yeah, so... check this out.... I'ma take a beating here for my mistake. I already am on JT's FB page, haha. People like Brad Roberts are being a little "merciless", but I'ma forgive that because the way it was posted, it appears a "professional" did the work.
I did it.
I jacked it up.
But the "Professionals" exacerbated the problem.
So you'll see in the photo below, that there's a clear "mismatch" between the rod-end and the hole it's going into. (This is my adjustable toe-links in the rear.) The mismatch is because there's a steel insert that's cast into the upright, which apparently is known for coming out with the toe-links when they're removed incorrectly. Some are saying you can see obvious signs of a hammer used on it.... meh, I don't see it. It wouldn't have been the upright you're beating on anyway, it would've been the rod-end / link itself. Regardless: I've been known to handle stubborn ball-joint removal with a "larger hammer". I usually start with my pickle-fork, and if that doesn't work, I've got a ball-joint separator that I've NEVER had work on a ball-joint before. So very commonly, I'll put a jack under the bottom knuckle to support "firmly", and then put the castellated nut back on the threads til it's flush with the top of the bolt, and then I'll smack the piss out of it with a 4lb single-jack. So while I have no specific recollection, this is very likely the method I used to remove these. Yeah.... sue me.
So anyway; ya run that rod end up into the hole and it fits "snugly" enough that it gave me no warning to re-inspect. I'ma also blame the twenty-minutes-here, twenty-minutes-there approach to my garage time last winter.
Ok, so now I've made my excuses; flame me if you must. Apparently this is a common enough mistake that many of the respondents say they collect these inserts to fix the problem when a customer-car comes in.
In the meantime; what this meant was that as you tighten-up the nut, it just keeps sucking-up the tapered joint further and further into the hole. Ya torque it and it feels great, and then ya drive down the road, turn, the joint goes further into the hole and it's loose again. Make sense?
So anywho: I installed the parts this way, and took it to my local "race shop" to do a complete track setup; 4-corner balance and alignment.
That brings us up to the bottom of this thread, I think, but in a nutshell: should've been one day; took 3 or so. Immediately upon leaving their parking lot, I knew something was wrong, so I took it back to them. They drove it and agreed with me, so back on the rack it went, where they said they discovered a bad wheel bearing and that's what was causing the problem. The symptoms fit what I'd felt, so I didn't doubt them (though I found it odd I hadn't discovered that myself, as those are things I check.) We eventually agreed that this should've been discovered BEFORE doing an alignment (they didn't love that, but conceded the point eventually). I told them I was sensitive to the fact that they were going to have to RE-DO their work, so I told them I'd pay them to replace the wheel bearing, where typically I'd have done that myself. (They charged me a little over $800 for the wheel bearing replacement. I have no idea how this compares to other shop-rates, but I suspect poorly) I also told them I'd find a couple other things they could do to recoup some $$ on this.
I mean; I thought I was being really generous.
So I picked-up the car again. It was still bad. not AS bad, but still bad. (in hindsight, this improvement is surely because they stacked-up the washers to make it "tighter"). They convinced me I just didn't know what a good track alignment was SUPPOSED to feel like. And I guess I shrugged my shoulders a bit and thought I'd try it at the track.
Now, at this point, let's be clear: They'd had BOTH toe links off. We know this because they did a wheel bearing on one side and I SAW the upright on the floor in the shop. And on the other side, they had stacked washers under the nut, trying to get it to tighten-up some more.
So I get to the track last Wednesday, and as I said: some things became much more clear. It was no longer a "vague twitchiness". The best way to describe it was just about the time the rear is about to begin to rotate, the giant 200lb bowling ball in the rear trunk slides over to the outside.
So Friday afternoon, I jacked-it up and started looking at things. Sure enough, I found what at first glance appeared to be a bad wheel bearing on the other side from the one they replaced. Except, on closer inspection, it became clear it WAS NOT the wheel bearing, but in fact the movement was in the ball-joint on the toe-link. Which suggests to me that the wheel bearing they replaced was also NOT THE CULPRIT, and I paid them to replace it just for fun.
So yeah; I'm frustrated, I'm pissed and I'm relieved.
I'm frustrated that I screwed-up the installation. That's on me, and I'm typically a very good mechanic. This is a learning moment. And I'll be paying the price for it both financially and with my ego. :ah:
I'm pissed that I paid over $500 for a 4-corner balance and track alignment that are JUNK because they didn't check the parts BEFORE they aligned it. I'm pissed that I paid them over $1400 in other services, including an $800 wheel bearing which I now suspect was not bad, that I could've done myself for under $200, in the name of being generous and loyal.
I'm relieved that the good guys at Tatum Racing are all over it now and will get it all correct for me. (I gifted them a car a while back, with a lot of good parts including two good uprights, so I'm hoping that is reflected in the eventual bill, haha.)
Anyway:
PCA has a DE in 10 days that I should be Good-To-Go for. I'm excited to really drive what I built. I mean, REALLY drive it. :dance:
I'll keep y'all posted.