Okay, so the alignment has been off ever since I purchased the car in August. Here's what's transpired to fix what you'd think would be an easy thing to do:
Take it in originally to fix the alignment, dealer can't get it to spec, she still pulls to the left and we make an appointment to look at the susp. parts.
Dealer finds the left drivers strut needs replacing. Needs to be ordered.
Strut comes in, still no go- camber cannot be adjusted and still pulls to the left. Control arm ordered. Original strut found not to be bent like suspected.
Control arm installed, slightly better, but still no camber adjustment and still pulls left. Dealer sends to the body shop to measure the parts, including subframe. All are fine, but new subframe ordered as well.
This is where I'm at right now. Also- they managed to mark the hell out of my fender this last time in, which they will be taking care of when the subframe gets installed. I'm kind of in awe right now that they've replaced a good chunk of the suspension and are now going to replace the subframe, all because the car is pulling left. Wheels and tires are fine. Everything else in the car seems to be fine as well. So my questions for you all:
Not being familiar with Nissans- on my previous VW's, Camber could easily be adjusted by loosening the bottom strut bolts and turning them. Are the Spec V's struts non adjustable like that? Can camber be adjusted at all if all parts are okay?
Don't you think replacing the entire subframe is alittle overkill? And will it really help? Is there anything else they should be trying? Luckily I bought her with the used 7yr/70K Nissan b-b warranty so all of this is free. So i have no problems with them giving me new suspension bits, but I am a little concerned that they have to go thru so much just to be able to get her aligned correctly.
Also- anyone here have a more aggressive alignment? Like -1.5deg camber and 1/8" toe out? Just curious if it made a difference for you.
CAMBER, CASTER AND KINGPIN INCLINATION
Camber, caster and kingpin inclination are preset at factory and cannot be adjusted.
1. Measure camber, caster and kingpin inclination of both right and left wheels with a suitable alignment gauge.
2. If camber, caster or kingpin inclination is not within specification, inspect front suspension parts. Replace damaged or worn out parts.
CAMBER, CASTER AND KINGPIN INCLINATION
Camber, caster and kingpin inclination are preset at factory and cannot be adjusted.
1. Measure camber, caster and kingpin inclination of both right and left wheels with a suitable alignment gauge.
2. If camber, caster or kingpin inclination is not within specification, inspect front suspension parts. Replace damaged or worn out parts.
Lew
Good to know- but then how would one get an alignment?
alignment is possible... but the only thing that's adjustable from the factory is toe.
you can buy some eccentric bolts that you can replace your strut bolts with to adjust camber, but I don't recommend using those unless absolutely necessary..
the poor man's method of doing it is to drill out one set of holes on the strut mounting tab a bit larger.. then you can move it back and forth a bit to adjust the camber. If you want it permanently set like that, take a couple large washers and weld them onto the strut mounts once you've got the camber properly set on the car.
alignment is possible... but the only thing that's adjustable from the factory is toe.
you can buy some eccentric bolts that you can replace your strut bolts with to adjust camber, but I don't recommend using those unless absolutely necessary..
the poor man's method of doing it is to drill out one set of holes on the strut mounting tab a bit larger.. then you can move it back and forth a bit to adjust the camber. If you want it permanently set like that, take a couple large washers and weld them onto the strut mounts once you've got the camber properly set on the car.
That's how VW's suspension is from the factory- larger holes with eccentric bolts.
Well, an update: The dealer replaced the subframe, she drove fine for about a week and is back to pulling left again. Anyone have any clue as to what's causing this? I'm beginning to get very frustrated....
do you have the alignment specs? they should've given you the sheet showing everything: toe, camber, caster, etc. And camber shouldn't affect the steering direction too much. It's usually the toe that causes the car to pull.
It could be the road you're driving on also. I run around -1.7 degrees camber, and 0 to a little bit of toe-in. It could be that the toe-out is causing the front in to track/follow grooves in the road, etc. Generally, toe-out is less stable and will cause the front end to move around. pretty sure about that.
one last thing... all the tires are the same right?
No, I don't have the specs. I will try to get them.
I always thought that toe out would cause the car to track much better in a straight line, and toe in would cause it to hunt around the road. The road I drove to wrok everyday (rt50 west to DC and 495 recently repaved) all seem fine- it's not the roadway. The car came with the original contisports on the the rears, and new contisport extremes on the fronts- all tires' wear seems fine to me.
Now this is what one of my VW buddies said about suspension geometry and alignments in general:
"Toe dosen't affect pulling much. On my passat the toe was ~.8 degrees out of spec on each side. The camber was -1.6 and -1.8 on each side. They (camber) were about even, so the car drove straight.
We go to align it, get the passenger side within spec on camber and toe. Go to do the right side, got the tow to spec, but one of the strut bolts was seized. Shit, shop was closing, no time to play with it or cut it off. So I left with tow on BOTH sides dead even. The camber on the passenger side was -.8 degrees, but on the driver side it was still ~-1.8 degrees. The car pulled to the right like a motherfucker.
My buddy explained to me that because the top of the left wheel was cocked to the right, it wanted to walk the car in that direction. Which it did. So, negative camber on the right wheel, or positive camber on the left wheel would cause the car to pull left.
I don't know what side they worked on, but it sounds to me like there's something going on on the right side. That's awfully weird that camber can't be adjusted. "
I will try to get them.
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