70 Charger front end has gone MASSIVELY positive camber!

[Triplegreen500]

So, I've had my Charger 500 for about a year now. Been driving it and enjoying it - unrestored, original, so I don't feel bad doing goofy stuff like driving it to Lowe's on a Thursday to get light bulbs. I think I've put about 3k miles on it this summer.

I have some receipts that came with it, from '18 or so (have to dig 'em out), that show new front end parts (ball joints, spindles, etc). When I got it, it drove well..but after a summers worth of running it up and down mountain roads, the camber is HUGELY positive. Like, you look at it from the front, and it looks bowlegged, the tires are tucked in so far at the bottom! It also squeals the tires when you have the wheel off-center going through parking lots and stuff, the camber is soooo off. I know it wasn't like this when I got it because I can SEE how bad it is now, and in photos I took after getting it, they aren't anything like this.

I haven't seen anything bent, haven't hit anything, it's happening on both sides so I doubt it's a buckling mount or anything like that...could they maybe just not have tightened things enough when they did the repairs back in '18? This was a Florida car, so the only hills it was on were bridges and the only real curves were off-ramps, until I got it home to Maryland, so it probably never really had any lateral loads on it...

I'm going to do some digging before I get it to a buddy's shop for an alignment next day off (10 days from now) - it looks like the uppers are adjusted via cam bolts and the lowers are fixed-mount? Are there any recommendations for updated parts if needed? I've seen mention of offset mounts or something, to increase caster with radial tires...I'll check to see if the new parts included those or not. Any other suggestions for a driver '70?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Either the alignment adjustment has slipped or the rubber lower control arm (LCA) bushings were twisted when installed which cause them to fail prematurely... Oh, or the LCA bushings weren't on the list of replaced components & they failed after being put back in service.....

Lotta shops/people avoid the LCA bushings since they are the most difficult part of the job.... But also one of the most important...

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Oh, on recommendations..
Moog Problem Solver offset Upper control arm bushings installed to increase caster not camber as they are intended for...

The original intent of the Moog bushings was to gain Positive camber from cars that had damage. When their bushings are installed the way that their instructions show, you may have too much positive camber and even less positive caster than before.

The proper installation for increased caster is: FRONT bushing with the thinnest rubber section toward the engine. REAR bushing with the thinnest rubber section toward the fender.

Set Camber .5-.7 negative, set caster as high as the adjustment will allow while keeping a small amount extra on the drivers side.... Set total toe at .2-.3

Steering pull that's caused by road crown can sometimes be compensated for by adding positive caster to the left front wheel compared to the right front. You don't need much, just enough to offset the road crown which slopes to the right.

 

[Triplegreen500]

I'll have a look at the LCA bushings, thanks. I do hear an occasional clunk out of the left front - I wonder if they all failed, and that one is the one that makes noise?

 

[1 Wild R/T]

If the clunk occurs just as you lead into a curve it's quite possible... I've had a few that clunked like that....

 

[Jerry Hall]

Failed lower control arm bushings usually let the tires wear to the inside, just the opposite of what you have.

 

[WileE]

Most of the time, back in the day, and now, the upper adjustment cam bolts became loose. If they weren't tight enough, or just from normal road shock/vibration, it's just a matter of re-aligning.

 

[Triplegreen500]

Yeah, the clunk (a single WHAP that can't be missed) happens usually as I start to back out of the garage, and start to turn the wheel.

I'll get 'er up in the air one evening and start poking and prying, see if anything moves around that shouldn't...my first thought was upper cams that were loose and just walked, and since the road to my house is basically a slalom course up a mountain it makes sense that it would be both sides (I don't live in NASCAR LOL). We shall see.

I may end up doing that front brake conversion sooner than I thought! No sense getting new stuff for the front drum setup, only to replace it all with a disc conversion setup later this winter! I'll have to see what's up, what needs to be replaced (if anything), and what (if any) of that overlaps to a disc conversion kit...

 

[Triplegreen500]

And the tires are DEFINITELY wearing on the outer edges....

 

[Jon Salem]

I have the same behavior on a 1971 charger, cambers positive drastically on driving (upper edge out). used a rim level gage and got it better but they moved again on driving. All this happened after separating the pitman arm and inner tie rod end from the center link to adjust a new steering box. Anyone know the torque on the camber adjustment bolts (upper arm)?? The 1970 manual says 140 in-lbs, but I manage to break one well before that, so the 1971 must be much lower.....