The rear camber problem

nickid · Post by **nickid** » Fri Feb 24, 2017 9:57 pm

I have the nightmare of negative camber and after staring at it for a length of time.
Would it cure the negative camber with a longer top arm to balance it out?
And if this has been thought of, is there another BMW top arm I can use?

Horizon · Post by **Horizon** » Fri Feb 24, 2017 10:06 pm

Some can be dialled out when having a hunters 4 wheel alignment. Beware the adjusting bolt can be sieved and have been known to shear off.
It's probably worn bottom ball joints, these don't get picked up at MOT as they are permanently loaded by the air suspension.
Support the body at the rear on axle stands, release the pressure from the air suspension , Jack up the hub so the wheels off the ground to check for excessive play.
BMW X5's run excessive negative camber as standard, it helps them handle better ( and scrub all the tread of the inner edges of the tyres

nickid · Post by **nickid** » Fri Feb 24, 2017 10:39 pm

I just changed my tyres, and they were on the metal wire. I can't afford to waist good tyres again. I need to get this sorted this weekend so how.

grumpywurzel · Post by **grumpywurzel** » Sat Feb 25, 2017 12:33 pm

[quote="nickid"]
I just changed my tyres, and they were on the metal wire. I can't afford to waist good tyres again. I need to get this sorted this weekend so how.
[/quote]

Are you saying you have excessive camber by sight or have you had a wheel alignment done? Like horizon said, the X5 runs with a negative camber to help stick it's fat arse in a corner

themoog · Post by **themoog** » Sat Feb 25, 2017 12:44 pm

Don't talk to me about neg camber.. Just had a set of rear tyres. 6.5 deg on the back wheels. It looks terrible from the back. Corners like its on rails tho..
I've got a box load of suspension components ready to go on next week. It's not necessarily the camber that wears the tyres quickly but a combo of that and toe.

henrym3 · Post by **henrym3** » Sat Feb 25, 2017 4:07 pm

Why not elongate the bottom camber bolt hole to get a couple more, or less degrees depending how you look at it. You could fit in an extra piece where the eccentric butts up against???

nickid · Post by **nickid** » Sat Feb 25, 2017 6:27 pm

What about a new hole, with 20mm wheel spacers at each side?

nickid · Post by **nickid** » Sat Feb 25, 2017 6:29 pm

I don't corner like and idiot anymore. I always have the dogs in the back, so don't need the negative camber.

henrym3 · Post by **henrym3** » Sat Feb 25, 2017 7:29 pm

Your missing the point, elongating the hole would allow you to reduce Negative camber. 2/3mm elongated hole will allow at least 1degree less camber. However, that would be a scenario for someone who has lowered their car beyond the capabilities of the factory setup. In your case where you sound like you have standard factory setup, if the camber bolts can't fix your negative camber then there is something wrong with your suspension

Steamyrotter · Post by **Steamyrotter** » Sat Feb 25, 2017 9:47 pm

Sounds like bush wear to me...

The rose bush is usually the culprit for a sudden and/or excessive camber.
(its in the Bottom arm)

You should be able to get to almost -1deg (Maybe -1.5) with standard adjustment as long as the bushes and joints are all OK.

deflate the suspension and then check for play.
You will need to do all that before you think of adjustments anyway!

henrym3 · Post by **henrym3** » Sat Feb 25, 2017 9:59 pm

I agree with above, it seems that they come from the factory with the camber bolts pretty much in the middle of their adjustment which allows for some wear/play in bushes and rose joints. when you reach the end of the camber bolt adjustment it's time to dip into that bottomless pit called your pocket. You can cry, blame the pot holes, whinge and whine but your still going to have to spend.

Steamyrotter · Post by **Steamyrotter** » Mon Feb 27, 2017 1:18 pm

It can be done easily enough, if you are competent with some spanners..
I did mine on the drive and took a day. (I had other issues i had to deal with at the time so took me longer)

Access to a bearing press is a must, even essential, but you can fabricate something to get the rose bushes out.
I ended up cutting a slit in mine to get the outer shell out.....

Might be prudent to attack it with some penetrating oil the week before you are going to attempt it, then a bit more prior to touching...
I was lucky on mine (for a change) in that all my bolts were relatively free.

themoog · Post by **themoog** » Mon Feb 27, 2017 2:58 pm

Well I started mine today. One side is nearly done. Had a load of agro getting the shock bolt undone as I'm changing the control arms too. The ball joint came out fairly easily but putting the new one in was a bit of a barsteward. It's a must that the bush is lined up square..
Rain stopped play but tomorrow will no doubt give me grief trying to undo the inner control arm bolt- access is tricky. Then its onto the near side.
By the way, after I had deflated the suspension I checked for play at the rear wheels. I could rattle it about easily. No wonder tyres wear quickly.
I'll update when I've done.

henrym3 · Post by **henrym3** » Mon Feb 27, 2017 8:52 pm

When I done mine I went to my local indie and hired the tool for £20. After I'd done the job I felt like it was £20 well spent. Added to that It's a good feeling when you actually feel that free play as you feel pretty confident you will have resolved your problem

Steamyrotter · Post by **Steamyrotter** » Tue Feb 28, 2017 1:36 pm

[quote="themoog"]
By the way, after I had deflated the suspension I checked for play at the rear wheels. I could rattle it about easily. No wonder tyres wear quickly.
[/quote]

Scary isn't it....

just goes to show how easy it is for many garages to miss dodgy bushes on these.

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