1. Run a straight piece of metal along the length of the car with a bubble level in the center
   
   
2. Add spacers underneath passenger side tire until the bubble level showed level
   
   
3. Put a bubble level along the wheel to check camber
   
   Driver side after wreck
   
   Passenger side after wreck

I only added spacers to the passenger side since my driveway is slanting down that direction. I did not check if the rear tires were level, and did not add any spacers to the back tires. IS THIS A PROBLEM? I didn't think I needed to level the rear tires since I'm only checking camber on the front tires, am I wrong? Did I do this correctly?

 

The only problem is that you’re not necessarily looking for zero. You need to get a number.

good job leveling your floor though.

 

If the camber is too negative from the front end collision, should I replace the upper control arms? If so should I look for adjustable ones? What other components should I check for damage/replace?

 

Uppers are the least likely to bend.

Look at lower arms, subframe, knuckles/uprights first. If the uppers ARE bent, most likely something else is too.

 

When I look, I don't see any obvious damage or bends on any of the parts, but camber is at like negative 8 so I know something had to get bent, but I don't know what.
​​​​​​
If something is bent causing negative camber, could I just get a camber kit instead of replacing a million things before finding out what's actually bent?

How can I tell if my lower arm is damaged? The bushing on the lower arm where the fork connects to looks worn down but it always has. Do you think it could also be the tie rods?

Any parts I'm gonna need I need to order by today, so any help is greatly appreciated. I don't want to end up spending a lot of money on parts that don't fix my problem.

 

How is the ride height from side to side? Measure from wheel centers to fender lip. Check the knuckles closely. How much camber are we talking? What’s the split? How’s the caster? What was the nature of the front end damage you mentioned? Negative camber is kind of a tough one to acquire in the usual front end hit, unless you’ve shifted the whole subframe over to one side or bent a knuckle.

 

I was wondering what he was doing with that.

 

I know this is a lot to look at, but I really appreciate the help. I tried to answer your questions as well as I could. Hopefully I can make a plan of what parts to order by the end of today.

RIDE HEIGHT: is about 13.25 inches on both sides (which is weird because yesterday it was 14 on driver side and 14.5 on passenger. I drove a very short distance since then).

CAMBER: I don't have a camber gauge to check exact camber but here is my readings from my bubble level:


​​​​
CASTER: I don't think I have the tools to check caster, and I don't really understand how to.

THE ACCIDENT: I was driving 30-35mph and a SUV ran a stop sign in front of me. I tried to swerve left around them, but they kept accelerating, so I slammed my breaks and all 4 tires started sliding, and I hit into their rear door. Hard to say the speed, but stuff in my backseat was thrown into the front. It looks like my passenger side took most of the impact, because the bumper was dented on the passenger side and slightly disconnected on the driver side. The inner tie rod was leaking steering fluid on the passenger side. Here is the bumper damage:


I've driven the car since the wreck and it just feels funny. The steering wheel wants to pull to the left and I just feel overall less control. It just feels way less smooth too.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HELP YOU SEE WHAT'S GOING ON:







I grinded some of the knuckle off a long time ago to install a lug stud, thats not from the wreck





If the subframe is bent, do I just need to replace it with a new one? How big of a job is that?

 

Okay, I found damage. The motor mount on the left side is completely destroyed. It's bent at almost a 45° angle and the rubber is destroyed.




Since the motor mount is bolted to the subframe, I'm assuming that the subframe is definitely bent. What do you think? ​​​​​​

EDIT: Maybe I'm confusing the crossmember And the subframe. All this terminology is new to me.

 

Crossmember/subframe are find of interchangeable, but usually around here the crossmember is in front and ties the frame rails together and the subframe is behind the drivetrain locating the control arms and steering rack.

Looks like you might have picked up some frame damage on the right front corner, the frame horn appears to have a twist and the lower core support has a taken a whack in and under.

Also your lower arm bushings are in really bad condition and this is doing nothing to help your alignment or the repeatability of your measurements.

Get yourself $30 magnetic digital level and magnet or tape it onto your current level.

 

So would you say a new front crossmember is required?

 

How married to this car are you?

 

There is a sentimental attachment to the car, yes, but that's not my inspiration to fix it.

As I see it, a used crossmember/subframe will be much cheaper than buying a whole other car. And I would never be able to afford another car, let alone one as reliable as this one.

I just want to make sure that those parts will indeed fix the car back to its former condition before I spend the money.

 

Okay. If you're willing to do the work I'd suggest that you find a body shop with a frame machine and pay them a couple hours labor to measure it out and diagnose what's bent. From what I see in those pictures I think your right frame horn is bent inward.

 

I'm having trouble finding what the "frame horn" is. Can you share a picture of what it is? Is it a replaceable part? When in search frame horn, the only parts that show up are the actual horn 🎺.

I've done loads of work on this car, but all of this stuff is brand new to me, so sorry if some of my questions sound silly.

 

I've found a '92 Civic LX at a salvage yard, but parts from that won't fit on my '90 will they?

What years Integra would work?

 

No, not even close. What I'm referring to as the 'horn' is basically the whole frame rail that comes forward from the firewall/bulkhead to the front core support. Yours looks like it is bent. No number of bolt on parts will fix that, and your bodywork most likely wont fit right either.

 

Is what I circled in the picture what you are referring to as the frame rail/horn?