How to install a camber correction kit?
 

I recently got my hands on a front and rear camber correction kit... and by "kit", I mean four little bolts. :rolleyes:

Anyway, does anyone have any knowledge/instructions on the installation of these? The ones that I have are very similar to these:

http://ludeatic.com/ebay/BX41%203.jpg

I would honestly have no idea where to start, as I am still somewhat of a "suspension moron." :D

Thanks all.

Hi Garrett. Unless you are going to lower the car by more than an inch, you don't need to install the aftermarket front camber kit. The front suspension already has camber bolts in it that are good for about +/- 1 deg of camber.

The installation is pretty easy for the rear (or front). Jack up the car, remove the rear wheels, match mark the strut body against the knuckle, loosen the lower strut-to-knuckle nut, then re-snug it, and then remove the upper strut-to-knuckle nut and bolt. You'll probably find that the nuts needs some liquid wrench before they will easily break free. Install the camber washer, bolt, and nut in the upper strut-to-knuckle hole. The washer does not go with the nut but with bolt head. The washer needs to be oriented on the strut hole so that the tab on the washer sits in the hole. If you get the tab properly positioned, then as you spin the camber bolt (with the lower strut-to-knuckle bolt loosened), the camber on the knuckle will change. You'll have to take the car in for an alignment to set the camber values properly. Changing the rear camber will also change the rear toe slightly, so you'll probably have to adjust the rear toe back to zero after you set the camber.

I think I can visualize what you're saying... But as mentioned, I am sort of a suspension retard. Vehicle suspension is one of the few and final things that still perplexes me about cars. So does anyone have any pictures of the rear strut area? A quick little map to what-is-what would help.

Thanks Mychailo (again). :D ;)

I just tried doing a search for "rear suspension" and "rear suspension pic" to no avail. I also tried browsing a lot of the lockers. I know that there has got to be a picture of the rear strut-area some place on this site...

Like this?
 

Well, I wrote down your instructions, took a peek at the exploded diagrams on subaruparts.com, and did what I could.

The following picture is from my cell phone, so the quality is a little low. You can make out the things in the picture though (and my labels help).

So, did I do it correctly? If not, please let me know. I will fix it tomorrow.

Better yet, take the rear camber bolts to a good alignment shop and have them install them and do a 4 wheel alignment...(as Mychailo said, changing camber does effect toe)
Speaking from experience, the stock front bolts are good to -1.5 degrees of camber.
-Bill

I talked a Firestone about it (they've treated me pretty well before), but they said that they cannot install any parts that do not originate from them. I asked if it would matter if my parts are the same as what they have, and they said that even then, they can't do it.

I asked what it would cost to have them install theirs, and he quoted above $100. That's outrageous for a few simple bolts.

I even went so far as to talk to a Les Schwab about it (whom I hate), and they said essentially the same thing.

So anywho, I think I must have installed them correctly. The little lobes on the bolts cause the camber to change when you rotate the bolt one way or another. I would still like someone to tell me if I installed them properly before I take it in for an alignment.

Thanks all. :)

Do you guys know the alignment camber setting for the rear when you have drop springs/Koni strut inserts (which will cause severe inner tire wear with the stock camber setting) ....to prevent severe inner tire wear?

THANKS! :confused: :)

That's about how I expected that camber bolt system to look. If you loosen the camber nut and the lower strut mounting nut, then as you turn the camber bolt, you should see the angle between the strut and the knuckle changing.

The orientation of the camber bolt washer will affect whether the range is say, from 0 to +1 deg or from 0 to -1 deg. That tab on the washer is what does it.

Sweet! Glad I did it the correct way.

Now, I wonder how much abuse those tabs can take? They don't look very strong, but I suppose that tightening the camber nut to the correct torque value should prevent all of the stress from damaging the tabs...

That little tabs shouldn't be under much stress at all after the bolt is torqued down. The tabs sit in the hole and serve to offset the bolt sideways either towards the inside of the car or towards the outside of the car. If the bolt is offset away from the car (tab on the inside of the car), that should give you overall positive camber. With the bolt offset towards the inside (tab on the outside of the car), that should give you overall negative camber.

After you get those installed, take it in for an alignment. Have the alignment shop print out the alignment numbers before and after adjustments. It would be best if you asked them to set the alignment to specific values. Otherwise they will adjust to within factory spec which is a fairly wide range of values. Set the front and rear toe to zero, and you can set the camber to whatever you like. Try to make sure that the shop sets to toe exactly to zero, and sets the camber to within +/- 0.1 deg of what you ask for.

Sorry to bring an old thread back to life but why does changing the camber in the rear of the car affect the toe? Are those two bolts all that clamp the shock and knuckle to stay straight?

If you dial in more rear camber with a camber bolt in the strut-to-knuckle connection, this causes the knuckle to twist around the trailing arm, and this adds some rear toe-out. Its not a big effect, but it takes a few iterations of adjusting the camber bolts and the toe bolts to get everything lined up.

Oh ok I seen while I was out washing the car earlier the extra rod there and now with your explination it makes sense.

I've been thinking about this a little more, and I think that I am mistaken about any significant change in rear toe when adjusting rear camber. I remember now that when the rear toe is adjusted, it can have a notice able effect on the rear camber. Adding toe-out will add positive camber. When I first tried to do an alignment on my car, the rear toe was set to about 1/4" (!) of toe-in, and when the shop dialed it into 0", the camber increased from something like 0 deg to 0.2 deg.