I got problems

[fiat218]

79 2000
Replaced all control arms,new cross member,motor mounts

Replace the cut springs to the original in the front
Replace the idler ( ball bearing type from AR


Now I went to get it align,they can't get the camber right on the passenger side,needs to go out more,
The tire rubs,they said I need to get adjustable upper control arms,? Any such thing?
Seems my 80 does not have a problem with this issue,they should be close to the same

Next is the idler on the passenger side,,it the new ball bearing type,it dies not take the shimmy when you hit bumps,Ruts etc,
I thought that what they do . What am I doing wrong?
Do you put oil in the ball bearing type?

[seabeelt]

Jim can you post the specs from the alignment shop? Are they familiar with older type cars with the mechanical shims for alignment?
R/

[lanciahf]

Prior accident damage? Any ripples on the front inner fender in the engine bay?

[fiat218]

Prior accident damage? Any ripples on the front inner fender in the engine bay?

none

[fiat218]

[fiat218]

My 80 don't have a problem with the alignment

[azruss]

My 80 has the same issues. when i took everything apart, there were body shims between the cross member and the unibody where the horizontal bolt connects the 2. I forgot to put them back in, and now the wheel is negative cambered without any shims. to set caster, it requires adding shims making the camber worse. Now i understood what the chassis shims were for. When you shim between the body and the crossmember, you are moving the upper a-arm out in respect to the bottom a-arm. this gets your wheel straight up again. Adding the shims will change caster, camber, and alignment.

[81SPIDERMATT]

azruss body shims seem to be a way of pushing out a collapsing frame.... if i read your spec sheet correctly you are having a negative camber problem.... old bushings and ball joints are first suspect items for negative camber.... tires will wear on the inside edge as wheels seem to be falling inwards at the top.... adjustment shims for alignment just make this problem worse.... the fact that the alignment shop is suggesting adjustable upper arms leads me to believe that they see no way to get you back to zero or slight positive camber.... and they know not about fiats.... gonna give you a link to how my scenario went ..... as you will read it will tell the tale of a collapsing body.... i found a better alignment shop and put them together with an auto-body shop with a frame machine.... the auto-body shop did not have original specs for the fiat so measurements were taken and with info from alignment shop the frame was "un-collapsed" .... they were a little gun shy the first try and after alignment specs again they put it back on the frame machine and gave it another tweeking... went a little past zero so i would have some room for adjustment .... when asked of the shop how often will i have to do this ... he said.... bring it back in 30 years and we will check it again for ya ..... hoping your problem is something easier but thought i would chime in

http://fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php ... &sk=t&sd=a

[fiat218]

So what my problem,?
I made a call today and the person said that. Vicks sells Russian control arms. Well I bought the upper and lower from vicks for the passenger side,is it possible that they are shorter so I'm havin a problem with the alignments,?
And maybe it because I had the springs change in the front and the back is 1 1/2" lower then the front.would that have some affect?

I got all new bushing,tie rod ends,braks,calipers,factory front springs,new shocks,new control arms on the passenger side,new ball joints on the driver side,new crossmember ,new motor mount,4. New tires


So any on can help? If it something major then I will part the car out

[azruss]

if my 80 is an example, the later models had very sloppy fit. I wouldnt be surprised if a lot of them had shims.

[fiat218]

if my 80 is an example, the later models had very sloppy fit. I wouldnt be surprised if a lot of them had shims.

You talking about shims on the control arms?

[azruss]

No, I am talked about shims between the unibody and the crossmember. whatever side the decamber is on, you will need to add spacers (shims) between the 2 pieces. this will have the effect of adding to the total width of the crossmember. When i reinstalled my, i remember sucking up the gap as i tightened down the horizontal bolt on that side. As I recall the spacers added up to less than an 1/8"

[bobplyler]

That's a lot of caster to be off. Are you sure you put the top control arms on the right way? If you put them on the wrong sides, you would see that.

[81SPIDERMATT]

So what my problem,?
I made a call today and the person said that. Vicks sells Russian control arms. Well I bought the upper and lower from vicks for the passenger side,is it possible that they are shorter so I'm havin a problem with the alignments,?
And maybe it because I had the springs change in the front and the back is 1 1/2" lower then the front.would that have some affect?

I got all new bushing,tie rod ends,braks,calipers,factory front springs,new shocks,new control arms on the passenger side,new ball joints on the driver side,new crossmember ,new motor mount,4. New tires


So any on can help? If it something major then I will part the car out

alignment and frame shop tweaking ran about 500 bucks ... not sure though if that is your problem.... just thought it sounded familiar ...... Matt

[fiat218]

So what my problem,?
I made a call today and the person said that. Vicks sells Russian control arms. Well I bought the upper and lower from vicks for the passenger side,is it possible that they are shorter so I'm havin a problem with the alignments,?
And maybe it because I had the springs change in the front and the back is 1 1/2" lower then the front.would that have some affect?

I got all new bushing,tie rod ends,braks,calipers,factory front springs,new shocks,new control arms on the passenger side,new ball joints on the driver side,new crossmember ,new motor mount,4. New tires


So any on can help? If it something major then I will part the car out

alignment and frame shop tweaking ran about 500 bucks ... not sure though if that is your problem.... just thought it sounded familiar ...... Matt

Thanks,I will get it checked