Robert:
Have you rolled the car forward 5-10 feet before concluding that
there is a negative camber issue? When you lower the car to the floor,
the suspension will not end up in it's final position until the car has
rolled several feet on a level surface. This is because the bushings end
up being compressed abnormally due to the odd moments applied to the
suspension as it settles.
I would not expect the shorter springs to cause an issue. The
front suspension is of the double wishbone variety, which minimizes
camber changes due to wheel height changes. This is a good thing, and
was considered very sophisticated in it's day.
Are your wheel bearings in good shape and properly adjusted? The
wheel can tip quite a bit if the bearings are worn or not tightened
properly. Make sure this is set up correctly. This would not show up
necessarily on the jack stands as there is no load on the wheel. Try
tugging in and out on the top of the wheel. Can you feel any play in the
wheel? If yes, your bearings may need tightening or replacement.
I would not expect the worn tire to affect the camber of the
other side of the car.
Yes, you COULD have frame issues. Although this is not certain,
there should be visible damage to the frame somewhere if it was twisted
enough to cause this sort of thing.
Are your front wheels properly aligned? If you have not aligned
the front end, you may have a toe issue which WOULD cause a camber
problem. The wheels DO NOT remain vertical when the steering wheel is
turned - the outside tire will lean into the turn. So if the front end
has toe in, one or both wheels will show negative camber (I may have
this backwards, but I think it is correct).
So, don't panic just yet. Check these items, I think you will
find one or more of them is the problem, not a damaged frame or a worn
tire.
Vance
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-6pack@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-6pack@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Robert Breazeale
Sent: September 13, 2006 3:19 PM
To: 6-Pack List
Subject: Front Suspension
I am in the middle of a front suspension rebuild on my 250 and have some
questions for the list. I have completed the right side. My concerns
are over the fact that there is some visible negative camber (I would
guess 2-3 degrees).
<snip>
Questions:
1. Would the competition springs, which are about 3/4 of an inch shorter
than stock, cause the negative camber?
2. Could it be that there are different springs for the TR250 than for
the TR6?
3. Could I have frame issues?
4. Does the height of the tire affect camber? They are stock tires.
5. Because the suspension was in such bad shape before hand, the right
front tire was severely warn on the inside tread. Could it be that since
I'm still using this tire, its causing the negative camber when the
weight of the car is on it?
6. Is this merely because I've rebuilt the right side, but not the left
side yet?
Any suggestions and/or advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks, - Robert -
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