Repair Help for Handy but not a Mechanic in N. East Texas

[SchmidtLegal]

I've got my 1989 M998. I was able to do all the things necessary to make it street legal, passed inspection, insured, titled and tagged. I love that thing almost as much as my oldest born child. That being said, I need mechanical work done and a wheel alignment which are above my pay grade. Does anyone know an independent shop in my neck of the woods who I can call on?

 

[TOBASH]

I will say that alignment is a b!tc4. Frozen bolts and shims and such.

Lubricate several days with penetrating oil prior to bringing vehicle to the shoppe.

There are those on the forum who do it themselves like milcomguy, but they all have serious stones.

Best,

T

 

[papakb]

Unless you suspect a serious misalignment on the caster and camber you can do a simple toe in adjustment with a piece of string. You do need to assume the rear wheels are set properly. Tape a string to the inside of the right rear tire and wrap it around the back of the tire at the 9 O'clock position. Run the string forward past the front tire at the same height then with a ruler measure the distance from the string to the front side of the tire at the 3 O'clock position. With the string touching the front tire at the 9 O'clock position there should be about a 1/4" gap between the tire and the string at the 3 O'clock position. This indicates a 1/4" toe in. Now do the same thing on the other side. Caster and camber are best left to the pro's but anyone can check toe in which is typically what gets knocked out when you hit rocks and potholes.

 

[SchmidtLegal]

It appears that I have positive camber in my rear tires. All else appears to be ok. I'm not certain if that is normal, if its an easy fix, or if I should just pretend its not there. But I can see it, I'm obsessive, and if it needs to be fixed, then I want to make it happen. Any thought.

 

[TOBASH]

Positive rear wheel camber requires removal of shims. That requires fighting bolts in annoying positions with decades of rust. My mechanic buddy and I fought this for 2.5 hours to align the rear, and still couldn't get rid of 1 degree positive camber on the rear passenger wheel.

Like I said earlier, start spraying the rust penetrating oil now and for the next few days. Trust me.

Best,

T