couldnt do a front end aligment

[mikeneedacar]

I went to pepboys to get a front end aligment cause i just rebuilt the front suspention and they said the couldn't do it cause the bolts were the shems go is moving. the upper control arm bolts where it bolts to the frame. what are my options. do i have to buy new bolts and can someone give me the part number or can they still do it they just didn't want to do the extra work to hold the other side of the bolt. thanks for you help

 

[pacecarta]

all i can say is frikkin morons, if it aint fwd they are lost

if they were studs i could see the problem , they have ribs like wheel studs and your ribs may have rusted out but unlike wheel studs the shaft bolts also have a hex head

so either tell them to put a wrench on the other end
or pull them yourself and replace with new ones

GM PART # 461854
CATEGORY: All
PACK QTY: 1 CORE CHARGE: $0.00
GM LIST: $8.01
OUR PRICE: $4.56
DESCRIPTION: BOLT ASM


from buick parts catalog
group 6.178
bolt upr cont arm to frm brkt
m12 x 1.75 x 66

 

[VinsGN]

Had the same problem with those “trained mechanics.” All they want to do is take your car out for a “test ride.” Try to get a recommendation for a local shop. I find they are more willing to listen and treat your car better.

A socket with a swivel is all they needed to work around the spinning bolt.

 

[turbofish38]

I have that problem on my 82 Regal. I found that if you put some of the cars weight against the control arm it is enough to keep the stud from spinning. In other words when I have the front tire off the ground it spins, put it back down and it is tight. If you dont anticipate having to remove that stud you could tack weld it in place too. Its a PITA to get a wrench on the head of that stud with the upper arm in the way.

 

[pacecarta]

i considered the weld of the head to the frame but the stud needs to come out to pull the arm to redo the bushings. would require grinding to remove or if the tack isnt very large it could tear off anyway
a quick and better solution if you have acess to a welder would be to just weld a rod or thin strip of plate acrross the heads of the two bolts , connecting them , then they wont spin and you can still push them back out and back in for future bushing changes .

 

[Louie L.]

This is a common problem. Those guys obviously didnt want to put time into it. Anyways there is no need to replace the bolts .To do that you will basically have to take the whole upper arm assembly out.
Obviously is going to take 2 guys to do align it as is. Its has happened to both of my TRs.

Both of my cars have great aligments, took two guys and none were done under a 19.99 special. After I rebuilt the whole front end on my street car, the aligment cost about 125.00. This was to start from scratch and get it right the 1st time. These guys even stacked all of the shims perfectly. Attention to detail.

On my strip car i took it to a well known Mustang racer tire and aligment shop. They did a drag race aligment and it took 2 guys again to hold the bolts and add/take shims out. They did an awesome job.

Shop around , in my opinion the best aligments are done in the privately owned shops.
Good Luck

 

[bruce]

Originally posted by mikeneedacar
I went to pepboys to get a front end aligment cause i just rebuilt the front suspention and they said the couldn't do it cause the bolts were the shems go is moving. the upper control arm bolts where it bolts to the frame. what are my options. do i have to buy new bolts and can someone give me the part number or can they still do it they just didn't want to do the extra work to hold the other side of the bolt. thanks for you help

Try going to an alignment shop. Yes, finding mechanics/ techs that aren't just parts exchangers is difficult.

 

[Way2QWK]

Did the alignment on my Buick after doing new bushings and had the bolts spin as well. Fortunately I was a technician at a Saturn dealer at the time and was able to use our "new" alighnment machine and do it myself. I had to call over one of the guys to hold a wrench while I tightend the bolts. It was a long tedious job to get the alighnment how i wanted. took 4 hours total, but alignment was dead on and still is after 2 years. One thing that made the shims easier to align was they had a little hole drilled in the ends that I tied some wire through to hold them all together, without them the shims would fall apart before i got the bolt tightend. I dont remember the exact specs but I set positive caster at about 3 degrees which gives the car a bit more stability and effort to turn the wheel. After driving the car now Im glad I went that high with caster. Camber was just on the negative side as well as toe-in.

 

[mikeneedacar]

yeah i really don't want to take it apart again. so i guess my best bet is to go to a local shop.

 

[mybuick]

find a shop with an old fart working there where he has done alignments for along time, he has seen all and done all. thats what i found out here. and he does it right the first time because he puts the time and effort in the alignment, and takes care of the equipment.

 

[gnsrule]

i considered the weld of the head to the frame but the stud needs to come out to pull the arm to redo the bushings

Go ahead and tack weld it. The arm will slip right over the studs when you want to take it apart.

 

[bruce]

Originally posted by gnsrule
Go ahead and tack weld it. The arm will slip right over the studs when you want to take it apart.

That might give some problems, ie with some down pipes there's very little room between the thru bolt, and pipe, it could be a real hassle to try and get the pivot shaft thur there.