Camber adjustment on front wheels

[Ribbedroof]

Chassis is metric, you have the specs, and shims shouldn't be too hard to find even in Europe. Sounds like they're afraid of the unknown/unfamiliar. I'd much rather align a GM SLA suspension than any Mercedes...major PITA.

Were springs changed while the other repairs were made? That can/will affect ride height, and may contribute to the issue. Also, don't tighten the cross shaft nuts/bolts through the bushings until car has been settled, and preferably has been driven a very short distance both forward and reverse to allow components to settle in to their natural place.

 

[FluoFerret]

Chassis is metric, you have the specs, and shims shouldn't be too hard to find even in Europe. Sounds like they're afraid of the unknown/unfamiliar. I'd much rather align a GM SLA suspension than any Mercedes...major PITA.

Were springs changed while the other repairs were made? That can/will affect ride height, and may contribute to the issue. Also, don't tighten the cross shaft nuts/bolts through the bushings until car has been settled, and preferably has been driven a very short distance both forward and reverse to allow components to settle in to their natural place.

The springs were replaced too. I took OEM standart ride height and the stiffest/strongest available. I think I will have to untighten them again and let the car drive a few meters. Thank you for the advice 🙂

 

[fleming442]

I don't think the BMRs are adjustable, correct? The shims also affect the camber, so you should check it before getting too crazy. I was able to get 3 degrees of caster and -.75 degrees of camber with stock components, so the BMRs should be able to at least do that (I would think).
I'd pull the wheels and inspect the spindle orientation carefully. The ball joints should by vertical to the eye; if they are installed backwards, the spindle will look like it's tilted forward at the top.

 

[FluoFerret]

I don't think the BMRs are adjustable, correct? The shims also affect the camber, so you should check it before getting too crazy. I was able to get 3 degrees of caster and -.75 degrees of camber with stock components, so the BMRs should be able to at least do that (I would think).
I'd pull the wheels and inspect the spindle orientation carefully. The ball joints should by vertical to the eye; if they are installed backwards, the spindle will look like it's tilted forward at the top.

nope, they are rigid. and as far as I remember, there is only one way to install the upper balljoints, otherwise, the holes won't line up, but I will check again in a few minutes 🙂 I will keep you informed 🙂

 

[ssn696]

This may be a repeat of old advice. I rebuilt a pair of OEM upper control arms and the Moog 'Problem Solver' kit came with offset cross-shafts. I saw the same feature on a pair of Hotchkis aftermarket upper control arms, they also had an offset in their cross-shafts. Both cross-shafts were symmetrical front-rear. Make sure the offset is oriented away from the motor, which should pull the tops of the wheels inwards. Not to insult your intelligence, but if you bolted them on and the offset is oriented towards the motor, that could explain the positive camber with the shims reinstalled exactly where they were before.

 

[ssn696]

Wow. I need another cup of coffee. I just reread my advice and had it backwards myself. The goal of the offset is to move the upper control arm bushings towards the centerline of the car to provide at least a neutral camber with fewer shims so the mounting bolts don't flex in hard cornering; or, better, a negative camber so that the wheel does not 'roll over' so much when the body of the car dives outwards in a hard turn. Watch some old American car chase movies to see what happens to Detroit iron when pushed into a turn.

 

[FluoFerret]

This may be a repeat of old advice. I rebuilt a pair of OEM upper control arms and the Moog 'Problem Solver' kit came with offset cross-shafts. I saw the same feature on a pair of Hotchkis aftermarket upper control arms, they also had an offset in their cross-shafts. Both cross-shafts were symmetrical front-rear. Make sure the offset is oriented away from the motor, which should pull the tops of the wheels inwards. Not to insult your intelligence, but if you bolted them on and the offset is oriented towards the motor, that could explain the positive camber with the shims reinstalled exactly where they were before.

I just took a picture of the passenger side. Looks like the offset is equal on both sides of the cross shaft. Or do you see any obvious error here?

 

[fleming442]

It could just be me or the pic, but yeah, they look offset to me. Look at the depth of the flat to the round section by the bushing. The shallow side should be toward the wheel.

 

[FluoFerret]

It could just be me or the pic, but yeah, they look offset to me. Look at the depth of the flat to the round section by the bushing. The shallow side should be toward the wheel.

Damn, I think you are right. I think I will pull out the upper control arms and measure them. One thing I discovered by measuring: the section is not as large as the original OEM ones. There is a difference of 3,78mm.

Step 1: realign the cross shafts of the upper control arms
Step 2: measure the "thickness-difference", and add 4 solid self made steel shims to compensate.
Step 3: buy an alignment tool and check....

Sounds about right?

 

[fleming442]

Reverse 2&3 😉
A very valuable member of the forum that used to post here was very savvy with suspension setups: his recommendation was 3-5 degrees caster and -1-1.5 camber. The caster helps with high speed stability and the camber in the turns, BUT you can wear the insides of the tires more quickly in a straight line.
ALSO, no need to pull the entire a-arm- just undo the nuts, push it in, and flip the shaft over.