Could bad front springs be causing my alignment problem? What should the hieght of my car be in the front?

 

I think it would only do that if one was weaker than the other. So if your left is weaker than the right, this will throw off the camber, and thus, alignment issues. If they're equally bad, i guess theoretically it wouldn't

 

I heard the lower the car sits, it can mess up the alignment, due to the car isn't setup for it or something.

 

The car should be aligned at "ride height", the camber does not remain consistant with suspensions using un-equal legnth A arms, the wheels will tend to point "in" as the front end goes down, and the wheels will tend to point "out" when thefront end isup.

If your springs are weak, the ride height may not be consistent enough to maintain correct alignment. Also, if you have done work to the car that would substantially change the front end weight of the car since alignment, this will effect camber as well.

As MySaviorReigns says, if one spring is stronger than the other alignment would be effected.

I would pay particular attention to the strut rod bushings as well, are they tight enough? Also, make sure that the control arm bushings are not tightened down too tight, as this would tend to impede movement of the suspension, (put it in a bind), this could have resulted in an inacurate alignment.

The alignment can be "adjusted" (if not made absolutly "perfect") for lowered cars simply by aligning the car in it's now natural state (already lowered).

I assume that the car was already lowered when the alignment was done, I would tend to believe thatyour problem is not really a result of being lowered, however the lowering may be making an existing problem worse, at least until the underlying problem is corrected.

 

Oh, I dont know. The car sits level with the rear, and the rear is sagging, like all others sag. So i know the front is sagging some. As far as weight..... not really. A monte carlo bar is the only weight added really. and thats like 5 lbs.It has brand new strut bushings, as the others were gone. They are tight. The upper control arms are new, so i hope they weren't messed up from the parts place, because i greased them and installed them. They were tight, i just thought thats how they was supposed to be.

 

I am sure they should be tight, but it is possible to over tighten them, If they are too tight the metal surrounding the bushings (the "ears") can be bent inward, and put the suspension in a bind, (kind of like old fashioned "friction shocks"). I would be more suspect of this happening with the lower control arm than the upper, but I think it could be an issue with the upper as well.

If it is possible that the alignment was done when the suspension was in a bind, it is quite possible that the alignment would have been inaccurate.

From what I have been reading about your problem, this is the only plausible theory I can come up with to explain your issue, short of there being yet unseen structural issues with your car.At this point I think you would have already found any structural issues of this magnitude.This type of "looseness" being experienced on structures that are supposed to be fixed in place, should have alreadymade theirself known. At this point Ireally don't think you could have missed such major structural issues that would cause the severe alignment issues you are having.

Ok,, I can't remember the difference between a monte carlo bar and an export brace, is the monte carlo bar the brace that runs in front of the motor? If so, did you have to "move" the shock towers to install it, or did the bar move the towers inward when you tightened the bolts?

Stick with it, don't give up, once this problem is behind you it will only be a memory!

 

It's the one in front of the engine. It actually went in fairly easy. It seems like most people have some trouble installing it due to the front end sagging, so i thought i was in for HELL, but i just knocked it down lightly with a hammer, and drilled the holes it needed, and it was perfect.

 

With stock springs, if you measure from the ground to the center and top of the wheel well you should measure right at 26 inches. That will have to do with the wheels and tires, but with stock stuff it should be right at 26. If you are lower than that, then your 42 year old springs need to be replaced..

 

It's got the steel syle rims with regular tires i think. Speaking of steel style rims, i was looking in my mustang mag the other day, and Now this company is reproducing The original STeel Syle looking rims for the 2005+ models. They look pretty good.

 

Since the bar went in so easily, this kind of helps to eliminate the front structure of the car as being at issue with your alignment woes.I would think thatif the front end was damaged to any real extent,it would not be likely thatthe bar would go in and line up so easily.

I am of the opinion that any damage to the front of the frame or lower structure would be exagerated at the top of the shock towers.

At this point I think that you got a couple of bum alignments. If all of the structure is good, the front end can not move.