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alignment after replacing front spring seats - camber 850

posted by  someone claiming to be ksg on  Thu Apr 28 07:32 CST 2005 [RELATED]

Hello -

I want to replace upper front spring seats (and strut mounts if needed). If I remove the strut(s) from the car, the alignment (particularly camber) may be lost and have to be redone. 2 questions come up -

1) Is the camber adjustable on the 850 front suspension?

2) If so where is the adjustment - is it at the upper strut mounts (e.g. by slots or rotation or a cam) or at the 2 bolts that hold the strut to the hub and steering knuckle (which would have oversized holes)?

I do notice there are some aftermarket camber kits for the 850 but I want to maintain the original settings.

Many thanks...







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    alignment after replacing front spring seats - camber 850

    posted by  someone claiming to be jenkins on  Thu Apr 28 12:32 CST 2005 [RELATED]

    Adjustment is done via the 2 strut bolts that hold the strut to the steering knuckle. On 94- 850s, there is a metal sleeve in each bolt hole. Retain these sleeves to maintain the factory camber. Removing one sleeve, e.g. the top one, allows enough play to vary the camber by one degree. Removing both sleeves allows enough play for 2 degrees.
    -phil








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    alignment after replacing front spring seats - camber 850

    posted by  Rule 308 on  Thu Apr 28 10:27 CST 2005
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    last visit: Tue May 8 09:20 CST 2012
    [RELATED]

    The camber really is not adjustable on the 850's. Fortunately it has really not been that much an issue.

    Mark








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      alignment after replacing front spring seats - camber 850

      posted by  Rule 308 on  Thu Apr 28 13:22 CST 2005
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      last visit: Tue May 8 09:20 CST 2012
      [RELATED]

      I stand corrected on that one, not only are the '94 and later models adjustable, there are also factory kits that you can retro into the earlier cars. I have aligned more 850/S70's than I can remember and the camber has never been an issue and since the first year model was not adjustable it always went that none of them were adjustable. Apparently you can get about 1 degree in either direction out of them. I learned something new today, thanks.

      Mark








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      more on alignment 850

      posted by  someone claiming to be ksg on  Thu Apr 28 12:54 CST 2005 [RELATED]

      Thanks for your replies -

      I wondered about the camber because I had uneven tire wear (the inside edge of the tire wore much quicker) on the right side and the car also pulled to the right. This definitely disappeared after a shop aligned the wheels and rotated the tires, so presumably they adjusted something. I understood uneven wear to one edge of a tire would indicate the camber was off on that side. Is this incorrect?

      As far as I understand there is also no adjustment for the caster. That leaves only the toe-in. Maybe in my case the pull and wear to one edge of one tire was due to incorrect toe-in?

      If true that the toe-in is the only adjustment on the 850s - is aligning an 850 like the case of the bald man who pays $30 for a haircut?








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        more on alignment 850

        posted by  bhs82 on  Sat Apr 30 09:53 CST 2005
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        last visit: Tue Dec 7 10:15 CST 2010
        [RELATED]

        You know, I would also like to hear input on that bald man $30 haircut analogy...

        I just replaced the spring seats and mounts on mine... I had put one of the Bilstein Touring Class struts on - only to find it stiffer than I wanted, and then I read this thread which told me so... I swapped the Bilsteins I got for some OEM Boge/Sachs (TG for FCP's 30 day return policy), and will have to get back in there next week when the new struts and shocks arrive.

        Point is; I knew that an alignment would be necessary, but I planned on waiting until I had all the new shocks and struts in before taking it to the shop for the alignment.

        In the mean time, I have had to drive the car and had a 3 hour drive this morning... The car did not feel any different at all in terms of alignment.

        How critical IS alignment on these??
        --
        1995 850T Wagon 120k







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