First time height & alignment project - help wanted :)

[Oh Haha]

I found a good thread Home ride height and corner balance success story the tripod method.

[Discseven]

Yesterday... did front toe adjustment day. (Am not going to adjust caster---it's fine the way it is. Camber I have discovered is fully adjusted meaning top of struts are fully out from center of car. So where it is now is likely where it will stay. Have heard about places that will adjust the spindle but I want to run these tires and see what results are had from toe only adjustment set per Scruggs specs.)

Here's progression of measurements... starting with where I found front toe... after lowering, and where I brought it to (just inside 1/8" toe IN.)



Before dealing with rear camber then toe, I have spring plate problem to deal with---want to swing the spring plate down on passenger's side but can't get it to move. Also have creaking noise from rear when suspension travels. Help with these challenges would be appreciated.

NOYOUrelax... where are you at with your project?

[will hung]

Originally Posted by Discseven

$75 not including shipping. Not bad. TY for link Will. Am curious... have you done both a bat and this gizmo roll? Bottom line... can you compare them for us?

Unfortunately, no, I have not used the bat method. But after watching videos of people using bats, if the car was a race car or if I was getting ready to paint it, I'd have no problem using a bat.

Your original question was how to roll your fenders without cracking the paint. In my opinion, your best bet is to use a real fender roller. When you use one, they are really slick. The amount of control you have not only in how much you are rolling the fender lip over but how far you are rolling it is incredible.

Like I said in my earlier post, one of the keys to not cracking the paint is rolling the fender in small increments. Not just along the arch of the fender but also in not just totally rolling the lip in one pass. You need to make several passes rolling the fender just a little each pass. The fender roller tensions so easily that keeping the pressure of each pass uniform is a piece of cake. I probably used 6 or 7 passes to slowly roll my fender. Each pass I rolled the lip a little tighter to the fender.

[Discseven]

Originally Posted by will hung

Unfortunately, no, I have not used the bat method. But after watching videos of people using bats, if the car was a race car or if I was getting ready to paint it, I'd have no problem using a bat.

Your original question was how to roll your fenders without cracking the paint. In my opinion, your best bet is to use a real fender roller. When you use one, they are really slick. The amount of control you have not only in how much you are rolling the fender lip over but how far you are rolling it is incredible.

Like I said in my earlier post, one of the keys to not cracking the paint is rolling the fender in small increments. Not just along the arch of the fender but also in not just totally rolling the lip in one pass. You need to make several passes rolling the fender just a little each pass. The fender roller tensions so easily that keeping the pressure of each pass uniform is a piece of cake. I probably used 6 or 7 passes to slowly roll my fender. Each pass I rolled the lip a little tighter to the fender.

Will... TY for notes. Q: did you compress the hanging lip entirely up against the inside of the fender so the roll is now flat? Any concern with rusting?

[Discseven]

Originally Posted by Oh Haha

I found a good thread Home ride height and corner balance success story the tripod method.

Craig did good on that write up... TY WAYNE. Increasingly apparent how much more knowledge I need to gain. Measuring off fenders does seem dubious. Will get into more accurate measures after preliminary adjustments.

[will hung]

Originally Posted by Discseven

Will... TY for notes. Q: did you compress the hanging lip entirely up against the inside of the fender so the roll is now flat? Any concern with rusting?

Yeah, I rolled to the fender.

Before starting, I scrubbed the inside of my fenders to make sure that no residual dirt or grime was going to get trapped in the fender. I then rolled it onto itself. Then I ran a bead of silicone between the old fender lip and fender.

Between that and the galvanized front fenders, I'm not too concern about rust.

[Discseven]

Originally Posted by will hung

Yeah, I rolled to the fender.

Before starting, I scrubbed the inside of my fenders to make sure that no residual dirt or grime was going to get trapped in the fender. I then rolled it onto itself. Then I ran a bead of silicone between the old fender lip and fender.

Between that and the galvanized front fenders, I'm not too concern about rust.

Excellent... TY For info Will. Post some pics if you're inclined.

[Discseven]

Am returning to see what I can do about moving my stuck spring plate.

[Bob930slant]

here is a pic of the wrench i made. 18 guage flat steel, cut to 36mm on one end and 24 mm on the other end. a little time with the grinder and in 15 minutes you will have your own custom rear suspension wrench for about $1.

[Discseven]

Originally Posted by Bob930slant

here is a pic of the wrench i made. 18 guage flat steel, cut to 36mm on one end and 24 mm on the other end. a little time with the grinder and in 15 minutes you will have your own custom rear suspension wrench for about $1.

$1.... Way to go Bob. Love it! TY for inspiration.

Is back side of those 24 mm's on spring plate 24 or 36?

[Discseven]

Did Scruggs corner balance test today. Pulled slightly to right. Given right rear spring plate being lower than left, this should have put more weight on the left rear and right front... causing pull to left. Something's not right here.

[Bob930slant]

bolt head on lock nut is 24 and the head of the ecentric is 36. here is a pic from the forum tech article that shows both sides

[midnight911]

Originally Posted by Bob930slant

here is a pic of the wrench i made. 18 guage flat steel, cut to 36mm on one end and 24 mm on the other end. a little time with the grinder and in 15 minutes you will have your own custom rear suspension wrench for about $1.

very nice.
way better than my ground down craftsman.

[Discseven]

Originally Posted by Bob930slant

bolt head on lock nut is 24 and the head of the ecentric is 36. here is a pic from the forum tech article that shows both sides

Excellent reference BOB. TY

[Discseven]

Originally Posted by Bob930slant

here is a pic of the wrench i made. 18 guage flat steel, cut to 36mm on one end and 24 mm on the other end. a little time with the grinder and in 15 minutes you will have your own custom rear suspension wrench for about $1.

BOB... what did you use to cut 18 gauge?

[DRACO A5OG]

You can also grind down a cheapo 24 MM wrench.

Going that low in front you should consider a bump steer kit.

[Discseven]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

You can also grind down a cheapo 24 MM wrench.

Going that low in front you should consider a bump steer kit.

Grind thick wrench down... damm fine idea Jim. TY

Suspension = all new to me so on big learning curve here. Bump steer. Heard of it but going to ding into some vids to get better acquainted. Ahhhh... I get it.

Investigating Bump Steer - YouTube

Longacre Bumpsteer Gauge Demo - YouTube (TY Sherwood)

[Discseven]

Am still challenged by uneven spring plates. Been trying to move lower swung spring plate up and it's not happening. Do I have to disconnect everything from it in order for it to move?

[Oh Haha]

tfhstuy reported as spam

[Discseven]

Spent afternoon attempting to raise right side spring plate slightly... finally said screw it. Am going to move on to corner balancing--perhaps spring plates are already in correct position! Preliminary Scruggs road test suggests more weight being on L front and R rear. Am going to use measure method to check CB.