I just came back from Northlake Automotive. Had an alignment done on the 86SE. This is the 3rd alignment it's had since I've had the car. The first time a local shop aligned it, I seem to remember that there was only one area that was in the green. The rear end was still loose.
The second shop that put it on the rack told me that all the ball joints and tie rods that had about a couple hundred miles on them had to be replaced. And here, I thought Rodney made the best parts. Needless to say, I didn't trust their diagnostics and was suspicious of their abilities.
I left that shop and drive directly up to Firestone. Though they had a lot of red showing in the specs, at least the car would track straight on a good road. The steering wheel was a little off center and you know what kind of handling I was getting, but it was an improvement over the first alignment it got.
Today, I visited Northlake Automotive. The tech put it on the rack and he and Michael delved into it. They found that it needs the upper inner arm bolt and shims replaced in order to bring the front camber into good numbers, and maybe rotate the front Rodney Dickman ball joints.
The rear originally was showing the right rear camber to be within range. On the front, only the left front camber was within range. When I left, Only the left front caster and the right front camber and caster are out of range. Everything else, front and rear is within range.
During my test drive around the area of Northlake, I noticed that the car still tracked well. The steering didn't feel as loose. The rear felt solidly planted to the pavement as I whipped it side to side. When coming out of a side street at a traffic light, I gave it a good whip to the left as I rounded the corner. No tendency to come around. It's not 100% but now I feel the car is safe enough that someone else can drive it under normal conditions.
On my way home, I gave it a little tryout on some of the local roads. I'm happy to say that I think I just might take it on a Rerun For The Hills, should we get enough persons interested.
Thank you, Mike and your alignment tech. Sorry, my invoice doesn't show his name.
