Alignment camber bolts needed?

[97prizm]

Hi all
Just had my 05 neon in for an alignment after my new tires were installed. The repair place i used has been around for a long time and is well regarded as an up and up place. Now i was told that to get my alignment back to factory specs i need camber bolts at $25 apiece to allow it as the factory bolts only allow so much adjustment. I was hit on the front left side and the original tires were very worn on the edge. Any insight?

 

[rshaw125]

I remember years ago my old Intrepid needed these. The alignment was spot on when they got finished.

 

[UG_Passat]

It's an eccentric bolt that gives it the camber adjustment.

 

[eljefino]

Sounds like you do! The alternative is grinding out the holes in your struts.

 

[Kruse]

Look for an "Alignment caster/camber bolt kit" on RockAuto. Perhaps your local auto parts store would have them also.
Around here, the alignment shops have a pretty big markup on them.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Unless you are lining up with new tires or tires with very even wear across the contact patch, the factory eccentric bolt may not allow enough adjustment to bring it into full factory spec. Or they can wear if a shop has previously done an alignment with poor tire condition.

So your best option is line up when you buy new tires, and replace the eccentric bolts then. Rotate your tires from that point on to insure even wear and you should be good to go.

 

[14Accent]

Originally Posted By: 97prizm
I was hit on the front left side and the original tires were very worn on the edge. Any insight?


Where was it hit and did you have any suspension parts replaced afterwards?

Camber bolts are one of my most hated parts of doing alignments. Yes, sometimes they're necessary (usually for converting a factory non-adjustable part into an adjustable one) but if your car was hit and the suspension geometry was affected, you should find out what parts are bent before tossing a camber kit in. Did they give you a print out of what angles are off? That would help in the diagnosis.

I'm a HUGE advocate of replacing bent parts before using camber bolts for correction of alignment issues. I do 8-10 body shop alignments every week on average, and 75% of those have to be sent back due to needing more suspension parts even though the body shop replaced what the insurance company "thought" was bent.


*I know I'm a bit of a stickler on this, but the way I see it if a strut is bent enough to cause 1/2 a degree of camber change, it's bent enough to compromise it's integrity. I would rather install a straight, used OEM strut for minimal cost vs. using a camber correction device.*

 

[Johnny2Bad]

Originally Posted By: 14Accent
Originally Posted By: 97prizm
I was hit on the front left side and the original tires were very worn on the edge. Any insight?


Where was it hit and did you have any suspension parts replaced afterwards?

Camber bolts are one of my most hated parts of doing alignments. Yes, sometimes they're necessary (usually for converting a factory non-adjustable part into an adjustable one) but if your car was hit and the suspension geometry was affected, you should find out what parts are bent before tossing a camber kit in. Did they give you a print out of what angles are off? That would help in the diagnosis.

I'm a HUGE advocate of replacing bent parts before using camber bolts for correction of alignment issues. I do 8-10 body shop alignments every week on average, and 75% of those have to be sent back due to needing more suspension parts even though the body shop replaced what the insurance company "thought" was bent.


He is absolutely right. Alignment with bent or out-of-spec suspension parts is really a waste of effort. You may as well just ask them to get as close as they can, don't replace the bolts, and carry on if you do not want to get the suspension up to snuff first. It's kind of an "all or nothing" thing.

 

[14Accent]

Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
Originally Posted By: 14Accent
Originally Posted By: 97prizm
I was hit on the front left side and the original tires were very worn on the edge. Any insight?


Where was it hit and did you have any suspension parts replaced afterwards?

Camber bolts are one of my most hated parts of doing alignments. Yes, sometimes they're necessary (usually for converting a factory non-adjustable part into an adjustable one) but if your car was hit and the suspension geometry was affected, you should find out what parts are bent before tossing a camber kit in. Did they give you a print out of what angles are off? That would help in the diagnosis.

I'm a HUGE advocate of replacing bent parts before using camber bolts for correction of alignment issues. I do 8-10 body shop alignments every week on average, and 75% of those have to be sent back due to needing more suspension parts even though the body shop replaced what the insurance company "thought" was bent.


He is absolutely right. Alignment with bent or out-of-spec suspension parts is really a waste of effort. You may as well just ask them to get as close as they can, don't replace the bolts, and carry on if you do not want to get the suspension up to snuff first.


Appreciate that! It's funny you mention "waste of effort" and "close enough". I use almost those terms when dealing with the other shops. Sometimes, they just don't understand that "close enough" just isn't right. I get that sometimes the car just isn't worth the effort. Slightly bent inner tie rod on a 1992 Toyota Corolla? Sure, I'll toe that out enough to compensate and send you on your way. 2018 Subaru with 1,500 miles on it? No, you're getting new parts or I'm not working on it. Sorry.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

Originally Posted By: 97prizm
Hi all
Just had my 05 neon in for an alignment after my new tires were installed. The repair place i used has been around for a long time and is well regarded as an up and up place. Now i was told that to get my alignment back to factory specs i need camber bolts at $25 apiece to allow it as the factory bolts only allow so much adjustment. I was hit on the front left side and the original tires were very worn on the edge. Any insight?
Chrysler products after about 1995 will need camber bolts as the originals are straight sided. You only need one camber bolt per side. I just searched for "camber bolts for a 2005 neon" on amazon. Looks like the price has gone up since the last time I needed them. About $25 per set. Your repair guy is doing a 100% markup. His discounted cost will be less then your retail cost. If it were me, I'd just pay the man.

 

[Trav]

I have seen new cars with camber slightly out, brand new out of the wrapper, no bent parts. I have no idea what was off that caused the condition but it was easily correct by elongating the strut holes just a tad.
This is also common on cars that use OE elongated holes for the bottom ball joint, sometimes the holes need an additional few MM elongation.

If you are dealing with 1/2 a degree or less its perfectly acceptable to open the strut hole or lower ball joint mounting holes a little. Its much easier and cheaper than trying to find the cause which is probably a slight sub frame or engine cradle misalignment, not enough to bother anything else just enough to cause a slight camber change.
If the car has been hit that another story, it may have a bent part or even a slight tweak to the strut tower, Toyota actually makes what they call crash bolts for the upper strut hole for this reason.

Opening the strut hole lets allows the use of the thicker and stronger original bolt which is IMO more desirable than the thinner camber bolt and it cost nothing more than a few min labor.