I will be changing over all of my front suspension soon (all clunky and worn) for some good second hand stuff. I want to keep my camber/caster kit but I don't know what it looks like, so I don't know what the hell to pull out?!?! I know my A-arm mounts have longer mounting bolts than standard but that's all I can see.
What does it look like? Anyone have a picture of a kit?
Also, how can I tell if the ball joints are good if they are out of the car? I have the steering knuckles in my garage all pulled apart.
What else should I change while the suspension's out?
Look at your upper suspension arm, uno the one that connects to the body of the car. If it has little metal plates inbetween the upper suspension arm and the body where it is bolted on, then you have a camber kit installed.
If there is nothing inbetween and it's directly bolted to the body then you don't.
a camber kit is basically the part as ford fanatic explained, except it has longer bolts.
if ford had of thought ahead and used longer bolts in the first place, we wouldn't need c/c kits.
You can actually get a few shims in the space on the stock bolts, but not enough to change the camber much
I think Thanatos is going to be making a tutorial on how to install one after we did it on his car (was VERY easy)
When you buy a camber kit it comes with the longer bolts and a pack of shims, sometimes the kit will have instructions as to how many degrees of camber each shim will add, sometimes the kit doesnt and you more or less have to guess how many shims to put in then check it on a wheel aligner which is what we had to do at work with a mates BA, it took forever having to keep moving the car on and off each hoist. As long as you know how much your changing the camber you should be alright and wont need a wheel alignment.
It's always good practice to check anyway, the toe will always vary when you change the camber but will be a very minimal amount.
how much does it usually cost for a camber kit because i got a quote for $350 from bob jane with wheel alignment... but i've heard others who own fords that an XR6 camber kit will do...
how much does it usually cost for a camber kit because i got a quote for $350 from bob jane with wheel alignment... but i've heard others who own fords that an XR6 camber kit will do...
Suspension newbie here :wavey: When I pull apart the top arm will the shims fall out and me lose my suspension settings? I like the way it handles and steers a lot, it's the best out of all the cars I have driven, it's just that the suspension's a little worn and needs to be changed/tightened/greased up.
Are the shims between the upper suspension arm and the body?
With camber/caster kits there are 2 types, a Shim kit, and a Ratchet type (2 point, or 4 point adjustment). There are pros and cons for both types of kits. Shim kits are easy to adjust, but I have been told in some instances you can't get the caster 100% right. Ratchet type, is a dog to adjust but you can always get everything 100% on the money every time. I put a 2 point ratchet type on my car, so I can tell you about it. The shim kit was only information that I was given when I was deciding, So it could be a load of crap.
When we did Daves he had already been told by the tyre place how many mm's of shims he needed to correct his camber, so we put them in. (12-15mm in his case)
parts were about $150 from autobarn and installation took about 2 hours with a lot of sitting around
Sunny: Are the shims between the upper suspension arm and the body? <-- Yes, shims may fall out, depends how rough u are with them, they usually sit in there enough to hold out, but may fall out. just keep an eye on how many are in there as you take it apart.
Oh ok John, that's all I needed to know. Hmm, if it is ratchet type then I'm screwed eh? Will a suspension joint line it all up for me if it's ratchet type? If it's shims I'll have to do it my self eh?
Hmmm, it's getting complicated...Gunns I might have to help you do your MPI so you can help me install my suspension!!!
Anyone know how to test the balljoints/arms etc while they're out of the car?
if you get a wheel allignement done after you isntall a camber castor kit, they will fix the camber if its both a ratchet type or shim type.
when my car was done they put a single shim in mine (i don't have a camber kit) and said i'd need to get one put in to fix the allignment properly.
i think and allignment is like $40 or something.
while you have it all pulled apart, replace every bush there is: radius rod, swaybar, upper and lower control arms. ti think thats it.
im about to lower my car and i have a rooted lower control arm bush so i am killing 2 birds with 1 stone by lowering it at the same time. i am gonna replace all the bushes so i wont have to pull it apart in the near future.
btw, you will probably need a press to press out some of the bushes but you might get away with using a vice.
not all bushes need a press, just some
all of those u can get done with changeover i think, but then that costs more
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