Mister Moo

10,000 miles ago my highly reliable front end alignment guy told me my '87 Carrera's right front wheel had reached the limit of camber adjustment; I should expect to see advancing wear on the inside of my right front tire. And so it came to pass on a vehicle of 170,000 miles. The other three are in adjustment and wearing evenly.

I would like to have a go on my first attempt at front end work (other than having changed many front tires and a few sets of shocks). There must be some obvious (and not so obvious) suspension elements to go looking for; advice appreciated before handing this over to a front end specialist.

500

I just went through something very similar. When the strut mount was pushed all the way to the outside (position for maximum positive camber), I still had -1.8 degrees negative.

The issue was a slightly bent strut housing. Apparently, this is not that unusual, particularly for the Boge housings, It can be very hard to see (and the new Bilstein inserts I have bought fit in fine). Chuck Moreland (Elephant Racing) had posted on Pelican that about 30% of the used Boge housings that they see are bent. The angle between the housing tube and the plane perpendicular to the spindle (same plane as the brake disk) should be 11 degrees, but this is a hard angle to measure accurately on the car.

If there is no accident damage on the car, then this is the most likely issue. Next likely would be a tweaked control arm. But it is much harder to bend a control arm (and in all likelihood the event that damaged the control arm would have done a real number on the strut too!)

In my case I got some new Bilstein struts and I was able to get stock alignment with no issues.

Basically, my advice is budget for a complete new strut, not just the insert!

Mister Moo

Thanks for that. Very helpful. Bilsteins were installed 25,000 miles back (right before I purchased the vehicle) and the car hasn't been banged around since.

Anyone have any experience with a negative camber condition and adding a lateral stiffener bar across the top strut mounts?

Billm

What about adjustable camber plates?

Mister Moo

Those are pretty trick (& pricey for a DD); be nice on the track especially if I was starting with neutral settings on a square/plumb front end. Which I am not.

I'm going to give a hard look at a-arm bushings and ball joints first.

Boges next.

Anyone else?

theiceman

WOW .. now there's route cause analysis for ya ...

Mister Moo

500

If you are not able to get zero camber on one of the front corners, then something is not right. There are not many real possibilities:

1) Accident damage
2) Bent control arm
3) Bent strut housing/spindle

Number 3 is the most likely. Are you certain you have new struts, or is is just new strut inserts (which is typically what is replaced - you would only replace the strut housings if they were damaged)? What people call new struts is really often just strut inserts.

I would really try and figure out what is wrong and correct it.

You may be able to jack apart the strut towers with a brace - I have read about that on Pelican. You have to start with equal negative camber on both sides. For any significant amount of spread, you will see it in the gaps along the sides of the front trunk lid - not really an ideal solution.

Adjustable camber plates might give you a bit more adjustment, but it may or may not be enough to cover the underlying issue. Plus, if you want to keep a stock ride (i.e. rubber bushings), you may not be able to.

Mister Moo

That's the deal; find the underlying cause. This weekend gets me a lift, good light, specs book and another pair of more experienced eyes. I'll see what that brings.

PO said new struts but I went back through the paperwork and couldn't find anything. Ho hum. Old cars. Always something to figgeer out.

Ed Hughes

Most have trouble getting neg camber. As noted, if you can't bring it upright, the first suspect is a bent strut, and not uncommon.

wildcat077

It's very rare that you'll be able to get even camber on both sides of a 20 something year old car,like i mentioned to you on Pelican decambered ball joints will give you a bigger range as will Tarett camber plates although it seems every extra camber increment costs more money ... lol

Cheers !
Phil

Ed Hughes

I don't think he is looking for more negative camber.

Mister Moo

I have so much extra negative camber on the right front I'll maybe offer some on CraigsList.

Fridays look revealed even height adjustment, no visible damage to the front end, good ball joints and snug bushings on the control arms and torsion bars. For lack of a better idea it's time for a new pair of Boge inserts.

GothingNC

Have you checked with Brad at Digital Chassis?