HELP! 911sc veering to the Right After Height Adjustment

[wk911sc]

HELP HELP HELP!! Hello guys! I am a new owner of a 1982 Porsche 911sc targa. When I bought the car the ride heights were pretty terrible, the front was lowered severely and the rear of the car was lifted. After adjusting the ride height to Euro spec (making all side to side measurements using fixed points on the car, not the body panels) I got the car height close to "euro" spec. I took the car to get it aligned and my car was pulling to the right. After realigning multiple times and at different facilities the car is still pulling to the right. Prior to lowering the car in the rear and lifting the front of the car it was tracking in a perfect straight line. I lifted the front to check the movement of the steering wheel and there is no binding at all, in fact very smooth. The car is easier to to turn to the right then left when driving. Took the car to a reputable Porsche service center and still no luck. Any ideas what could be causing this? IF I hold the steering wheel straight the car will track straight. However the second I let go of the steering wheel the car veers to the right. One of my rear torsion bars on the right side seems to be a little more worn than the one on the left but car is sitting 1/4" higher on the right side. I am totally at loss here and unsure what to do. I swapped the wheels on each side, no luck, both wheels are spinning freely so I dont think its a tight wheel bearing, tires have less than 2000 miles on them, calipers are not binding either. Neither braking nor accelerating changes the pull, pulls the same at all speeds. Your help is realllly appreciated!!!

[brianlay]

You should have had it corner balanced after adjusting the ride heights but it would take gross imbalance to cause pulling. Really sounds like alignment...take it to someone who knows these cars.
What are your target alignment specs?

[wk911sc]

Thanks for your reply brianlay. Here's where I am at with alignment.. car is still pulling to the right. totally lost as with the ridiculous previous set up where the rear was 6" higher and the front was 3" lower the car was driving straight.

Front:
L-Camber: 0.0
R- Camber -0.2
L-Caster: 5.7
R-Caster: 5.4
L-Toe: 0.13
R-Toe: 0.13

Total Toe: 0.26
Steer Ahead 0.00


Rear:
L-Camber: -0.4
R-Camber: -0.6
L-Toe: 0.13
R-Toe: 0.19

Total Toe: 0.37
Thrust Angle: -0.01

[Alan L]

Originally Posted by wk911sc

. One of my rear torsion bars on the right side seems to be a little more worn than the one on the left but

Something not right here. The torsion bars are internal. Presuming you didn't remove them. So what exactly are you referring too?
Do the front tyres look same - no previous wear pattern?
Stand back and look at the wheels (straight ahead). Do they look right? I know they have been aligned, and should be - but something is causing the problem.
When you had the previous alignment checks, did they all corroborate the previous alignments (ie they were previously aligned right).
Alan

[wk911sc]

Thanks for your response Alan. Inspected all the tires and theres no wear pattern. Looking at the front of the car both front wheels look right. The alignment readings from both shops were nearly identical. I am wondering if I may have messed up the corner balance?

With regards to the torsion bars it took less turns for the right hand side to lower in comparison to the left hand side. Do you think its worth taking the car to another alignment shop?

[brianlay]

you said you swapped the fronts and they're almost new, right?
I would really like to see the front camber and caster very close to the same side-to-side. With those differences you it will have a tendency to pull.
What size tires and wheels?
What are the ride heights?

[Alan L]

Never saw your alignment specs first time - they never came up for some odd reason. Just compared to mine - (83SC). Tracks beautifully. I have a greater variance in caster, with no issue. The notable difference is I have approx -1 deg front camber (my personal preference).
Your specs are close to what they should be, and I doubt any value getting them done again if previous shops have agreed with what they measured. Hard to imagine, if ride height approx right that the corner balance would be thrown so far out. And it should not produce what you have.
You are LHD? and tracking to right. The roads normally have a camber from center out which will cause the car to track to the edge. But yours is tracking opposite way? Edit - you are tracking to the edge - following the road camber. Can you find a flat area - car park or something and see if does same.
Alan

[dwelle]

tire pressure?...

[wilnj]

Possible frame damage masked by the butchered stance?


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[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by wilnj

Possible frame damage masked by the butchered stance?


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Check the distances of the suspension hubs and axles (corner to corner and diagonals) on a leveled garage floor. The measurements will show if you have the corners symmetrical. You can find these measurements by projecting the corners down to the floor using the hubs with a plumb line. If you have not done this, you have no information that the four (4) corners are symmetrical. Good luck.

Tony

[wk911sc]

Tire pressure is correct all around. Interesting thought about frame damage. The car had a pre purchase inspection at Porsche and they told me the frame was clean. Also given that my alignment specs are pretty decent, do you think a bent frame is still possible in a car that can achieve desired alignment specs? I'm wondering how the previous butchered stance would compensate for a bent frame? Car pulls on flat areas, even on roads with left bank (although much less).

[tshebib]

If your corner balances are way off this could cause your issues.
A quick and dirty check would be to jack the rear up on a completely level floor making sure the jack is centered under the engine. Then check the side to side heights of the front.
Do the same process to check the side to side heights of the rear by jacking up the front in the dead center of the front nose.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by wk911sc

HELP HELP HELP!! Hello guys! I am a new owner of a 1982 Porsche 911sc targa. When I bought the car the ride heights were pretty terrible, the front was lowered severely and the rear of the car was lifted. After adjusting the ride height to Euro spec (making all side to side measurements using fixed points on the car, not the body panels) I got the car height close to "euro" spec. I took the car to get it aligned and my car was pulling to the right. After realigning multiple times and at different facilities the car is still pulling to the right. Prior to lowering the car in the rear and lifting the front of the car it was tracking in a perfect straight line. I lifted the front to check the movement of the steering wheel and there is no binding at all, in fact very smooth. The car is easier to to turn to the right then left when driving. Took the car to a reputable Porsche service center and still no luck. Any ideas what could be causing this? IF I hold the steering wheel straight the car will track straight. However the second I let go of the steering wheel the car veers to the right. One of my rear torsion bars on the right side seems to be a little more worn than the one on the left but car is sitting 1/4" higher on the right side. I am totally at loss here and unsure what to do. I swapped the wheels on each side, no luck, both wheels are spinning freely so I dont think its a tight wheel bearing, tires have less than 2000 miles on them, calipers are not binding either. Neither braking nor accelerating changes the pull, pulls the same at all speeds. Your help is realllly appreciated!!!

The thing to go by is corner weights not ride height. Ideally the corner weights will give you heights that are where you want them, but sometimes a compromise has to be made that gives close enough heights + close enough weights.

yes, a weak or broken t-bar can also cause that sort of behavior

but i'd start w/ simple things like tire pressures

You are running more front toe than spec calls for, this + loose wheel bearings or worn bushes can also cause that