front end alignment?

Not sure where to post this but A few days ago I was driving down a road running next to a local small air port and since the road was long and straight I thought I open her up a bit. Well there was a pretty good drainage dip that I came apon very fast and since my '72 350-4 Skylark sits very low in the front I knew I was going to hit the dip very hard and do who knows what damage to the car. So I slamed on the brakes, the wheels lock up ad I start to go a little sideways so right befor I go into the devil dip I let of the brakes and give it a little gas and turn into my slide to strighten out, then I hit the dip...

The car bottoms out and and I can feel and hear the big front cross member dig into the dip and crap goes flying all over the interior of the car. So I pull over and see the trans is still in the car and I havent torn out the oil pan, thank God for the cross member!

After driving the car for a few days all looks good and the car still runs great and no new fluid leaks but to keep my car going straight I have to have the steering wheel at about 11 o'clock. So I'm thinking I need an new front end alignment?

Is there something I can do myself to get the car driving straight or would the smart thing to do is bring it in to someone? Sometimes the smart thing to do eludes me.

Thanks,

Brad

 

I’d have the entire front end, steering AND suspension checked out by a trusted, old school front end shop. Having to hold your steering wheel like that tells me the lateral and vertical loads on your system were a bit on the extreme side. You DON’T want to “just get by” with front end issues.

 

So I had some time today and took my car in to have the front end looked at, the mechanic who's going to do the work on the car drove me home since I was going to walk so it gave us some time to talk about what's up with it. He told me he was more concerned about the shimmy the car had more then the steering not being right. He told me the tires could have a bubble or some defect caused by the impact or maybe even the rims may have gotten tweaked or something else but he'd have to look at it to find out just what it is. Also the front end guy working on my car owns a '71 chevell SS so we talked about our cars some and he tell me he's the one that works on the older cars and he tell's me he loves working on them.

I get the call and I'm told my tires are from 2003 and the they have some separation problems which is what is causing the shimmy in he steering wheel and that the front end is very much out of alinment and missing some shims. I'm told I need to replace the front tires for sure and the it would be a good idea to replace the rears also. I tell I can't afford to replace the rear tires at this time but go ahead and do the fronts which are Goodyear T/A 225 60 14 and do the alinment. I'll get the car back when I get home from work on monday.

He Also tells me the car is sitting 3" lower in front which I knew becouse of the 2" lower spindles and the 1" lower springs and that he needs a little extra time to sort everything out.

One thing that I was happy about was that I told the guy I was having a hard time finding a vacuum leak and that the idled a little rough. When I got the call about the tires and front end he tells me the leak is coming from the power brake vacuum booster and that that was the cause. They wanted $380.00 to replace it but I thought that was to much and I think I can do that myself so I told him no on that and he said no problem but that the brakes are spongy and the I should get then soon.

Anyway I think I'm paying about $150.00 bucks more then I should for the new tires and front stuff but I trust this guy to do a good job and right now I just don't have the time to shop it and I just don't know much about the front end alinement stuff. The complete job is $650.00. Like I said I know I'm getting beat up some but I have to have it done and the shop is very close to me.

Thanks Brad

 

You can replace the booster for about $100.

2 nuts holding the master cylinder to the booster, and four nuts holding the booster to the firewall.

If the proportioning valve is on the booster, remove the bolts holding that on.

Disconnect the pedal rod, and if you are careful and have an assistant, you may be able to remove/replace the booster without having to break the brake lines loose. Otherwise, if you can, get the correct caps and plugs, to minimize fluid loss and a mess.

 

Thanks for the info TrunkMonkey, after I build up my funds the power booster will be my next project.

 

Sometimes, $650 for piece of mind is well worth every penny over doing it yourself and stress over doing it correctly. Continue to enjoy the car. You're on the right track. Just replace the booster on your own - do it soon, having no brakes suddenly is no fun.

 

A leaky booster causes a hard pedal, not mushy. You should get a very thorough look at the brake system. Brakes and steering are the two most important systems on the car as far as safety is concerned.

 

When I got the car back today the mechanic took the vacuum line off the booster and covered it with his thumb and no more vacuum leak and the car idled better. I've driven the car for a long time that way so I don't really know what a normal pedel feels like but the mechanic veified what you said Ziggy about the pedal feel. So next part to be replaced is the power booster.

They did a good job with the front end alignment and the new front tires make it feel like a different car!