1996 positive camber on front left tire, out of ideas
 

On my wife's '96 2.7L accord the camber has been out of whack for the last couple of years. When I bought the car the steel wheel had to be replaced because the previous owner hit a pothole. I've had it inspected/aligned twice and they can't figure it out apparently. I tried taking the steering knuckle off and inspecting the bearing, it was fine after I removed it and inspected it. I've been told that I need a new steering knuckle but I just can't see that thing causing it since it is a pretty solid piece of metal, it would take a lot of force to bend that. I tried getting it aligned two weeks ago and the mechanic said I had a bent lower control arm. So I replaced that just last night. I tried to do a visual inspection of both sides of the vehicle to compare for any noticeable bends or stress points. With the new lower control arm I am still seeing a positive camber. Not a very bad one but it's there and it bothers me because I just bought new tires and don't want to rotate them every month. It doesn't cause a problem with steering or braking and I'm about to give up. I searched on google for bent lower control arm or positive camber issues other people have been having and I see that sometimes the subframe can get distorted before any of the suspension parts do. Is this correct or common among wheel alignment problems? Is this something I can bend back with a pry bar without compromising the structural integrity? Someone please give me advice or a word of confidence because I've reached my limit with this problem. I can't afford to replace everything under that front left side and still have the same issue. Thank you and sorry for the long read.

What are your camber settings? Positive camber (top of wheel leaning outward \) on LF should cause a left drift or pull.

There are camber adjustment kits to allow adjustment of camber. Camber bolts are relativley inexpensive, but I don't know if your car is compatible w/ that type of camber adjustment. Your alignment guys told you they could not adjust the camber, right?

good luck

Peronally I would have thought the upper arm would "bend" before the lower..but that is me.

Agree with TX-what are the numbers from the align spec sheet. If the spec's are "still" out too far for camber kits to overcome then something else is still bent.

I wonder if the subframe can move within it's mounting points? If that slides over to the right, then the left wheel goes to positive camber. You might have to loosen the subframe mounting bolts, slide the frame over the other way, tighten them, & do another alignment.

out of range for adjustment
 

Yes the alignment specialists both said the camber adjustments are out of adjusting range. Meaning an alignment cannot be done they assumed something was bent. The alignment specialist the other week stated that my lower control arm was bent. to me this made the most sense to replace. If you hit a pothole or curb really hard the force would have pushed inward on the control arm. In fact a pothole probably would have caused negative camber pushing the bottom outward instead of the top. I can try to look up the alignment specs. I remember him saying a fraction of a degree so that isn't much right? At least not enough to cause damage and excessive wear to ball joints etc. JB- I'm curious as to where the subframe bolts are located. Are they adjustable because of instances like this where the subframe is allowed to shift position rather than buckle or twist? TX- There is a little pull to the left especially when you slow down. I guess I kind of forgot because it's been like that so long and I'm used to holding the wheel still.


Thank you guys for your help

The subframe isn't really adjustable. But I'm guessing the bolt holes have a little bit of movement.

I am facing a very similar issue with my '07 Accord alignment after drifting into a curb at 5-10 mph (in the snow). Replacing the lower control arm improved the problem but did not solve it. My camber reading was +1.0 degree. They recommended replacing the steering knuckle which entails $600 in parts.
I'm curious if you found a solution to your problem?

response to 07 accord
 

I never did fix the problem MaggieRose. I ended up getting rid of the car however I did figure what the problem was. It was the steering knuckle. Not really the knuckle but the actual bearing that is pressed in the knuckle. I'm sure the setup isn't identical in your 07 but the bearing knuckle on mine was so rusted and fused to the bearing when we removed it to inspect it I don't think we pressed it in all the way, hence the camber error. I'd say if you slid into a snow bank the knuckle should be fine. I'm sure they want you to replace the most expensive part but beware. get a second opinion. As you'll read in previous posts the knuckle is solid steel and would take a lot to bend before anything else in your suspension bent. If you have any other questions let me know. I know how frustrating this was for me.

The setup isn't identical, parts are not interchangeable. But they're close enough so the same advice is good.

But I don't think it's impossible for the knuckle to be bent.

But you might have to find a frame shop that can measure and adjust for bent sheetmetal where the subframe bolts up to the body structure.

Check to rule out other bent stuff first, like the subframe or upper control arms.

Then there are adjustable ball joints, can't remember the range but on the front pretty sure they handle +/- 1.....but that might be a patch on a bigger issue. Just trying to give you another option.