I've had all the suspension bushes replaced and wheel alignment done on my '71 144. But the steering is still stiff and now the car pulls somewhat to one side when braking (could be incorrect brakes bleeding, tested 20% imballance on same side front and rear on rollers) and the car follows the slope of the road. It did not do this before, there was just play in mainly the rear bushes which made the car feel loose. Now it feels like the rear has a mind of it's own, trying to pass the front when I wiggle the steering on a streight road. I trust the guy that fitted the bushes, but not the one that did the alignment. And it is probably not wheel bearings, because here in New Zealand we have a compulsory bi-annual safety inspection and my car passed 100%.

I'm an electronic engineer and do not have a feel for the wheel alignment test results. Can someone please make comments on the following results for left and right respectively, keeping in mind it is a right hand drive:
Camber 0.83 0.45 Deg
Caster 1.58 0.70 Deg
Toe-In 1.0 0.3 mm (or 0.039" 0.012")
SAI 6.43 6.52 Deg
Cross Camber 0.38 Deg
Cross Caster 0.88 Deg
Cross SAI -0.08 Deg
Total Toe 1.3 mm (or 0.051")

Thanks in advance, and have fun...

With both my skinny winter tires and lower profile summer tires, I have found the car drives best (at least to my tastes) with 36# on all four corners. Slightly harsher ride than the book settings, but nicer handling and noticeably better mileage.

I will have to look at the springs and shock absorbers to see if they are OK, because my car definately does not want 34 PSI. Much better at 24 PSI, and my service book says that you should never go over 30 with either radial or crossply. It recommends 20 and 23 - 26, which makes for a nice ride for me. It actually lists too high pressure as a possible cause of wheel bounce, which is what I'm getting. The car was in South Africa for most of it's life and now in New Zealand for 3 years. In SA it was almost impossible to find parts, and in NZ at least it is easy to import (Volvo started here with the 240 only). So I'm slowly replacing original parts, although the car has done only 116 000km (72k mi). It was also in storage for about 7 or 8 years, perhaps longer. But I'm now getting to the point of replacing with performance parts rather than service parts. You should have seen those original drive shaft u-joints...

Neil, if oem tyres were crossply 24psi would be ok, if radial 28 to 32 is normal.

Went to fill the tank today (done only once a month, stay close to work) and checked the tyre pressure. It was 34 psi on Dunlop 165x14 radial tyres that say 35 max. Took it down to 24 and the stability increased significantly. It's better at a streight line (caster probably increase with lower pressure, smaller diameter?) and the rear end stays where it should when wiggling the wheel. Autobooks state 20 front and 24-26 rear, increase all round by up to 4 in fine weather and good roads, never over 30. Now I know why. Will probably drop it to 20 and 24 as I never have a load/passangers.

Have fun...

Neil, equal caster settings do not work with crowned roads. The near side should always have .5 to .75 more to compensate. Tyres can have mind of their own, first swap over front wheels and see if there is a difference. Pulling under brakes can be calipers or lines but if only since work i would suspect toe. Work done properly should not result in tight steering,my experience with tyre retailers are they dont pay enough to attract top mechanics and their equpment is not checked for accuacy year in and year out. Make sure you go to a recognised workshop for your work. Regards Jack McIntyre.

I now go to the local Porsche dealer to have tires mounted and balanced. They charge me an houer of labor and it is done right.

john

I now go to the local Porsche dealer to have tires mounted and balanced. They charge me an houer of labor and it is done right.

john

Thanks for the replies. I can add that on the open road it actually drive fairly well. A bit loose (wondering), but not too bad. The steering is only hard in the city at lower speed. Better than what it was though.

I think the wheel bearings were replaced 3 1/2 years ago. I should actually get them repacked. At one inspection I was told there is just a very slight bit of play in them.

The idler arm bushing was replaced last month.

Concerning the rear wanting to pass the front while wiggling the steering, it is only while the car is slowing down. It feels fine while accelerating. Long before the bushes were replace I've set the rear shock absorbers fairly hard to compensate for the play in the bushes. They might be too hard now.

I've decided today that the next upgrade will be progressive springs.

The alignment was done by a "performance suspension specialist", and I'll take it back next week.

G'day Neil,

If the cars pulls to one side while braking, it'll be the brakes. Check for air or stuck calipers (although as mentioned below, the allignment is not too tidy either).

And, oh; "it is probably not wheel bearings..." well, I wouldn't bet on it, they are crazy: http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=799667 (whaha!)

Cheers, Ben
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Daily driver: P130, '65, B18+M47. In the proces of restoring: P131, '69, B20+AW71L. (www.knutselsmurf.web1000.com)

Also, the Haynes manual has an incorrect caption on the side view of the front wheel in the alignment section. It says "car is facing right", I think. The car is facing left. Picture was pciked up from Green service manual, which doesn't indicate which way the car is facing. The steering arm is forward.
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'74 145e T-5 'Orange Alert'

I suppose air in the lines could make it pull.

I added some extra positive caster to the driver's (left, U.S.) side to correct a mild pull to the left. I did it by adding an extra 3/32" washer under the upper rear a-arm bolt mount.

The stiff steering is probably not caused by alignment. I fixed mine with new lower ball joints. Less caster should give lighter steering, but I don't think yours is excessive. Maybe steering box need adjustment. Never done it myself. There are recent other threads that discuss that. May need idler arm bushing.

I actually have doubts about the precision of alignment measurements on a 30 year old car, unless the entire mount system was aligned on a rack. Even then I suspect these cars may flex a little unevenly due to age.

I like my cars to pull just slightly right, if anything, because I like the left (fast) lane here which is very crowned to the left. I also like the rear suspension aligned slightly left, which puts my personal center of gravity more toward the middle of the car, but that might all be my imagination. 250 lbs in a 2500 lb car. I think it matters.

I'm pretty happy with the alignment now, except for some mechanical concerns. The angle at which the bolt head hits the crossmember may be a little severe. I rounded the underside of the bolt flange (hardened 7/16 flange head machine bolt) so it would mate more smoothly with the crossmember, but I have yet to taper the washer so it doesn't bite the a-arm bolt.
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'74 145e T-5 'Orange Alert'

The results show a mechanic who doesn't take much pride in his work. The caster is too low, and uneven. The camber is uneven, and excessively positive. The toe is also uneven, but the total amount is ok.
Here are the specs I have used for years.
Caster 2-2.5 degrees
Camber 0 - .5 degree negative
Toe in 1/16 inch or about 1.5 mm total, evenly split left and right with the wheel centered.
Caster should be equal, or very close on both sides, maybe a .2 variation at most. The same is true for camber, both sides should be equal.
SAI or steering axis inclination, is essentialy fixed at the factory, so that explains why it is even, and correct, in your car. He couldn't mess with it.
Volvo recommends a bit of positive camber, but in todays world a bit of negative has shown to be best for handling and tracking. Insist that he achieve the specs I have listed, and the car should handle very well.

The settings seem pretty sloppy on that "performance alignment"

I haven't had an opportunity to experiment yet but I like my setup a bit "twitchy" as I like to autocross.
0 to 1/4 degree toe out (to start)
0.5 tp 1.0 degree negative camber
Caster probably about 2 degrees

Anyone have a favorite "go get'em" turn-in setup they want to share? It'd be nice to start in the close to good range instead of chasing about.

Mike!

Can't comment on alignment specs but looks like above posts pretty well cover it. (note toe-out is recommended for really lively handling while a bit of toe-in helps promote straight-line stability on the highway.)

Second the motion that brake pull probably related to brakes. Could well be the mechanic got grease on one of the discs. Recommend (careful about safety - and don't do like me and pull this stunt with a cop right on your tail!) doing a series of really hard braking stops from say 50 to 0 or so. You can often clear up uneven braking by doing so, whether by burning off grease marks or wearing off rusty spots.

Loose wheel bearings definitely contribute to steering flakiness, so snug 'em up. Very easy to do yourself. Different books, mfgs, and manuals have different methods, but this is what works for me: Jack up car, grab, left and right sides of tire and push-pull several times. Any free-play is most likely coming from loose wheel bearings, but watch out that it is not from loose tie-rod ends. Any more than the least little bit of chunk-chunk free-play action is too much for me. Remove dust boot, cotter pin and nut keeper. Turn nut in until all free play is gone. If you need to adjust slightly to line up cotter pin hole, tighten rather than loosen. (Grab top and bottom of tire and push-pull to check ball joints. It really helps to have someone else do the push-pull thing while you watch closely underneath for location of free play.)

Finally, kep all your shocks up - test by bouncing each corner of car. Billstein HD shocks pretty pricey but highly recommended.

Later,
Al