Steering Returnability

[elliotmoore930]

Hello I have a 1972 Mustang Grande. I recently went through all of the front end suspension system and then got an alignment thereafter. After returning to the road, I noticed that when I would make a right hand turn, the car would not return back to the center. I would then need to rotate the steering wheel back toward the center to keep from running off of the road. This is very annoying to me and would like to fix it.

I have done some research on various forums and articles to figure out what a possible solution might be. I read that it could possibly be faulty bushings from tie rods and other suspension bushings. However, like I said earlier that I had already went through the front end and replaced all of the bushings. Then I began to read that it could have something to do with the caster of the suspension. And since I just had an alignment, it could be possible that the caster could be the culprit in this situation.

If somebody else has any experience with this type of issue please let me know and what could possibly be a solution to it as well. 

Thanks

 

[Bentworker]

Do you have the as-left sheet from the alignment she showing what the Caster/Camber/Toe was when they were done?1

One big thing is what specs the alignment shop was trying to achieve. If they were trying to achieve 1971 specs they were designed for bias ply tires in the dark ages of American car handling.

Opentracker racing has a nice tech section on their website with good alignment numbers for radial tires and decent handling.

 

[Bill73Ragtop]

It needs to be re-aligned by someone who knows how to do proper alignments (before doing any extensive driving). Part of the proper alignment is an inspection of the suspension and notifying you if anything is present that will prevent successful alignment, so this should be briefly discussed with the mechanic as well as his knowledge of how to set up the suspension.

Lots of bad stories out there about shop managers assigning the newest rookie to do alignments on their 'state of the art' rack equipment.

 

[Hemikiller]

Most likely is that your alignment tech botched the job. Definitely post the printout they should have given you. Even the original settings will give you acceptable return to center. Having driven a car where the tech screwed up and put in negative instead of positive caster, I know what you're dealing with.

Radial tires don't experience caster growth at speed like bias & belted tires. The contact patch on those tires will move behind the vertical center of the rim, adding caster and high speed stability. Because of this, radial tires require more positive caster to maintain that "feel". Most shops only have the original alignment specs in their systems. With modern tires, you want 2 to 3 degrees positive caster, and zero to negative .5 degrees of camber. Factory toe spec is fine unless the car wanders under hard braking, then increase 1/16".

 

[elliotmoore930]

Here is the allighnment sheet

 

[MikeGriese]

That looks awful. There shouldn't be big differences between settings from side to side. Even the rear is terrible. If that is the best they can do, they are either incompetent or you have some suspension issues. Either way, they should have discussed this with you.

 

[Bentworker]

Agreed.  That sheet looks like hammered dog poo.  The fact that they handed you that sheet and your keys might be an indication that your car may be better served by a different shop.

The caster numbers should be more like +2 to +3.5 and the camber numbers should be more like -.5

And numbers should match from side to side....  No wonder it has no return to center with negitive Caster!

I also question the camber numbers on the rear axle. It is a straight axle, so there are two possibilities...

1) whoever is doing the alignment does not know how to run the machine.

2) someone recreated the jump scenes from dukes of hazard in your ride

Also- If you were handy enough to replace all your front suspension you are also handy enough to do your own home alignment.  The tools can be home made or purchased.  Lots of folks on this form do their own alignments, do a search if it is something you would consider doing.

 

[Hemikiller]

Bentworker is right on. No way should any of the "after" measurements be in the red. It looks to me like the tech only adjusted the toe and rolled it off the rack. The 71-73 specs do have a negative range on the caster, but any good tech would know you need to go positive with radials. You should also have no more than 1/4 degree variation side to side for any measurement. A good tech will offset the angles to correct for road crown so your car tracks better. I can post a scan of the alignment specs from the shop manual this evening.

IMO, I would go back to the shop, ask to speak to the owner or manager and calmly explain that they need to re-align the car at no cost to you, or refund your money. My last alignment cost $100, so I'd be pretty PO'd if they botched my alignment as badly as this.