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Greg arrived at 1pm, April 9th. He reviewed his needs with Kevin Patten and they began the alignment.
In Greg�s words:
�The visit brought some items to my attention that I was not aware of. I have some more repairs that are needed on old 3988. The alignment went very well and the tech (Kevin) was able to dial in all the preferred settings.� (Max front caster, in this case was �1.50 degrees. - Ed) |
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�After the alignment, Kevin even validated my settings on the new GP4 sway bar system that was installed a week ago by my father and I. We made some boo boo's. Kevin was able to correct them. Little things like the deflection settings and the bars Heim joint clunking that was sometimes heard when transitioning over different height surfaces were found. The front bar was too tight in the center brackets and could not move up or down with the suspension. The kit provided a bushing that was too small and I didn't catch this at the time of installation. He knew immediately what the problem was and disconnected the heim joints in the front and made an "attempt" to move the bar up and then down while seated within the center bushings. (There was no free movement ! - Ed)
After installing washers between the bracket and the frame, the bar was able to move vertically as required to allow for suspension travel. This was a big, dumb mistake on my part, at the time of installation. This problem was causing some wheel hopping in the front under hard cornering. Most of the sway bar corrections were related to (I have to admit) a poor understanding of the component installation as it related to Pantera cars. The documentation from Collector Cars was slightly vague as well. There were some shims that were fabricated out of aluminum by my father to allow the rear bar collars to seat against the brackets in the center of the sway bar. They were not able to slide fully against the brackets due to the frame clearance. There was also a matter of missing hardware in the kit. Luckily bolts are easy to find and we were able to continue the installation.�
�One of my other concerns was the tracking the car had at low speed and a slight shudder of the steering wheel and a slight pull right under hard braking at low speed. It seems that my steering rack has quite a bit of play in it. I don't think it is a simple as a rebuild. The pinion seal is indeed leaking, however I think the play is caused by failure of the internal components within the steering rack body.� |
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�Kevin locked the steering wheel in center position with a steering lock and with the cars front end jacked up grabbed the passenger side front wheel and was able to move it about .5 inches back and forth. He pointed out the movement could be tracked all the way through the rack assembly to the input steering shaft. The steering wheel was locked so the movement was between the wheel and the input shaft at the steering wheel. Looks like a new steering rack in my future. &*#$%!! (Not necessarily, there is a tube and collar located below the steering wheel that can induce some play. � Ed) Kevin believes that this small amount of play is allowing for the slight pull to the right.�
Kevin also suggested that the rack mount be shimmed down to lessen the effect of bump-steer. �We opted to wait on addressing my brake issues until I can resolve this steering rack issue. I plan on installing Chuck's bump steer kit at that time. After which I will need to head back over there for toe adjustments...so, we will do it then.� |
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A list of future issues was made. Greg needs to address some brake problems. He cooked his pads after installing a brake master with a too-long shaft, and he may have warped the rotors. He needs to resolve his steering play, and install a bump-steer kit. After 3.5 hours we called it a day. |
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Once today�s tasks were completed, it was time for a test drive. Kevin returned with a few comments, and then tested the dynamic toe of the car, it went back on the rack for some more adjustments to the front toe settings, and back out for another test drive, this time with Greg riding along. It is as good as it can get with the current components. |
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Greg is already thinking of upgrades, �I may purchase the Alden shock system or the Carreras with adjustable ride height as well before the next visit. When the car was corner weighted (measured), the heights of the rear corners were within 1/8" difference from one another. The difference in the front was just over 1 full inch! The drivers side of the car measured 23 1/3" and the passenger side measured 24 �� " My a$$ is too large, no it must have been one of the three previous owners. Yeah, that�s it.� |
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| Look for my update to this story, after I have had my car serviced as soon as the paint shop is finished ! |
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I conclude with Dynamic Toe ... |
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