[addyb0y5]

I took the car to NCM, had fun and post track day maintenance - I noticed there was some grease spill on the passenger side knuckle.

Little bit of back story - Before the track day. I went and dropped my car at the local Chevy dealer since I felt the car was loose at the rear end. As I suspected the rear toe was off. They did the alignment as per the spec and handed me the car. While I was driving home, I noticed my steering wheel is crooked by 3-4 degrees to the right. I immediately went back again. They got the car on the alignment rack and they managed to correct it by 2 degrees after 3 hours of struggle. However, the steering wheel was still off by 2 degrees and they gave up on it and told me that this is the best they can do. Also, the service manager was like "you should take this car to a speed shop". So I drove the car home with the crooked steering wheel and took it to the track "as-is" since the alignment specs were spot on and car wasn't pulling to either side.

Now coming back to the leaky damper - After seeing the grease on the right side knuckle, I assumed that the steering wheel being off by few degrees and the grease on the right knuckle might be a shot damper or wheel hub bearing.

So, I took it to the dealer again and they kept the car for an entire day and they said the grease spill is pretty normal and they handed me a service bulletin ( See attached ) which says this is normal. I found a thread here, where the owner got a new damper replacement cause of the grease leak from the damper. Has anyone faced this issue?

Also, they re-did the alignment But the steering wheel is still off by 2 degrees to the right. I'm confused and trying to find out why my steering wheel is still crooked. Current alignment spec is attached as well. Has anyone with ZLE track spec alignment had steering wheel angle being off issue? If so, how did you guys got it corrected.

Thanks
Khan.

[Techdude99]

No. Wheel is easily fixed when done correctly.
My local Chevy dealer tech required me to show him how to do it. Directed him to the electronic FSM.

Warranty issue. Speak to the Service Director or GM at the store.

[kropscamaro16]

they idiots take to real shop to get alignment

[Mark R]

They are incompetent when it comes to alignment. It comes down to centering the wheel and bracing it on-center first, then aligning the car after that is done. Maybe the tech simply can't accurately center the wheel when he starts the job. Some people don't get bothered when pictures are hung crooked on the wall either.

With respect to the damper, it should be very easy to tell where the leak is coming from. If it comes from the vent, obviously, it's not a problem. If it is leaking up above, like at the shaft seal, then you have a problem.

[SFV1LE]

Wheel is easily adjusted some by tie rod end threads, after alignment is done. They try to center as much as possible during alignment, especially if done with customer in car holding wheel and there to have proper weight in car. Then they can just adjust tie rod ends for precise final setting of wheel.

DSSVs should not leak at all, if they do they're defective or damaged in some way.

[SFV1LE]

IMO, never take your car to that dealer again. It's not unusual but weird how bad most are

[TWG1]

Front toe adjustments are very sensitive. After I set total toe, I generally ride around on a flat road (highway), run PDR and get an exact reading on steering wheel. For my car, 2* is less than 90* of each front toe rod to straighten the wheel. Make sure you look at thread direction to avoid changing total toe. You want to move the wheels in same direction steering wheel is off. The caster will center it up front.

Also, a 90* adj on one rod is equal to just under 1/32” total toe for me. 180* (or 90* each side is about 1/16” total toe.

Note: none of this applies to rear wheels.

[cdb95z28]

Yep, the grease leakage is normal.
The ZLE DSSVs are built in a similar manner as the Z/28 DSSVs. I've had the Gen5 Z/28 DSSV front struts apart. Since they are an inverted insert type strut, as the strut moves, the insert displaces air, and sometimes excessive grease, thru the vent. There are bushings and grease that reduce friction of this movement. Wipe everything clean remove the vent, clean and reinstall.

Here's a cool video of a moving ZLE DSSV.

https://www.multimatic.com/wp-conten...mation-Web.gif

The red arrow points out the sintered brass vent.



This is my Z/28 front insert



With the alignment, a tire that has some lateral force variation can cause a pull on an otherwise excellent alignment. Swap the fronts side to side and see if the pull changes. Try the rear too if no change. We are assuming the tires are all worn similar to each other and the pressures are the same. Your #s look good, not perfectly symmetrical, but very close, all within the allowed cross tolerances.

As TWG1 mentioned, the adjustments are very sensitive. I once adjusted one front tie rod adjuster on my '14 1LE a half a flat, which is 1/12 of a turn of the adjuster and felt the change in how the car drove.

[cdb95z28]

This was from a post over at camaro5 in 2016 concerning the leaking on a Z/28. Here is a response directly from Multimatic:

"The fitting you see is a “breather” which allows air to enter and exit the strut as it strokes. The gel you see is a grease which is applied between the upper and lower “DU” Teflon bushings for lubrication.

Note that the z/28 strut is actually what is sometimes known as a “superstrut”, meaning that a full damper is present inside the steel outer strut body you see externally. The above-mentioned DU bushings form the sliding interface between the damper and the outer strut body. Note that the damper itself is a separate ‘sealed’ unit inside the outer strut body.

If during assembly, slightly too much of this grease was applied, and/or some of the grease was wiped past the lower bushing, it may be expelled through the breather. The pristine condition of the grease suggests that there is not any unusual wear internally. Our suggestion is to simply wipe off the grease. Once the ‘excess’ grease is expelled, you should no longer see this condition (as with your right strut). The damper/outer strut body interface will continue to be lubricated by the grease between the upper and lower DU bushings.

In case you haven’t seen it, here is an overall backgrounder for the vehicle. Embedded in it is a Multimatic presentation given by my colleague, Larry Holt, regarding the specifics of DSSV dampers in general, and your vehicle’s DSSV dampers in specific. On page 37, there is a cross-sectional view of the front super-strut, which may (or may not!) give you a better idea of what I am trying to describe above.

http://media.chevrolet.com/content/d...under-2013.pdf

Please let us know if you have any further questions or require additional detail.

I trust you are enjoying your z/28!
Regards,
Patrick"

[Scottyz]

Awesome info cdb95z28