Okay I just recently rebuilt my rear suspension. I had a hard time with the Drivers side. The compensator arm to body bolt was rusted inside the the bushing. So I had to twist it all the way out and bend sh*t out of the brackett, and cut off the head of the bolt. Well I did all this then the nut that slides on a track that u adjust your toe with got bent off its track. So I had to cut an access hole to get in there, put it back on track and bend the track just enough to get it stay. Well I did this got everything on right.

Now when I had the shop set my alignment they said that my toe was adjusted all the way and was at 19 degrees! He said that the book was calling for 10 more degrees!

They complimented me on having new parts because most cars like mine are corroded as hell, but are they trying to pull my leg just because I had to rig it together?

I asked them how they sugget fixing and the idiot told me I cant, its just old and I have to deal with it! This is why I really hate shops! They treat you like you are an idiot! Im not that stupid! If this was true how does anyone have a classic car? And how do people rebuild these cars that are wrecked as f*ck? Does this mean my trailing arm is probably bad or what? I need to figure this problem out because this idiot remark that it can never be fixed is eating at me.

So is this probably my trailing arm is bent or what?

 

19 degrees is a bunch of toe. I would have guessed a bent trailing arm as well. What do you mean by the nut bending off it's track though?

 

I'm assuming you have an '88-00 Civic or derivative, based on what you've mentioned. You didn't tell us what car it is.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civicdelsol33 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Okay I just recently rebuilt my rear suspension.</TD></TR></TABLE>
What do you mean by "rebuilt"? What did you replace, and why? Was the car crashed previously? Do you have any aftermarket control arms, did you swap any control arms from a different car, and/or are your trailing arm bushings intact?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Now when I had the shop set my alignment they said that my toe was adjusted all the way and was at 19 degrees! He said that the book was calling for 10 more degrees!</TD></TR></TABLE>
19 degrees? Are you sure? Do you have the spec sheet? If the toe was measured at 19 degrees, the wheel would be noticeably turned inward (positive is toe-in). I'm thinking that they meant 0.19 degrees.

How badly did you mangle the adjuster?

Provided that you aren't using any wrong or damaged parts, I'm thinking that an easy bolt-on solution in this case would be an adjustable toe link. While it's not elegant or ideal, it will allow you to set the static toe in spec, which is pretty much all you'd need for a daily beater.

 

The nut that the compensator arm bolts on to the body with. You loosen that bolt and the nut is welded on something that moves back and forth on a track that adjusts the toe. The bolt was seized inside the compensator arm bushing, so when I loosened it, it pushed back on the toe adjust nut assembly and forward on the bracket that is welded to the body.

 

Oh its a 93 Del Sol

Oh I have new TA arm bushings pressed in, New LCAS, all new bolts, New Compensator Arms, didnt put on my new UCAS until I get my Tein SS. So everything new except that UCAS and the shocks. I mangled the adjuster really bad, but I cut into to the frame and got it back on its track and it slides up and down it track fine, but it can fall off when theres no bolt holding it in. But the bracket that is welded to the body that the head of the compensator arm to body bolt goes through to hold the compensator on got bent really bad.

Im just thinking that maybe when I put everything back together, I didnt even try to eye the Toe as best as I could. I just let it be at whatever it was, raised it to ride height, and torqued. Then drove 40 miles on really bad toe, and maybe bent the TA is the Process? Or maybe because I loosened the LCA to trailing arm bolt TA and LCA off the car, maybe I bent it then.

Anyways, if the adjuster still adjusts, and its adjusted all the way out, then the TA must be bent right?