DIY camber after replacing struts?

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Mar 2, 2004
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Kentucky
Replaced front struts / mounts / bellows, etc. and control arms in my '07 Chrysler Pacifica. The OEM struts had normal holes on top and bottom, more or less a fixed position for camber. The KYB Excel-G I replaced them with has wide slots at the bottom, obviously requiring an alignment after installation.

Is there any rudimentary way to get it to a reasonable camber angle with a level or some other tool? I just need to get it to the alignment shop. The slot is obscenely wide, probably measuring a a few degrees in positive / negative direction. My best guess resulted in the tires pointed inward far more than normal when I lowered the car off the lift and drove it around the driveway, and it set off a stability control fault code. Just want to get it within a reasonable value where I can drive it 20 miles to the alignment shop I use.

A second attempt (after clearing stability codes) got it close visually and no longer sets codes. But I'd like to do better than that if possible.
 
Front camber is usually pretty close to 0°, isn't it? Could you use a vertical level up against the tire, and just centre the bubble?
 
I put the car on jack stands and take the wheels off. I take a laser pen and hold it on the hub bearing and where the laser lights, i make a mark on the concrete with a sharpie. Change struts and try to align the hub so that the laser is on the mark i made before changing struts. Good enough to get to the alignment shop.
 
Front camber is usually pretty close to 0°, isn't it? Could you use a vertical level up against the tire, and just centre the bubble?
Can't measure against the tire, as the bottom sidewall flexes outward due to vehicle weight, making the level useless. Front camber should be a little negative, I'll have to look up the specs for this vehicle.
 
Can't measure against the tire, as the bottom sidewall flexes outward due to vehicle weight, making the level useless. Front camber should be a little negative, I'll have to look up the specs for this vehicle.
Duh, of course, I should have thought of that.

Perhaps with standoffs to go against the rim?
 
I use an old wooden level with screws to rest against the rim.

Camber should be adjusted according to how much cornering you do versus how much straight line driving you do. The more cornering you do, the more camber angle you need.
 
I've done my own alignments for 30 or more years. Using a 2 foot level pressed against the tire [ avoid the bulge at the bottom] It takes some time and common sense and some math but it's better than paying a shop to do it wrong. Some fine tuning may be necessary but I've never had unusual tire ware. Toe can be done with you eye looking across the outer surface of the tire back towards the rear wheels.
 
I put the car on jack stands and take the wheels off. I take a laser pen and hold it on the hub bearing and where the laser lights, i make a mark on the concrete with a sharpie. Change struts and try to align the hub so that the laser is on the mark i made before changing struts. Good enough to get to the alignment shop.
Pretty much what I do, except I use the Level on my iphone held against the rotor. Like you said, plenty good to drive it to the alignment shop.
 
Well you already did the work so you boxed yourself into a bit of a corner. It would have been useful to get some "before" measurements.

Assume the alignment was good before you blew it apart. Camber almost always effects toe.

You can rough camber in with a laser level-- put it on tire sidewalls at 1- and 5- oclock. (Just outside of the bottom bulge.)

But TOE is easily, and precisely, measurable with that same laser level. Set it at 4 and 8 oclock on your tire sidewalls and aim for the rear tire. Should miss the rear tire sidewall by 1/2 to 1 inch. Most cars are toed in just a little bit, and the distance from the laser head to the straightedge is about 1/4-3/8".

Tweaking the camber will tweak the toe, and get it set quite close.

Now, having done all this, take it for a test drive. Camber causes pulls to the left or right, and toe causes steering wheels to be off center. You have enough info to dial this all in. Do NOT adjust your tie rods, there's no reason to, you didn't monkey with them.
 
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