Honda Civic / Del Sol (1992 - 2000) EG/EH/EJ/EK/EM1 Discussion

Camber and Caster Issue

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Old Oct 10, 2013 | 04:13 PM
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00ejhatch's Avatar
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Default Camber and Caster Issue

Alright. I have a 2000 dx hatch. I put front and rear si disc conversion on it today. changed whole trailing arm on the rear instead of the hub. Also put Si front Lcas and sway bar on the front as well. went to have it aligned. Toe aligned fine. camber and caster is out pretty bad. caster and camber on the front. Camber on the rear. I dont have camber kits. I know it not necessary for tire wear as long as i keep the toe aligned. It is not lowered. Its at stock ride height with factory struts still. camber kits will fix my camber issue now. and i do intended on lowering it sometime or another. however, I was told that i could buy a front camber upper control arm kit that could adjust camber and caster. Ive never heard of such a thing being able to adjust caster. Its annoying because my car is pulling to the right. Any help? suggestions? etc and so forth?
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Old Oct 10, 2013 | 06:30 PM
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Default Re: Camber and Caster Issue

?? is this what youre talking about http://www.inlinefour.com/incamkit.html still I don't understand why the camber is off since you don't have a camber kit or a lowered vehicle
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Old Oct 10, 2013 | 06:36 PM
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Default Re: Camber and Caster Issue

What are the front alignment numbers?

If the caster is far off, you might have 1 or both issues listed:
1. A part or bushing is defected or installed wrong.
2. Alignment was done wrong.

Lets say a right-front LCA has a bad bushing. That bushing will throw off the camber, so the technician will pull the camber as far as possible to align, but still not enough, so he uses the radius-rod to pull the rest of the camber in/out. The result of adjusting the radius-rod for a camber issue is obviously a caster problem. The tech is thinking that it is better for the tires and traction if the camber is on and caster is off. However, the driver will experience the exact opposite.

Really, you need to figure out which control arm or bushing is bad. Fix it and go back for alignment. Then again, sometimes the tech's don't know how to do 3-point alignments on a Honda properly. I always bring the factory service manual pages and give them to an alignment tech. If there is an issue, I ask to see the results before bringing the car off the machine.
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Old Oct 10, 2013 | 06:37 PM
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Default Re: Camber and Caster Issue

Originally Posted by pliskin8
?? is this what youre talking about http://www.inlinefour.com/incamkit.html still I don't understand why the camber is off since you don't have a camber kit or a lowered vehicle
He replaced the LCA's with something from another car. Changing the LCA length will change camber.
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Old Oct 10, 2013 | 07:09 PM
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Default Re: Camber and Caster Issue

I changed the front lca's sway bar ect. from an ex (ej8) into my dx (ej6) and had no issues with anything
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Old Oct 10, 2013 | 07:47 PM
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Default Re: Camber and Caster Issue

Originally Posted by TripleLude
He replaced the LCA's with something from another car. Changing the LCA length will change camber.
LCA's are the same length. Everything he did is a direct replacement.

OP, post the alignment print out. Seeing the print out with help us figure out what's going on.
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Old Oct 11, 2013 | 03:06 AM
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00ejhatch's Avatar
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Default Re: Camber and Caster Issue

Front caster. Left initial 1.9 left final -2.6
Right initial 2.2 right final -4.3
Camber
L initial -1.4 final is -1.5
R initial -1.4 final -1.0
Toe
L initial .55 final .05
R initial .55 final .05

Rear
Camber
L initial -1.8 final -1.7
R initial -3.0 final -2.4
Toe
L intial -.30 final .10
R initial -.40 final .10
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Old Oct 11, 2013 | 02:53 PM
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Icon6 Re: Camber and Caster Issue

Originally Posted by 00ejhatch
Front caster.
Left initial 1.9 left final -2.6
Right initial 2.2 right final -4.3
Front Camber
L initial -1.4 final is -1.5
R initial -1.4 final -1.0
Toe
L initial .55 final .05
R initial .55 final .05
Only regarding the front:
Alright, so he pushed the right wheel backwards (negative caster via radius rod) to pull -0.4 degrees of camber out... but he pushed the left wheel backwards (negative caster via radius rod) hoping to compensate a little for the pulling affect... yet it still resulted in a left camber issue.

It is all kinds of wrong.

First, check inner and outer LCA bushings (the rubber things with holes for bolts). Also, make sure they are not bent, and they are torqued correctly. Plus, make sure the ball joints don't look too bad.

Actually, jack up each front wheel (put on stand) and grab near the bottom and violently shake the wheel. If it moves around or makes noise, you have an issue for sure that needs to be fixed. Fix it and take the car back to the shop and tell them the alignment is fubar.
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Old Oct 11, 2013 | 06:05 PM
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Default Re: Camber and Caster Issue

Bushings nor ball joints are bad. not brand new but still have plenty of life left. Not bent. and yes everything is torqued to spec. Still doesnt explain my problem though. So im kind of stumped. thanks for the help anyways guys.
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