrees of caster. I am still amazed at that. It seems impossible that so much changes in such little difference in ride height.
Metal plates: $44
Caster/Camber gauge: $136 plus shipping.
Toe plates: $34 plus shipping.
Total so far, $214 plus whatever the shipping charges may be, if any.
#3
Chassis, Suspension, Brakes, Wheels, & Tires / Align your car at home?
Last post by Kern Dog - Today at 12:43:59 AMHeck yeah!
I've grown tired of paying the man to get my car aligned and then not knowing for sure that I got the numbers that I paid for. I'm going to start doing it myself. The start up costs are about the same as you'd pay for ONE professional alignment so why not give it a try?
You don't need an alignment rack.
Guys with 4wd trucks have been aligning theirs with string lines for years. Of course, solid axle trucks have fixed caster and camber angles so all they adjust is the toe....
The Mopar suspension isn't hard to figure out so it is disappointing to repeatedly hear that one of our Mopar brothers took their car to some big-chain repair facility, paid $180 and the car steers as bad after as it did before.
I started this thread to better highlight my own experiences in learning how to do this. Please feel free to add your own observations and experiences. I will surely make a few mistakes during the learning process as I am not trained in this stuff. Like most of you, I'm just a guy that loves these cars and loves to tinker with them.
I recently watched this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAqZyr7JzCw&t=15s&ab_channel=Junkerup%23chrisbirdsong
DC,com member Chris Birdsong recorded the video of how he does alignments using some readily available tools. He doesn't post here much anymore but he is a great asset to the hobby. You can learn a lot from this guy.
The first step is to jack the car up and set it on the turning plates. You can get really fancy with these but all you really need is a way for the tires to steer with minimal resistance. You don't want the suspension or steering in a bind because that will affect the readings. In the video, Chris shows how he made steering plates by taking 2 steel sheet metal segments and after putting chassis grease in between, the two plates will slide any direction you want and stay stuck to each other. See pix:
These were simple 14 gauge galvanized steel panels 14" x 14".
I just smeared axle grease on the face of one, then laid another sheet over it.
Now you jack up the car and slip the steel sandwiches under the tires.
The second thing to do is to establish the desired ride height. A trained Mopar mechanic will refer to the manual where it instructs you to measure two parts on the chassis, do some math and come up with a number.
No thanks....
Just about everyone else that I've ever met does it the same way that I have done it: Measure from the pavement to the top of the wheel opening. Once you lower the car so the tires are on the turning plates, you'll see how the top section slips sideways off of the bottom:
Cost of metal plates: $44.
I've grown tired of paying the man to get my car aligned and then not knowing for sure that I got the numbers that I paid for. I'm going to start doing it myself. The start up costs are about the same as you'd pay for ONE professional alignment so why not give it a try?
You don't need an alignment rack.
Guys with 4wd trucks have been aligning theirs with string lines for years. Of course, solid axle trucks have fixed caster and camber angles so all they adjust is the toe....
The Mopar suspension isn't hard to figure out so it is disappointing to repeatedly hear that one of our Mopar brothers took their car to some big-chain repair facility, paid $180 and the car steers as bad after as it did before.
I started this thread to better highlight my own experiences in learning how to do this. Please feel free to add your own observations and experiences. I will surely make a few mistakes during the learning process as I am not trained in this stuff. Like most of you, I'm just a guy that loves these cars and loves to tinker with them.
I recently watched this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAqZyr7JzCw&t=15s&ab_channel=Junkerup%23chrisbirdsong
DC,com member Chris Birdsong recorded the video of how he does alignments using some readily available tools. He doesn't post here much anymore but he is a great asset to the hobby. You can learn a lot from this guy.
The first step is to jack the car up and set it on the turning plates. You can get really fancy with these but all you really need is a way for the tires to steer with minimal resistance. You don't want the suspension or steering in a bind because that will affect the readings. In the video, Chris shows how he made steering plates by taking 2 steel sheet metal segments and after putting chassis grease in between, the two plates will slide any direction you want and stay stuck to each other. See pix:
These were simple 14 gauge galvanized steel panels 14" x 14".
I just smeared axle grease on the face of one, then laid another sheet over it.
Now you jack up the car and slip the steel sandwiches under the tires.
The second thing to do is to establish the desired ride height. A trained Mopar mechanic will refer to the manual where it instructs you to measure two parts on the chassis, do some math and come up with a number.
No thanks....
Just about everyone else that I've ever met does it the same way that I have done it: Measure from the pavement to the top of the wheel opening. Once you lower the car so the tires are on the turning plates, you'll see how the top section slips sideways off of the bottom:
Cost of metal plates: $44.
#4
Charger Discussion / Re: Never leave your bubble of...
Last post by Kern Dog - Yesterday at 11:49:09 PMThat is excellent, Mike.
Traditional life, traditional values and if you need modern stuff, it isn't too far away.
Traditional life, traditional values and if you need modern stuff, it isn't too far away.
#5
Electric, Gauges, & Lights / Re: RT-Eng Instrument Voltage ...
Last post by Dino - Yesterday at 09:39:02 PM #6
Car Guys Discussion / Re: Dumb traffic tickets
Last post by 426HemiChick - Yesterday at 08:48:05 PMHi Folks, 28 May 2024
Decided to honor my second ship and all the crews that served aboard her with a custom License plate of their own. Our Dodge Ram PU now proudly wears "TAGS21" the Hull Number of the USNS Bowditch T-AGS 21.
Both my ships and the two I never served on, are long gone though I fondly remember them and their crews. I learned a lot and had a wonderful career in engineering, complements of the US NAVY and our ships and crews.
Best Always
426 HC's
Decided to honor my second ship and all the crews that served aboard her with a custom License plate of their own. Our Dodge Ram PU now proudly wears "TAGS21" the Hull Number of the USNS Bowditch T-AGS 21.
Both my ships and the two I never served on, are long gone though I fondly remember them and their crews. I learned a lot and had a wonderful career in engineering, complements of the US NAVY and our ships and crews.
Best Always
426 HC's
#7
Charger Discussion / Re: Never leave your bubble of...
Last post by RallyeMike - Yesterday at 07:43:10 PMMaybe find a bigger, better bubble?
When I retired 5 years ago I moved away from the population centers to an area with 1/100th the population per square mile, just an hour and a half away.There is no traffic, no crime, 1/3 the property taxes,etc. It feels like its 1976 out here, but I'm still close enough to go back to the present for a visit. One of the best decisions I have ever made.
When I retired 5 years ago I moved away from the population centers to an area with 1/100th the population per square mile, just an hour and a half away.There is no traffic, no crime, 1/3 the property taxes,etc. It feels like its 1976 out here, but I'm still close enough to go back to the present for a visit. One of the best decisions I have ever made.
#8
Charger Discussion / Re: Never leave your bubble of...
Last post by LaOtto70Charger - Yesterday at 07:23:54 PMI had a friend move to the Denver area over 10 years ago. Lots of people moving there from all over. You could move to BFE when you retire, but than if you want good medical care you may end up right back there.
#9
Off Topic Discussion / Re: When did you last: Pull an...
Last post by Kern Dog - Yesterday at 06:31:23 PMQuote from: LaOtto70Charger on May 25, 2024, 03:53:27 PMNice set of tools.
Ha ha...
The stuff I do can be replicated by anyone with some mechanical interest. I'm always learning. Many guys do stuff far beyond my skill level.
Sadly, many guys either lack the skill or the desire to work on their cars as much as they used to.
#10
Charger Discussion / Re: Never leave your bubble of...
Last post by Kern Dog - Yesterday at 06:28:34 PMLife begins outside of your comfort zone.
(Written by a man sitting on his couch)
(Written by a man sitting on his couch)