alignment problems

[69 buzz]

took my 69 dodge super bee for routine alignment check and tire balance. it is screwed up . drove fine before,now squeals front tires going down road and darts around. they are replacing front tires and have replaced lower control bushings and one ball joint. this is third day in a roll and still wrong they have tried. they are not charging anything because it is reputable store and have been great to deal with but my goodness. it ruined front tires and they have paid tow bills and are embarassed. they get one more shot tomorrow and bringing another guy in to look at it. anybody else had a problem like this and possible causes. thanks

 

[Kern Dog]

Your alignment guy should get one chance, then screw him...take it to an older mechanic with old fashioned mechanical guages, not the new digital stuff.

 

[Dennis H]

Agreed that it is generational. My guy Fred at Five Points Tire in Redwood City is an old Mopar guy and track racer. Maybe 60ish. Knows how to dial it in. He reads the high-tech charts and makes a few minor adjustments. Car drives straight at unspeakable numbers.

 

[Watchthis]

My 69 RR does the same thing. My problem started after rebuilding the front end. After putting in the new ball joints, it started the squeeling tire thing too. I'm pretty cretain that camber is my problem. The tires are not flat to the ground but are actually setting at an angle from the ground. I just haven't taken it to the alignment shop, because I haven't gotten all the drive line bugs out yet and have only driven it a hand full of times since. And those handful of drives were all less than 20 miles. Mostly just test drives. It cant be anything difficult to figure out.

 

[PST]

Do you have the spec sheet from when the alignment was done? If you don't mind sharing it would be a good start to figure out what is in need of correction.

Thanks
James

 

[67 coronet]

http://www.allpar.com/history/mopar/front-end-alignment.html
take a look at this.they are prob trying to use wrong specs for your car.most newer machines don't reference back to our rides.take a copy with you to the shop.

 

[Kern Dog]

I have to TELL the alignment guys what I want, NOT what their specifications tell them. Most mechanics are under 35 and inexperienced with the classics. They are trained on rack and pinion, Macpherson strut front wheel drive cars. Our suspension and steering is far different.