Alignment after Eibachs

H

hidperf

New member
I just installed my Eibachs and the Addco front and rear bars tonight. Afterward I did an alignment and tried to get the car within the specs posted on here (fastcar I think) but didn't have much luck.

The recommended specs were:
0 to -.3 deg camber
0 toe
5 to 6.5 deg pos caster with .3 deg on the right side

All I could get out of the car was this:
-1.1 deg camber
.01 toe (close enough)
5.4 deg caster on left and 5.7 deg on right

I could take out more camber on the right side but no on the left. And I can't find any camber kits for my car to correct for the lowered height.

Any ideas?

BTW, I only drove it about 20 miles home but I don't have anything bad to say about the springs.
 
I also have a bit of neg camber on my front. I like it. It does eat tires about 1/3 quicker, but I was getting 25-30K out of mine so, no biggee.
 
I did a slight bit of modification to my front crossmember with a die grinder. I can now go as low as 0* but have chosen -.70* for handling purposes. This is on my Crown Victoria though as I can rotate the tires (All the same size).

J
 
JMan said:
I did a slight bit of modification to my front crossmember with a die grinder. I can now go as low as 0* but have chosen -.70* for handling purposes. This is on my Crown Victoria though as I can rotate the tires (All the same size).

J
Click to expand...

I thought about that but with the aluminum crossmember, I didn't want to dig into it if I didn't have to. Plus, the control arm cam bolts won't come out without moving the rack (which I had to do last night) and that sucks.
 
A couple of questions:

1) Where are the adjustments made? What parts actually move to make the changes?

2) What was so difficult about moving the rack?

The reason I ask is I have a 2004 CV and I am considering replacing the left lower control arm.

Thanks,
Tom
 
drwhy said:
A couple of questions:

1) Where are the adjustments made? What parts actually move to make the changes?

2) What was so difficult about moving the rack?

The reason I ask is I have a 2004 CV and I am considering replacing the left lower control arm.

Thanks,
Tom
Click to expand...

1) The camber is adjusted using an eccentric bolt that holds the lower control arm to the front cross-member. These bolts have tabs on them from the factory to prohibit adjustment. The caster adjustment is made by removing the nut that holds the lower control arm to the rear most bushing that mounts the lower arm to the frame. The factory installs a washer on there that prohibits adjustments. Toe is made using the outer tie rods.

2) In order to get the lower control arm cam bolts out of the front cross-member, you have to move the rack out of the way. I didn't want to undo the steering shaft because of the air bag on the steering wheel. I also didn't want to remove any power steering lines or hoses. So, the only way to get any movement from the rack without doing either of these or removing the outer tie rods was to remove the two studs that hold the rack in and then use a pry bar to hold things out of the way. It wasn't easy with two hands. Having a helper paid off ten fold.

I originally just wanted to knock the lower ball joint loose and take the shock assembly out that way but the lower ball joint wouldn't come loose. So I had to do things the hard way.
 
I have replaced the spring/shock assemblies by disconnecting the upper ball joint from the knuckle, and by removing the swaybar link. This allows the lower control arm to swing down and the upper can swing up, so the shock can then be removed.

Question about the tabs and washers that prohibit adjustment, are they removeable in some way? How did you make your adjustments?

Thanks,
Tom
 
drwhy said:
I have replaced the spring/shock assemblies by disconnecting the upper ball joint from the knuckle, and by removing the swaybar link. This allows the lower control arm to swing down and the upper can swing up, so the shock can then be removed.

Question about the tabs and washers that prohibit adjustment, are they removeable in some way? How did you make your adjustments?

Thanks,
Tom
Click to expand...

Yes, you HAVE to remove them to make any adjustments. I'm assuming they're put on at the time of assembly because the factory could replicate alignment settings that way.

The lower control arm cams were a PITA to get the tabs for camber but the washers for caster were a breeze.
 
Don't sweat it. Most of the MM's had almost 1 degree negative from the factory anyway. Mine was right around 1 deg. neg both sides. Yes it will eat tires a little faster, but I still got 23k to the fronts w/ the negative 1 deg., before re-aligning. The increased camber will help your tank corner. I'd leave it alone.
 
hidperf said:
I just installed my Eibachs and the Addco front and rear bars tonight. Afterward I did an alignment and tried to get the car within the specs posted on here (fastcar I think) but didn't have much luck.

The recommended specs were:
0 to -.3 deg camber
0 toe
5 to 6.5 deg pos caster with .3 deg on the right side

All I could get out of the car was this:
-1.1 deg camber
.01 toe (close enough)
5.4 deg caster on left and 5.7 deg on right

I could take out more camber on the right side but no on the left. And I can't find any camber kits for my car to correct for the lowered height.

Any ideas?

BTW, I only drove it about 20 miles home but I don't have anything bad to say about the springs.
Click to expand...


Yes remove the Eibacks, it will never be right that is why I never used them or sold them
 
Any spring that is shorter than stock will bias the camber negatively, assuming nothing in the suspension other than the springs changes. It sounds like he is already invested in the Eibachs, having had them installed already. I would watch the edge tire wear and see what happens, at this point. They're already in, can't hurt much to see what happens before changing them
 
I'm leaving them in for now. I finally got to drive the car for a long distance and on some winding roads and I like the way it takes the turns. As far as the "bounce" everyone is talking about. I think it's more from the rear air springs being under inflated to comensate for the lowered ride. I'll be looking into this further.
 
Camber Adjustment Bolts

The flags on the cam-bolts are there for initial factory setting only. They are brittle and easy to bend/break off with any sort of pry bar. Once the flags are gone, you have the full range of adjustment available.
 
VicsEvilBrother said:
Any spring that is shorter than stock will bias the camber negatively, assuming nothing in the suspension other than the springs changes. It sounds like he is already invested in the Eibachs, having had them installed already. I would watch the edge tire wear and see what happens, at this point. They're already in, can't hurt much to see what happens before changing them
Click to expand...

I got them below jobber and did the install and alignment myself so I'm not really out much. If I don't like them, it's just a matter of swapping them back and putting them on eBay.
 
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