Camber adjustment tool on Ebay.
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vwbill
- Posts: 970
- Joined: Sat Feb 15, 2003 12:01 am
Camber adjustment tool on Ebay.
Has anyone seen that camber adjustment tool on ebay(4582243258)? It attaches to the rim and has a level on it. It says good to 1/8" inch. Is it better to go to a good shop or worth it to do the adjustments yourself? bill
It might be handy, I guess, if you were needing to make adjustments to correct any rear camber problems?-
raygreenwood
- Posts: 11912
- Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2003 12:01 am
On all 411/412's I have seen on this continent....the camber is not adjustable. I have seen notes...that allude to the camber adjsters being installed on European vehicles. I suspect....or I speculate....that possibly the Germans did this because American alignment shops were not deemed trustworthy to do this adjustment. In my experience....this is true.
I have had almost every shop try and round the adjustments to the nearest degree. This is mostly because the new equipment these days.....all automatic....no experience or brain required....does not read in minutes or seconds. With the length of the arms and components....and the fact that camber adjusters on the 411/412 would be mounted at the control arm bushings....which is the cnter of the arc of the control arms, being 1/2 degree or more off at the center is substantial at the wheel.
But...these adjusters are very easy to install...and without proper castor adjustments....are very important.
Its easy. Just procure a pair of eccentric bolts identical to what are on the rear end for adjusting toe in. They are available for about $10 at most alignment shops.
On the front end......pull out the bolt that goes through the control arm bushig. Make a vertical scribe mark dead center through the bolt hole so you know where center is. Then...with your trusty hole template and a ruler...draw an oval hole...identical in size and shape to the oval hole in the inner rear trailing arm bracket on the back of the car. Use a sharpie.
Then....take your trusty die grinder...and carefully and patiently gring out the oval hole. Using the rear trailing arm bracket for a pattern again....tack weld a small block of sheet metal the exact correct distance from the edge of the hole....for the cam on the eccentric bolt to bear against. Voila!...you have camber adjustment!
If welding is out of your realm...you can drill a hole... for an 8mm bolt. Make the hole the correct distance form the oval port...so the head of the bolt is the block that the cam bears against. Thread the hole...screw in the bolt...use lock-tite. Then with the dremel....cut off and grind smooth the bolt on the inside of the control arm bracket so it does not interfere with teh control arm. Ray
I have had almost every shop try and round the adjustments to the nearest degree. This is mostly because the new equipment these days.....all automatic....no experience or brain required....does not read in minutes or seconds. With the length of the arms and components....and the fact that camber adjusters on the 411/412 would be mounted at the control arm bushings....which is the cnter of the arc of the control arms, being 1/2 degree or more off at the center is substantial at the wheel.
But...these adjusters are very easy to install...and without proper castor adjustments....are very important.
Its easy. Just procure a pair of eccentric bolts identical to what are on the rear end for adjusting toe in. They are available for about $10 at most alignment shops.
On the front end......pull out the bolt that goes through the control arm bushig. Make a vertical scribe mark dead center through the bolt hole so you know where center is. Then...with your trusty hole template and a ruler...draw an oval hole...identical in size and shape to the oval hole in the inner rear trailing arm bracket on the back of the car. Use a sharpie.
Then....take your trusty die grinder...and carefully and patiently gring out the oval hole. Using the rear trailing arm bracket for a pattern again....tack weld a small block of sheet metal the exact correct distance from the edge of the hole....for the cam on the eccentric bolt to bear against. Voila!...you have camber adjustment!
If welding is out of your realm...you can drill a hole... for an 8mm bolt. Make the hole the correct distance form the oval port...so the head of the bolt is the block that the cam bears against. Thread the hole...screw in the bolt...use lock-tite. Then with the dremel....cut off and grind smooth the bolt on the inside of the control arm bracket so it does not interfere with teh control arm. Ray
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wildthings
- Posts: 1171
- Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 12:42 am
Using this type of guage to check camber is not hard at all, I have used a hunk of 2x4 and a small bubble level for years to check camber. But to be accurate you have to have a dead level parking lot or concrete slab and this can be hard to actually find. It is also vitally important that your wheels are not bent as this will throw everything off as well, as can uneven tire pressure, bad springs, or a host of other problems