ElSeano80

I bought my 80 about a year ago and have put maybe 20 miles on her since. When I bought her, the rear end was a little off track. I thought it was a U-joint problem and when I finally got around to replacing my u-joints, I saw no change in the back end. About the only way I can describe what it looks like is by saying it dog tracks. Driving behind my vette, I can see that the read end of the car is off set with the front end. Meaning, I can see the front driver side tire while the off-tracked rear end blocks the front passenger tire from my view. I recently was moving my vette when the U-joint gave and sent the half shaft through the battery compartment behind the drivers seat. So she sat inactive for roughly a month, until I bought 2 new u-joints. I will eventually replace them all, lotta rust showing. I only replaced the 2 u-joints on the broken side, I haven't replaced any on the passenger side. What I'm wondering is what my problem might be. I did have to move her in this state, with the 2 new u-joints on, and it felt like she was all over the place in the rear end. I kept her well under 30 mph the whole way for fear of causing more damage. I have looked under the car, and from what I can tell there is no damage at all to the frame, other than some rust build up. I haven't checked the body too much, I mostly just eye-ball the tire well clearance with a tape measure, and it came out even. So I'm pretty sure my body is on the car straight. Now for the bad part. When I bought this car, I bought it from a guy who had put only 100 miles on it in 2 years. While he didn't admit to it, it was very obvious he did no maintenance to the car whatsoever in those 2+ years. So if there was a problem with the rear end while he had it, it would have only gotten worse in that time. Short of pulling off the entire rear end, I think I've done all I can to correct this problem. Should I buy 2 more u-joints for the passenger rear half shaft and pray that fixes it, or should I get it to a shop and have them check everything out? I'm really at a loss right now, and my dad is REALLY taking advantage of ripping on my chevy. He's really lost right now, and believes ford is superior. Silly old man. So any help I can to fix my rear end would be greatly appreciated. I don't know how much longer I can put up with hearing about mustangs. :nonod: As always thanks in advance, and if more info is needed I will regularly check back and post. Thanks.

ElSeano80

The Dude

I'm nobody's idea of a body-and-fender expert, OK? But your tracking problem--the "crabbing" you describe--indicates to me the car may have been hit pretty badly in the past and that could have bent the frame out of alignment. Take this with a big grain of salt, though. It could very well be something else. You might want to have a restoration shop that specializes in 'Vettes have a look at it to tell you for sure.

1980 razz

sorry to hear about ur rear end troubles..sounds like a pain in the butt..sry couldnt resist..go to the nearest garage that does free estimates..they will tell u what the problem is and then u can evaluate whether or not u can fix ur self or let them do it..u need to fix this problem and then take ur old man for a ride to set him striaght..a.s.a.p.....hope it works out lol :jester

VETDRMS

eek, that sucks. My car tracks perfect, but the body is about .5 inches to the left, i could be entirely wrong, but i've been told my numerous people that they never were "perfect" off the assembly line. You may have frame damage in the rear end that will push that one side out. Also note that your rearend is in fact alignable, and fully adjustable. When i slid into a curb it pushed my rear end over almost an entire inch. When is was realinged, they moved the etire rear end back over, this may be your only problem, have you had the car aligned? If all else fails, just take it somewhere for an estimate, it would be a good cheap way to find out what's wrong.

hope that helps

Chuck Gongloff

Could simply be an alignment problem...front end or rear end, or a sign of a bent or otherwise damaged frame. The "toe in, toe out" of the rear can be aligned via the shims at the T arm bolts, and the camber can be adjusted via the strut rods, but no alignment will literally "move" the center section of the rear one way or the other. I would carefully check the front end too...A frames, etc. Changing U joints will have no effect on your "crabbing" problem. I would get the car on a lift and carefully inspect the frame for collision and rust damage. I've seen many Corvette frames literally rusted in half. Hope this helps. Chuck

1Bad69

mine is like that but only when you hit the gas..the shims fell out from the trailing arm on the driver side..it shifts the whole body when you punch it....

killain

The only way to find out is to have the car put on an alinement rack and have it alined. There are any number of things that could cause 'Crabing' and until you first have it set to stock specs your only guessing. A a real good and expierenced alinement shop they can determine if the rear wheels are 'tracking' directly behind the front and if there are any parts that are allowing it to fall out of correct alinements. If it had a bent frame, it would show up in an alinement check for the most part. If the shims were not reinstalled correctly in the traling arms for instance, that could cause one of the rear tires to pull a little to one side. there are other things as well. Find a good expierenced shop and have them go over it.

Pete79L82

U-Joints will not cause a car to dog track. But you should at least check the other side to make sure they are not bad.
A front end alignment will not cause a car to dog track.
A rear end aligment WILL cause a car to dog track particularly with IRS suspension.
The first thing I would do is have a good four wheel alignment done by someone that is formilar with Corvettes.


By the way, It take some people longer to learn than others. Eventually your Dad will come out of his delusions about Fords. in the mean time you just have to humor him.

427V8

Do NOt take it to the closest place!
Find a Vette specialist in your area and have them recommend an alignment shop!

Most people cannot align a Vette!

BTW I'm voting for crappy alignment...

PatG

Ditto on the alignment. This is the first thing I would check but be sure to call around and determine if they do corvettes. In my experience most shops can do the front fine but the rear has them stumped.

Also, you can go to a good body repair shop and they should be able to check the frame for damage. I took mine into a shop before I bought my car and had them laser check the frame, everything was in spec. It only cost $50 and is worth it for the peace of mind.

Matt Gruber

all the bushings were shot in my 72. Had 1.5" slop :lol:
upgraded to herb adams.
No slop at all now. Aligned it myself(PITA)

Frankenvette

I agree on finding an alignment specialist that knows vettes. Check your strut rods. Are they bent in the middle on both sides? There not suppose to be. Mine are bent from some shop not knowing how to align a vette, so they bent the strut rods to get the alignment close. Once those rods are bent, your out of luck.

Also, one of my vette resto books urges a good 4 wheel aligment. The author goes on to say it can be just as good as gaining horsepower by reducing the rolling resistance.

Regards,

Jim