my suspension is really ****ed up and i need help

nds03

New Member
Jul 21, 2004
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i have a 65 with stock suspension. last week i went on a road trip and my top control arm broke(one of the two bolts snapped, turns out i had never greased it). so i replaced the bolts and the mount for the tca and it drove fine when i went to get the alignment done(at sears), but when i picked it upi my whole front end just looked ****ed up. the ride height was 4 inchis up, the toe was way in and the camber was all messed up looking too. but when i get the suspension too settle down it will look straight, but the second i give it any gas it will go right up too where it was before. since then i have replaced the entire con arm and had it aligned at another place and went back to sears its still ****ed up. so i figure something is binding somewhere, i think i will replace the spring perches next(the ones i have are original). if that does not work then im going to sell my car because it is frustrating the hell out of me. somebody help me PLEASE!!
 
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it sounds like the lower control arm bushing is binding. likely because someone tightened it up with the car in the air rather than on the ground like they should have. try loosening up those lower control arm bolts with the car on the ground, bounce the front end a few times to settle the suspension, then tighten them back up to factory specs, i forget what they are off hand. that should cure the problem, and hopefully the bushings have not been damaged.
 
Time to stable your pony

Sounds like it's time just to put the car up, take it apart, and take a look at everything, then fix it once & correctly. There's another thread going here on what to do to a front end for handling, along with some other sage advice.
 
my car worked just fine before i brought it to sears. those ****ers make me so mad. **** SEARS!!!!!!! i dont even think im gonna buy tools there anymore. ihave rebuilt the front end before, but i didnt have enough money to replace every little part. yes the front brakes are gandadas. one question, when the suspension moves up and down, is that supposts to change the toe because thats what the car is doing. when it was on the rack at sears, we moved the front end up and down and the toe would change.
 
thats EXACTLY what its doing, but how come its never done this before? Did they change my castor/camber enough to make this happen? They must have.! i dont want new spindles, i just want my car to drive like it did before i brought it to sears. What should i do>
 
has anyone else had this problem other than 350clone, and this post? I have had granada spindles for a while and had a bit of a problemgetting the alignment accurate (due to worn parts) that I have since replaced, but have not had a problem with ride height. but then I just replaced my whole frontend and its not on the rubber yet so this gets me thinking....

go away bad thoughts!! :D
 
I have had my car complete since Aug 1998.
Granada front on a 1966 convertible, TCP power rack, urethane, Eibach progressive springs, Pro motor sports bump steer, 17" x 8" rims w/ P235 45s, yada, yada, yada.

I haven't had this issue with 13K miles now on it.
 
and his problem was because of aftermarket control arms. mine are stock. i have the sheet that tell me what sears did to my car. i think its doing this because they changed the caster like 4 degrees on just the left side of the car. the left front wheel looks like its sitting too far forward and it rubs the fender in the front now too. i looked behind the tca and there is like 3/4 of an inch of shims behind the rear bolt. it just doesnt look right too me.the sheet that tells me what sears did to it says it was 3.4 degrees pos before they touched it and now it says its at zero. im gonna take some of these shims out and see what happens.
 
you indicated that you changed the bolts and the mount to the upper control arm. I am assuming this this the mount and bolts that connect to the shock tower.
The upper mount installs into the upper control arm using large nuts, if you will with grease fittings that tighten in opposite directions. Perhaps you tightened them too tightly and the arm is not rotating freely, causing a bind?
I am also aware that you can adjust the mount incorrectly toward the front or rear of the car impacting location of the spindle.
Is only one side doing this?
When the bolt broke, did your wheel move? Hit the fender? Is it possible that the lower control are is bent at the mounting location to the shock tower or spindle?