OK...I replaced all the bushings, all the tie rod ends, idler arm bushings, and ball joints. Pretty much a complete front end rebuild. Then I set the toe-in using a couple of differnt methods, and I think I have it pretty close. Yet the car pulls to the right. I think this has something to do with it:

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/whats-wrong-these-pictures-500104/

When I put the tension rods back on I put them on the way the manual says to do it, rather than the way they were before. I've looked over the front end carefully and can find nothing bent. I measured fron the center of the ball joint to the front tension rod mounting bracket on bot sides and that measurement was spot on. My theory is thet someone replaced the struts and didn't pay ettention to the adjusting plates at the top when putting it back together, and didn't know the proper way to set the caster, and did it with the tension rod. I've put a magnetic "bubble" protractor on each side, and the caster is indeed different on each side.

Does this sound reasonable? If so, How difficult is it to remove the adjusting plate and tinker with different settings?

Thanks,
Rich

 

could be alinement, wheel balance, or tire pressure that would be my guess, id definatly have the alinement done if its doing that tho.....a full alinement i dont know if youve done this already, but look into this....hope that helps..

:AA:

 

yeah if your camber or caster is off by more than a half degree difference from side to side then it will pull.... camber pulls to the most positive and caster pulls to the least positive. if i were you i would take it to an alignment shop..

also if you didnt have the wheels straight when you put on the tie rod ends or ball joints and tightened them down you will have what they call memory steer..

 

This morning I swapped the tires around...front to rear and rear to front. What a difference. I did this to see if it would take care of the bad vibration I had in the front end. Not only did it take care of the vibration, but it took care of the pull as well! There is still a very small pull to the right, but I'm not worried about it right now. I won't take it to a shop until I decide what I'm going to do for wheels and tires.

Rich

 

so your tires on the front were out of balance and one had a radial pull then.. you may have a broken belt..

 

Exactly.

Thanks,
Rich

 

There's still a question in here that has not been answered: How difficult is it to remove the adjusting plate and tinker with different settings? Please don't give me the "take it to the alignment shop" answer. I know that, and I will when it comes time to get it exactly right (in other words, after struts have been replaced and new wheels and tires have been mounted). I just want to know how difficult it is to get to these adjustment plates. Is it just a matter of removing the top four nuts and then jacking the car up to let the top of the strut slide out of the mount?

Thanks,
Rich

 

yes... jack up the car and unbolt the 4 bolts and turn the strut mount.. easy.. you have 4 choices in settings.. but this is where an alignment machine would come in handy.

 

Glad to see you got everything installed.

On your question: 4 nuts and you can rotate them. With the sway bar installed it may be difficult to push the strut far enough down to clear the studs that poke up.
Try it with both wheels in the air before you pull the sway bar end link though.

You should notice the "hump" in the strut top is offset from the hole in the chassis. Try to make this the same on both sides. If you can, get the "hump" closer on the inside of the car and to the rear. This will put the most camber and caster available at the top mounting point.

Sit the car back down level and check the camber and caster of each strut housing. If both strut tops are on the same setting and the tension rods are adjusted the same but you have a different camber and caster amount on your struts then look at the frame sections around the steering box and the Idler arm mount for buckling.

-billy

 

Thanks Billy and evil - that'll be the next project!

Rich

 

ok so the car goes staight now?or does it still a little in the same direction as before or does it pull to the opposite side as before?it sounds like you still have an alignment problem and possiblly a tire problem as evil suggested

 

It was a little difficult to tell for sure, because it was somewhat windy when I took it out, but I think it's still pulling right just a very slight amount. I know it still needs alignment, and when I get everything else done I'll take it in to have it done. But for now it's pretty close. I'm going to tinker with the camber/caster settings too, to try and get the right side the same as the left...I know the caster is different from side to side.

And yes, I know I have a tire problem. The vibration moved to the rear when I swapped the tires around, but it's nowhere near as noticable as it was when they were on the front. I'm not going to worry about it while I'm still breaking inthe engine, and until I decide what I'm going to do for wheels and tires.

It's much more enjoyable to drive now.

Thanks,
Rich