Suspension Help Needed. PLEASE :(

[03.5MSP]

So to make a really long story long, I installed coilovers and hit a pot hole and broke my AWR camber plate insert. So I bought new camber plates and AWR endlinks installed them and went to get the car aligned but the camber and included angles were different and not within specs now between the driver and passenger sides. The car pulls to the left if I hold the steering wheel straight. The shop told me that the strut or strut housing could be bent. So I just got word that the struts and housing are ok and nothing is wrong with them. So what else could be the cause of my problem, bent spindle??

Here is the problem that I am experiencing summed up.

Camber is suppose to be equal on both sides and the only way to adjust camber is with the camber plates. Keep in mind that the camber plates are equally adjusted on both sides but we see huge difference in camber.

-Driver side camber= -3.0 degrees
-Passenger side camber -1.8 degrees

-My steering wheel is off center(when I hold it straight the car turn left), and some people suggest that the outer tie rods might be a bit off and that adjusting them might help.

Any help is appreciated.

Marko

 

[03.5MSP]

Old Setup when Everything was OK.


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New Setup with the Camber messed up.


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[03.5MSP]

Everything I am reading about the included angle and the McPherson strut setup tells me that the steering knuckle is bent. But its really hard to tell if its actually bent, you just have to assume that the angles and numbers you are reading are all correct. FML

 

[ghaze24]

There is a little play where the strut bolts to the spindle, I'm not sure what kind of coilovers you have but on the BCs the top hole for the spindle bolts is oval so you can adjust it a little bit there. I just went through this with an alignment shop. Passenger side is in spec with camber plate at 0 and the drivers side plate had to be changed about 1 degree. So try playing with the spindle mounts, it can't hurt.

 

[03.5MSP]

I got AWR coils, once I get the strut back from AWR I will definitely play with that a bit before I go off replacing steering knuckles and hubs. Because I have a weird feeling that even if I do change all that stuff it will still be off. So we will see what happens. Thank you for posting.

 

[M1S6]

bump (dunno) Any ideas?

 

[GTRay7]

after hitting a pothole be sure to check the spring perch or chassis mount. i'd also suggest checking the lower control arm and bushings. Last place to check is a frame shop. Most body shops that specialize in insurance repair will be able to check your frame. it may need a tweak after taking a beating from a pothole. if you take a look at your caster numbers you can see that you not only jammed the camber way negative you also pulled that front left wheel slightly forward or the spring perch got pushed backwards. my guess would be the latter.

Ray

 

[03.5MSP]

Thanks for the input and the help.... I will be taking the car for an alignment on 7/14 where we will also replace the knuckle, hub, and wheel bearing and then see where we stand. I also have pedders LCA bushings on order. I guess if this doesn't fix the problem, I will take it to a frame shop and have them take a look at it. I am REALLY REALLY hoping that after we replace the parts and get it aligned, that it will be ok.

 

[M1S6]

Thanks for the input and the help.... I will be taking the car for an alignment on 7/14 where we will also replace the knuckle, hub, and wheel bearing and then see where we stand. I also have pedders LCA bushings on order. I guess if this doesn't fix the problem, I will take it to a frame shop and have them take a look at it. I am REALLY REALLY hoping that after we replace the parts and get it aligned, that it will be ok.

hopefully, keep us posted (drive)