alignment question

I took my 70 skylark with newly rebuilt front suspension to the alignment shop for a proper front end alignment and after getting it up on the rack they called me and said they could not do it.

Why? Because when I put the suspension back together I apparently put the passenger upper control arm adjustment bolts in backwards. I put the passenger side bolts in with the nut outboard. But, on the driver's side I did it right and put the nut inboard ou:

Well, I'll know better next time. But, even looking at it now I don't see how that would be a huge deal. Anyone want to explain it to me? The way I see it, when you loosed those bolts (no matter which way a bozo like me puts them in) it opens the space between the frame bracket and the control arm adjustment bar where the shims go, and you just slip them in. So, why are they telling me I need to take the passenger side suspension apart and turn them around?

Has anyone been here before? If I really have to do this, can I just use a spring compressor to take the tension off then pull the bolts out and flip them around one at a time, or do I have to do more.

Thanks,

Chris

 

Chris,

I have run across this issue at the alignmet shop I used to work at. The problem is this. If you look at new upper control arm mounting bolts the area just above the head of the bolt should be splined. When the bolts are installed properly this splined area is pressed through the the frame bracket and then goes through the control arm shaft. Ths splined area on the bolt prevents it from spinning while the nut is loosened or tightned. In your case with the bolts installed backwards, the nut cannot be accessed to loosen or tighten it when the car is on the allignment rack so the bolts must be removed and turned around. I also suggest you check the other side as well, if you used a impact gun or in any other way spun the bolt in the frame durring the process the splines would have been stripped off the bolt. If this happened the bolts can't be tightned when performing an allignment even if installed going in the correct direction. My suggestion is check the bolts on the other side as well to see if they still have good splines on them. If not buy new bolts and when installing them you must place them in the frame bracket and tap the head with a hammer until it bottoms against the frame bracket. Then slide the control arm over the bolts and tighten them by turning the nut only. You will not have to hold the head of the bolt as the splines will keep it from spinning in the frame bracket.

The good news is to fix this you don't have to pull the entire front suspension apart. Jack up the front of the car and place jack stands under the front control arms so the weight of the car is still on the springs. Remove the wheels and disconnect the upper ball joint. You don't have to worry about the springs unloading because the weight of the car is still on them, you are using the weight of the car as the spring compressor. After the ball joint is disconected, push the control arm up so you can access the bolts and fix/replace them. Remember if the splines are gone, replace the bolts and install the new ones buy tapping them into the frame bracket and tighten by turning the nut only. Remember, you should never turn the head of the bolt once installed into the frame. Good luck!!! :TU:

 

Thanks Dan, I will do that tomorrow and hopefully get this beast to the alignment shop next week.

-Chris

 

Sounds good, let me know how it goes. Is that a Gulfstream Blue 70 Skylark you have. It looks just like mine from the picture. :beer

 

Dan,

Actually it is Seamist Green (hard to tell from the current avatar). I went out tonight to see if I could make some progress. I got them turned around and all splines were in good shape. It really didn't take long and I didn't even have to take the upper control arm loose. When I put the jack under the passenger control arm it raised the upper CA enough for me to get in there.

Thanks again,

Chris

 

Oh No

ou: ou: ou: ou: Now you tell me about the importance of the splines. I just finshed putting the whole front end together on my 68 convertible. I sure hope that they will hold when, if, they need to loosen the nuts to do an alignment. It was no big deal to me since the upper control arm was the first part to bolt back in, I even put the nuts inboard but had to knock the bolts out of the holes to remove the upper arms without hitting the headers. I guess at this point I'll just roll the dice!

Keith