davejurek

I have a stock 1998 Honda Civic LX that I took in for an alignment because it is pulling hard to the rights.

When I went to pick it up, they said that the car would not align and that I would have to get the frame check since the camber was out of alignment. I questioned this and talked to the mechanic. He told me that my Civic camber and caster are not adjustable, only toe. Seems strange that would be fixed but they referred me to a body shop and said come back for a re-alignment at no charge. I am skeptical but....

Here's what the readings came up:

LEFT FRONT/ RIGHT FRONT
Camber 0.2/ -0.3
Caster 1.2/ 0.6
Toe 0.06"/ 0.05"
SAI 10.5/ 11.9


Does Honda really sell a car w/o camber & caster adjustments or is this shop pulling my leg? How do I get this fixed?

93baggedcivic

there are plenty of cars out there with out camber and caster adjustments.i work in a tire shop and we have cars come in with out camber and caster just toe set all day long.on your car you might even have to drill 3 holes and turn the strut and not many shops like to get into that we dont.cause it calls for an hour labor and no one is going to spend 200 for an alignment

69NOSAJ

Yep no adj. will be cheaper to buy a camber kit.

davejurek

Ok so what they are telling me is true.

Ok on the camber kit but will that fix my caster which appears to be causing the hard pull to the right?

Thanks.

Dave

93baggedcivic

the camber kit should bring the caster up and then the toe set might bring it right in.try rotating the tires

93baggedcivic

the camber kit should bring the caster up and then the toe set might bring it right in.try rotating the tires see if the pull goes away.cause it could be int he tires

ek_will

i had a civic that did that too turned out to be a combination of bad wheel bearings and frame damage, car ever been in an accident? maybe its just me but the camber doesnt seem that horribly off?

im riding at -2.0s, toe is set straight no camber kit love it. tire wear is not even a noticable difference for me and i've had a few cars with camber kits. i wouldnt spend money on a camber kit again...get a second opinion?

btw my alignment cost me 50 bucks.

davejurek

That's what I paid, $50 for an alignment today and my car is still pulling to the right. No never been in an accident. I may have hit one pothole too many though, the roads around Tulsa really suck.

I just rotated my 2 front tires so I'll see tomorrow if it improves. I did notice my right front tire has inside shoulder wear.

I plan on talking to the Honda dealer tomorrow but it is pulling too hard to just do nothing.

Dave

ek_will

check the wheel bearings? lift the front end up grip 12 & 6 o'clock and see if theres noticable play.

95civickid

Camber Kits, then rotate best tires up front and check it out and if that doesnt fix the caster i believe you can put Shims at the Radius rod to adjust your caster...

davejurek

Ok, update, I swapped the two front tires and the pull went to the left. Appears that this is a tire problem. I plan to rotate the backs to the front and get my alignment re-checked.

Ironically, I called 3 Honda dealers, 2 said that camber and caster was not adjustable, and the other, said they could adjust all 3 directions.

95civickid, could you be more specific on the camber kit and adjusting the radius rod. I am not very familar with suspension.