[6pack] Lack of symmetry

[oliver]

this is quite likely.  my car didn't quite sit straight, and we finally 
traced it to that exact problem (front suspension misassembled)

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Navarrette, Vance" <vance.navarrette at intel.com>
To: "Kendall Larsen" <mailkendall at sbcglobal.net>; "6pack List" 
<6pack at autox.team.net>
Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 12:02 PM
Subject: Re: [6pack] Lack of symmetry


> Kendall:
>
> I found that the top bushings in the front suspension are pretty much
> worthless when they are made of the stock material. I went to urethane for 
> the
> upper control arm bushings - this greatly stabilizes the front alignment. 
> If
> your bushings are on their way out, this could give you the symptoms you 
> are
> seeing.
> Some other questions to ponder:
>  1. Has the car taken a hit to the front end at some point? If so, there
> may be little you can do short of replacing the frame.
> 2. Have you had the front end professionally aligned? Hard to tell from 
> the
> photos, but you may need to have this done. There are shims in the front 
> end
> that are used to get everything aligned, and you may be missing some of 
> the
> shims. An alignment will tell you if this is the case.
> Lastly, be advised that it is very, *VERY* easy to get the front 
> suspension
> assembled incorrectly. It looks like your car has been repainted, and I am
> guessing that at some point the front suspension was rebuilt. The front
> suspension consists of a plethora of "handed" parts. It is exceedingly 
> easy to
> put the left hand part on the right side, and vice versa, and yet the
> suspension will still go together nicely.
> Assuming that there is no collision damage, I am betting the front 
> suspension
> is misassembled. Check Roger Williams book "How to Restore the
> TR4/4A/5/250/6". There are some nice photos that show how easy it is to 
> get
> the front suspension buggered during assembly - and how to avoid this
> problem.
>
> Vance