1956 Pontiac Star Chief. ....no power anything. With the gas pedal down to maintain speed or accelerate, the car pulls to the right. If I let off the gas, it straightens out or pulls slightly left. The steering wheel needs to be about 45 degrees left to go straight under power but still is slightly left when coasting, which I think may be a result of the roads being slightly sloped to the right for rain to runoff. Probably related, but the inside edges of both front tires are wearing after 2 inches of lowering in the rear. What needs adjusted as far as alignment to correct this? Finally, a vibration at 63-65 mph. No or low vibrations above or below that speed range. In that speed range sometimes a little throttle or letting off the throttle eliminates the vibration. Other times it has no effect. To make matters worse I can't tell if it is shaking through the steering wheel (pointing to something in the front) or the whole car. How do I know if it's wheel balance, driveshaft balance or something else? I have yet to find an alignment shop locally that will touch it. All of them say their database doesn't go back that far! Anybody have any suggestions on how to correct any of this on my own? Thanks Johnny
On the pulls under acceleration point, I would look at what was changed in the rear suspension Is everthing tight. Are both rear wheels still centered in their wheel openings. Is ride height the same on both sides in the rear. Did the springs get put back correctly on their alignment pins. Because it sounds like something is moving in the rear axel area under acceleration. You correct this problem , and you may correct others.
Forgot to mention. Lowered it about 5 years ago....nothing has been changed since. I do plan on switching to 1 inch blocks soon though.
Changes some of what I said but i would still look for something shifting or moveing from being worn or loose in the rear.
I agree with Grahamsc. You will likely find the problem in the rear end suspension. Make sure the front hanger (rear Spring) bolts are intact, rear shackles, etc. U-bolts and blocks are in proper place and tight.
I'll be checking that stuff first. Something has to be loose somewhere! Any suggestion on the vibes? Also, regarding alignment, what specs need changed from the stock values when the rear is lowered?
The vibration could easily be tied to a rear suspension issue. If your rear axle is coming out-of-square with the chassis, it can very well cause drivetrain vibration. Check every single thing in the rear suspension. I would wager that a fair chunk of your problems lie there.
Here's a little update. This may be part of my vibration issue. I had the car really loaded down today. Both my parents, my wife, my two kids and I took the car a few miles down the road for ice cream. Any time I started moving or sharply accelerated to try and reproduce the symptom we found today, the drive shift was banging the transmission tunnel. Seems to me it's rotating off center a little or just not enough clearance when she sits down a little under power. The car has never been loaded so heavy and won't usually be but the sound was an uneven scraping and banging. Could my U joints be going already?
Jack the car up and check it over very carefully........any one thing, or several, could need attention under there.
that's the fun of a lowered car, you can't just peek under there...it's work to jack it up and look. Once you look, you'll probably see the problem(s).
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