Alignment Questions

[notdads]

I took the car to get an alignment today, about 10 minutes in the manager came out and said they couldnt do it because certian parts were worn out and needed to be replaced; however they wouldnt tell me which parts those were. I thought that to be a bit shady so i left i figured id ask here before i went out and bought stuff i didnt need.... Is this something remedied by those front end rebuild kits? Is there a More performance grade kit out there? Is there a specific part i need in regards to the alignment? The car is a 1970 nova with a big block as far as i know the front suspension is pretty original. Any help woulf be waaaay appreciated, thanks

[XcYZ]

First off, welcome to the site.

The manager wouldn't tell you what they thought was wrong? It could be a number of things, or a little bit of everything, really. How old are the ball joints and tie rods?

[notdads]

yeah i thought that was a little sketchy. As for how old they are, I dont know I have had the car for 2 years and never replaced them - i dont remember the previous owner saying anything. Could it be that the front end just needs to be overhauled - whats there looks pretty old and beat up... if thats the case is there a specific component that is paramount for alignment.


thanks for the help
and sorry for the newbie questions

[notdads]

alright here is the latest on this, i took it to another shop this morning - they said that they cannot shim it anymore than it already is and they mentioned replacing bushings... Im assuming they are the ball joints and control arm bushings that are worn out - anyway they said it was going to be $300 to fix then the 60 something dollar fee to align. I thought this seemed high so i figured i would run it by you guys one more time... Is this something that can be remedied with one of those front end rebuild kits. There is one on Justsuspension's website for like $150 seems alot more reasonable than $300.

thanks

[Marcus SC&C]

The parts to rebuild your Nova front end aren`t all that expensive but it does take quite a bit of time to do so that adds more labor. Ball joints and control arm bushings,installed,for $300 is cheap! It`s a lot of work. Be careful of parts kits that seem to good to be true,they usually are! Stick to Moog or NAPA (Dana) parts if you want factory or better quality parts that`ll last. We`ve had customers bring budget front end kits in for us to install and found orselves replacing sloppy idler arms,ball joints etc. only a year or two later! Naturally,while it`s apart is the ideal time to do any suspension upgrades such as springs,tall ball joints etc. you may have been thinking about also because the parts will already be out on the workbench. Mark SC&C

[deuce_454]

Originally Posted by Marcus SC&C

,while it`s apart is the ideal time to do any suspension upgrades such as springs,tall ball joints etc. you may have been thinking about also because the parts will already be out on the workbench. Mark SC&C

amen, its always cheaper to do it right the first time... and saving on the important stuff will just end up costing you more than doing it correctly the first time arround, as you end up having to do it the right way in the end anyway..

[HILROD]

Even if you rebuild the front suspension big block cars can sag the subframe so they won't take an alignment. The front control arm shafts can be replaced with offset shafts to allow more adjustment with less shims. Also big blocks, with headers, sometimes limit the amount you can shim the upper arms before the hit the tubes. Lastly most of the stock alignment specs have the wheels camber set at near vertical. Check around for updated specs for your car and print them and bring them with to the shop.