Thread: Mustang II coilover pulls right

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I have a 49 International KB2 pickup. Several years ago I put in a junkyard Mustang II front suspension with the aid of a Fatman Fab crossmember kit. When installed the coil springs were cut. The truck rode low and hard. I figured the truck weight was too much (1960 lb front). After a while it started to pull some to the right. I saved up and just installed a QA1 coilover conversion kit. It adjusted the ride to a better height and is closer to level. The heaver springs should help also. The problem is it still pulls right a lot. I had it aligned and the tech says the specs are right on. He thought maybe the rack was bad. It has the junkyard MII manual rack. It steers OK just wants to turn right. He didn't charge me because he couldn't make it right. Any ideas on how make it go straight down the road?

Cross the front tires and see if it pulls the other way or at least goes straight. If it does it would be the tires,have seen this a number of times in my shop....

A few opinions of mine

The QA 1 coil over conversion makes you carry the front end(1960) on the lower shock mount, thats pretty high stress ---

Tire directional pull?????

Did you check the rear end alignment???Tire stagger???and possibly a bad l/s differential???
coner weights???

Thanks for the input. I switched the front tires but it didn't have any effect. I'll check the rear end alignment. The coil overs are rated for 1900 lb but that does seem like a lot of weight on two 7/16 bolts. Sorry but I don't understand the other suggestions. Please explain the basics. This is my first hotrod.

i would not think it rear track but thats e z to check i would say something like a controw arm is bent or one of the arms on the spindles is bent as it travels it could pull thru and work close to bump steer ??? check for loose parts .bushings . i know you said he said it ok .BUT i work on many cars and trucks that we pulled the frame s on were the front end shop said were ok only to fined out that some front end parts were bent after they were done

Good news. Problem solved. After switching front tires, switching rear tires, measuring rear end (it was close), checking for cracked and bent control arms and strut rods all with no effect, I went to the local cruise in and got the name of an alignment man that has been at it for years. He could not believe I was told it was in spec. Front R camber -3.1 Left 1.1 Front R Caster -4.5 Left 6.0 The only thing close was toe. Moral of the story: Just because they have alignment equipment doesn't mean they know how to use it. Ask knowledgable people who to go to. Thanks for all your input. It goes straight now!

Originally Posted by brooksy

Good news. Problem solved. After switching front tires, switching rear tires, measuring rear end (it was close), checking for cracked and bent control arms and strut rods all with no effect, I went to the local cruise in and got the name of an alignment man that has been at it for years. He could not believe I was told it was in spec. Front R camber -3.1 Left 1.1 Front R Caster -4.5 Left 6.0 The only thing close was toe. Moral of the story: Just because they have alignment equipment doesn't mean they know how to use it. Ask knowledgable people who to go to. Thanks for all your input. It goes straight now!

Yup,that'll make it pull. Bet the first alignment guy was a youngster at a national chain store.

If you would of listed those specs in your first post---------????????????!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately I didn't know the the first guy screwed it up. He didn't either or he wouldn't have told be it was in spec. Obviously, those numbers are not Mustang II or any other vehicle specs. He didn't give me numbers, just said he couldn't make it go straight. Actually, he was a guy with an attitude that works for an independant. The guy that fixed it gave me a print out of the before and after numbers.

sometimes the best way to fix something is to start by seeing what was done last

So what are your specs now? What are the ideal settings for a Mustang II front end? I need to check the Mustang II front end on my 40 Ford Coupe that I just bought.

Thanks

Vegard

According to the report they gave me when done, the Camber specified range is -0.3 to +1.3 the Caster is -0.6 to +2.4 and the Toe is -0.03 to +0.23. He said he used that as a starting point and adjusted from there. Mine ended up Caster 0.3 Left and 0.2 Right, Caster 2.1 and Toe 0.10 Hope this helps.

I had a similar problem but different aspects. I had a pull to the right and took my street rod to a shop for alignment - They charged me EXTRA because the had to be so CAREFUL with my car. It worked great but a little time later, it started pulling again. I ended getting a Caster/camber guage setup for home so that I could check it and it was off. It turned out that my A-arms were heavily painted/finished and the teeth had no bite. I used an air cutoff wheel and recut the teeth in the A-arm. Reset the caster/camber and it's been driving like a dream ever since (2 years +). It was worth the guages that I bought at Summit.
Jerome

Caster Camber and toe are easily set on these MII fronts, buy a good guage and make sure you have a way to mount it so its true and you'll never need an alignment shop to look at it again. I have been setting my own front ends for 15 years and never had one drive bad yet. Would suggest turning plates too if your car is really heavy on the front end, but not required.