Front Camber?

[thecman02]

So I'm torn on what to do with the front suspension on my car. I just went through the front of my car replacing control arms, bushings, tie rods, and sway bar end links. My car has always been uneven in the front as far as camber goes. I was hoping that when I replaced the control arms that my camber would even out but no matter what I do (with camber bolts) I can't get the front driver side wheel to the desired camber. In fact it is so bad that with the bolts at full negative I still have around .5-.2ish positive camber. On the passenger side I have around negative .5.

I need to know if anyone has had enough adjustment by buying the adjustable strut tops to get a significant amount of camber with stock style springs in the front. If not does anybody have a deal on some hotbits ? My tire on the drivers side rubs on the fender because of the retarded camber plus I get heavy wear on the outside of the tire which is very annoying.

 

[Barnes]

I can understand wanting to get camber plates to fix this. However, I would recommend against it. There is still probably an underlying problem that is causing this, and it sounds moderate to severe. I can't really think of realistic possibilities for this problem. But I would think that the control arm attach points could be bent from a wreck or curbing. Perhaps your hub is bent. I really doubt this, but is conceivable and could create the situation you are facing. The simple fact is there is probably no way the car left the factory with such a severe camber issues. SOMETHING had to have been messed up down the line to create this.

 

[thecman02]

Yeah. I wish I could find the underlying problem, but I don't see an noticeable damage anywhere on the subframe or frame. That doesn't mean there isn't something wrong. I figured I'd just try to get around the problem since it isn't obvious to me. Maybe the hub is bent, but I would figure the way the hub is... it would crack and sheer apart or the bearing would explode and be sloppy but it is fine when I apply torques to the outside of the wheel looking for play.

I guess the right way to go about the problem would be to build up a new front subframe; however, finding a front subframe in good condition to build up is rare. :-(

I'm so close to being able to fully enjoy this car.... I hate that stupid sh*t like this is keeping me from it.

Any ideas are appreciated. LMK

 

[Muskrat]

Things like this are often VERY hard to pick up visually.

If you have access to a perfectly level surface get a plub bob, an L-ruler, a tape measure some masking tape and a pen and start measuring out all your suspension pick-up points and do a full alignment check. If you've never done anything like this before, I suggest finding someone who has. Their expirience will help a lot.

 

[thecman02]

So I just start marking important points with the plum bob and compare it to the other side? My only question is what point should I use as reference if I don't even know where the car is straight and where it isn't?

 

[Muskrat]

Use a reference that shouldn't have moved. Maybe the subframe mounting points? You want to be able to determine the car's centerline and reference that for all your measurements.

Once you get all your points layed out (remember to measure height) You can determine position of everything relative to center. Hopefully something will "jump out at you" as being way off from symetric (expect some variance).