Car: 94 Civic

Problem: Camber - Approx. -3 degrees on front drivers side

This past weekend I upgraded my brakes on all four corners to Integra brake. All went great except for the usual stuck bolts, etc. I'm sure we all know how it goes. I got new lower control arms, front upper control arms, Brembo blanks, Hawk HP pads, K-sport coilovers, booster, master cylinder and all the other Integra bits.

I wasn't able to put the K-sports in the front becuase I was sent the incorrect lower collars so they didn't fit in my damper forks. The stock shocks are in the front with the Integra knuckles. Rear has K-sports, but is not lowered.

Went in for an alignment today and was told the alignment couldn't be set because the camber was off on the front drivers side. Sure enough it was off by about -3 degrees, the passenger side is fine.

I took the car home and took that side completely apart and put it back together and still the same problem.

Can anyone enlighten me as to what the problem might be?


Modified by mrchaos at 11:38 PM 11/17/2005

 

Something's bent.

 

Any easy way to check that out?

 

Would an upper control arm meant for the passenger side throw the camber off?

 

up

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mrchaos &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Would an upper control arm meant for the passenger side throw the camber off?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Caster, yes
Camber, no

 

Well thats crap, would the most likely culprit be the knuckle?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mrchaos &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Car: 94 Civic

Problem: Camber - Approx. -3 degrees on front drivers side

This past weekend I upgraded my brakes on all four corners to Integra brake. All went great except for the usual stuck bolts, etc. I'm sure we all know how it goes. I got new lower control arms, front upper control arms, Brembo blanks, Hawk HP pads, K-sport coilovers, booster, master cylinder and all the other Integra bits.

Can anyone enlighten me as to what the problem might be?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Where did the front knuckles come from?

Sounds like they may have come from a 90-93 integra. This symptom you describe is consistent when using DA knuckles on EG's.

 

They knuckles came from a 94-01 Integra, specifically a 98 from what I was told. The passenger side is spot on. Both knuckles have the same markings, except one left and one right. I will confirm once I'm home from work.

Thanks for the help.

P.S. Any idea what the DA knuckles are stamped with?

 

DA knuckles are obvious. They have an extra piece at the upper end where the ball joint connects to -- like a little cover.

Double check your install. There's a good chance there may be a bent knuckle somewhere.

-AT

 

I double checked the install last night, I will have another look when I get home. I will take some pics around 5 pm EST. Hopefully your around and you can have a look.

Thanks for the help,
Steve

 

Sorry for the crappy pics, awful lighting in my garage. Looks like its bent at the top where the ball joint attaches.

Look how close the knuckle is to the shock. Not that close on passenger side.





Heres the same shot on the other side for reference.

 

up

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Function7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Where did the front knuckles come from?

Sounds like they may have come from a 90-93 integra. This symptom you describe is consistent when using DA knuckles on EG's.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i thoought the DA knuckles gave positive camber being that they are longer. kinda like the eg/dc knuckles on a DA would yeild negative camber since they are about a inch shorter.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by projectTeG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i thoought the DA knuckles gave positive camber being that they are longer. kinda like the eg/dc knuckles on a DA would yeild negative camber since they are about a inch shorter.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The DA knucles are slightly longer - and causes the upper arm to sit higher when everything is put together. Since the upper arm sits higher, it pivots upwards, pulling the top end of the knuckle inboard and increases negative camber.



-A

 

Double check the ball joint (3rd pic). It looks odd. Perhaps your problem. You have the correct knuckles for an EG.

-A

 

The one in the third pic is the passenger, that has no camber

Although, looking at it, the nut doesn't looked torqued down, but i know i did. Going to have a look at that, but that side is aligned fine.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Function7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

The DA knucles are slightly longer - and causes the upper arm to sit higher when everything is put together. Since the upper arm sits higher, it pivots upwards, pulling the top end of the knuckle inboard and increases negative camber.



-A</TD></TR></TABLE>

yea i remeber today that the eg/dc would yeild positive camber because its shorter. sry for my information mishap.

 

For future reference, the knuckle was bent. A quick swap of the knuckle (another new bearing/ball joint grrrrrrrr) and problem solved.

 

well for future reference, always consider how and where you got the knuckles. if a person pulled the knuckles (or trailing arm, or any suspension component) from the junkyard, theres a good chance its in the junkyard because the car was in an accident, which typically bends arms. but a lot of ppl wont know, or bother checking, or even dont care before selling you the parts they pulled.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mrchaos &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> the knuckle was bent.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thats what I would have put my money on...

It's very important to check out the parts & compare them to eachother before and during the install. I've learned that the hard way too. Fortunatly, I have a second car for transportation while parts were en-route. It was also fortunate that I bought my parts from Import Auto Salvage. I e-mailed Larry Jr. a photo, and the replacment was on its way within minutes...

 

Well yes, hind sight is 20/20. I trust the guy that I bought from, never had a problem in the past. However I overlooked it, lesson learned. The person I purchased from gave me a new knuckle the day after I confirmed it was bent