987687 Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 (edited) So my lifted GL has negative camber on the rear driver's side. It's fine on the passenger's side, but the driver's side has pretty bad negative camber. I see no obvious way how to fix it. What do I have to do to correct it? Thanks Edited August 21, 2010 by 987687 I'm a dunce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Hey I just thought of something. Make sure the rear lift bock has not moved or shifted at all on that side, if it has, it may cause it to sit different Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backcountrycrui Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Thats interesting, about two weeks ago I noticed the inside of the rear tires were severly worn, and it happened quickly. I got to looking at the rear and sure enough the tires lean in. Not a whole lot but apparently enough. So I finally installed my rear half of the two inch lift. It doesnt look like it helped. So I was thinking about using washers to shim out the top of the tire by around a quarter of a inch. Does any one see any real problem with this. IFS chevy's have used this tech. for decades so I THINK it will work here. The rear camber does not appear to be adjustable via factory means. Thanks Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted August 19, 2010 Author Share Posted August 19, 2010 No, it doesn't seem to be adjustable. Which is annoying. Jason, the lift looks fine. Same on both sides. Hasn't shifted or anything. What do you mean shim the tires? That doesn't make any sense... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 I think he means shim out the top of the strut mount, but that would do nothing, the bushing would just flex and not push the top of the tire out at all. Hmmm, what the hell could it be!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'subaru Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Rear camber and toe is adjustable on the L series, all thru the 3 bolts located on the inner arm, I can post up the fsm info if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'subaru Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 ok, heres the info on rear adjustment from an '89 fsm. Ive lifted my wagon, and changed out the inner arms twice as ive upgraded, and the last time I took it off the jack stands When its finally on the road Ill take it to get aligned and definately hand them all the fsm info, not going to mess with this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 ^ that looks absolutely awful!! Gross. Thanks so much for posting it up!! I'll play with it and see what I can come up with, I got the front fixed, so hopefully I can make the back happy. That was exactly what I was looking for, just hoping it would be a little less convoluted than that ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'subaru Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 ^ that looks absolutely awful!! Gross. Thanks so much for posting it up!! I'll play with it and see what I can come up with, I got the front fixed, so hopefully I can make the back happy. That was exactly what I was looking for, just hoping it would be a little less convoluted than that ... haha, no problem...let us know how it goes:) btw, does anyone have the Subaru Part Number for the piece of wood mentioned in the fsm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 It seem rather primitive that you have to shove wooden shims in to correct the camber. Especially seeing as wood expands/shrinks and degrades over age... I still don't completely understand what that page is saying to do, I'm a bit confused, but hopefully when I take the wheel off it'll make more sense. I'm thinking I can probably weld something up rather than using wood. I'll keep you updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obk25xt Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 I've experienced this problem on a couple lifted wagons, I did mess around with the 3 bolts and had little success. What I found both times that helped the most was replacing the inboard bushing on the rear control arms. I've noticed they get worn out and it makes the camber issue. Another thing too that I noticed is when re-assembling after replacing the bushing it's best to tighten everything down besides the bolt going thru the bushing while it's jacked up. Then before tightening the bolt that goes thru the bushing, either pit the tire on and let the car down, or Jack the control arm into normal ride position, otherwise it puts a pretty mean twist on the rubber when the rig is put back down. Hope this makes sense to whoever may need the info. Thanks, spencer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted August 21, 2010 Author Share Posted August 21, 2010 I've experienced this problem on a couple lifted wagons, I did mess around with the 3 bolts and had little success. What I found both times that helped the most was replacing the inboard bushing on the rear control arms. I've noticed they get worn out and it makes the camber issue. Another thing too that I noticed is when re-assembling after replacing the bushing it's best to tighten everything down besides the bolt going thru the bushing while it's jacked up. Then before tightening the bolt that goes thru the bushing, either pit the tire on and let the car down, or Jack the control arm into normal ride position, otherwise it puts a pretty mean twist on the rubber when the rig is put back down. Hope this makes sense to whoever may need the info. Thanks, spencer Thank you! And yes, it makes perfect sense. I was under the car the other day looking at the suspension, and it did seem that that bushing was at a funny angle, torqued to the side sort of. I'll try loosening everything up and see if I can get that straightened out a bit before bolting torquing everything down again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted August 21, 2010 Author Share Posted August 21, 2010 There is a good chance I screwed something up since that was the side I did the wheel bearing on first, and I was still just figuring out how the heck it all was supposed to work ... heh. It wouldn't be a bad idea to pull it apart and put it back together now that I know what the hell I'm doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'subaru Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 It seem rather primitive that you have to shove wooden shims in to correct the camber. Especially seeing as wood expands/shrinks and degrades over age...I still don't completely understand what that page is saying to do, I'm a bit confused, but hopefully when I take the wheel off it'll make more sense. I'm thinking I can probably weld something up rather than using wood. I'll keep you updated. The reference to wood is not to shim but to use it as a pry bar to change the angle of the inner arm as a whole, as I plan to pay for a 4 wheel alignment, pretty typical with an awd car, ill have the guys doing the alignment deal with all the issues, rear and front, including proper radius rod adjustment ( part of a full alignment) and I dont suppose they will be making a bundle off of me:grin: Knowledge is Power Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted August 21, 2010 Author Share Posted August 21, 2010 I'll probably just use the string method. It worked pretty nice for the front. I can let go of the wheel and my car drives perfectly straight now. The whole point of this car is not to spend a whole lot of money on it. It's a beater, it's fun to work on, and it runs and drives awesome with what I've done to it so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted August 21, 2010 Author Share Posted August 21, 2010 So I just spent about an hour friggin with it, and I have the rear alignment damn near perfect! It wasn't really that hard. The FSM looks confusing as all hell, but once you get out there with some wrenches, a 2x4 and tape measure it isn't so bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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