Camber bolts for rear struts (Page 2/2)
Wichita AUG 11, 03:37 PM

quote
Originally posted by olejoedad:

They are a good thing if the eccentric washer isn't so large that it prevents proper camber adjustment.

Not all struts for a Fiero have the same contour and lip design on the strut to knuckle interface.



Thank you for this.

Now the debate is, would it be best to put it on the bottom, top or both?

I've always known them to be on the top hole. But YouTube shows people putting them in all over the map on that.
Raydar AUG 11, 03:56 PM
Every Fiero of mine that has had the struts replaced got camber bolts. I was able to align it well enough to drive it a bit, before I took it to a shop.
When the newest one gets new struts, it will also get camber bolts.



quote
Originally posted by Wichita:
...
Now the debate is, would it be best to put it on the bottom, top or both?

I've always known them to be on the top hole. But YouTube shows people putting them in all over the map on that.



Look for the tabs on the side of the strut bracket, that the eccentric washer pushes against. I believe it's the top hole.
Patrick AUG 11, 04:41 PM

Bottom hole!
gregr75 JUN 03, 05:01 PM
Just had a back-and-forth with a mechanic at Firestone who said he couldn't adjust my rear camber, because I didn't have "the correct serrated bolts". He proceeded to show me some bolts from his toolbox that were splined right underneath the bolt head, my guess was these were part of an adjustable camber bolt system but he didn't tell me.

From reading this thread it appears that they could've just used the normal bolts that came with my Monroe shocks from the fiero store. The bottom hole of the strut is slotted for adjustment.

I've been to this mechanic twice, I'm gonna try another fire stone location,. ugh

[This message has been edited by gregr75 (edited 06-03-2024).]

fieroguru JUN 03, 06:20 PM
I have an older set of camber bolts that have the eccentric washer formed in the head of the bolt on just 1 side. The other side is just the nut.

I like them because I can position the upright/rotor to the proper camber on the digital gauge, then while holding the camber bolt in position start tightening down the bolts.
For someone that works alone 99% of the time, I find them beneficial.
gregr75 JUN 03, 07:42 PM
I hear you, camber bolts make everything easier and maybe some large companies are reluctant not to use them because its just harder/they cant fine tune as easy.

But im in it for $93 already and all they did was fix my rear toe. The front was too rusted up for them to align.

I'm going to shop around to try to find another fire stone that knows how to use my existing normal bolts… This car is just going to be a cruiser and I just want to get within the recommended range. currently rear camber is out on both sides, +0.3 left, +1.6 right.


Spadesluck JUN 04, 02:17 PM

quote
Originally posted by fieroguru:

I have an older set of camber bolts that have the eccentric washer formed in the head of the bolt on just 1 side. The other side is just the nut.

I like them because I can position the upright/rotor to the proper camber on the digital gauge, then while holding the camber bolt in position start tightening down the bolts.
For someone that works alone 99% of the time, I find them beneficial.



This is my situation all the time as well.
Spadesluck JUN 04, 02:18 PM

quote
Originally posted by gregr75:

I hear you, camber bolts make everything easier and maybe some large companies are reluctant not to use them because its just harder/they cant fine tune as easy.

But im in it for $93 already and all they did was fix my rear toe. The front was too rusted up for them to align.

I'm going to shop around to try to find another fire stone that knows how to use my existing normal bolts… This car is just going to be a cruiser and I just want to get within the recommended range. currently rear camber is out on both sides, +0.3 left, +1.6 right.




Camber you can just about eyeball yourself honestly.
OldGuyinaGT JUN 04, 06:56 PM
Quotes from olejoedad:

quote
Be aware that camber bolts are not needed, and many times prevent the full range of motion at the strut/knuckle interface.




quote
It has everything to do with the brand of strut used, and the profile of the strut to knuckle bracket. Not all brands are the same, and not all brackets within a brand are the same.



Amazing... I ran into the camber bolt issue yesterday.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I replaced all the factory original bushings in the rear of my 88 GT with polyurethane. I also replaced the very dead struts. I installed Monroe OESpectrum struts, P/N 71814. A few years ago, I had installed AC Delco cam bolts, P/N 45K18014.

Yesterday I has the car aligned. The tech was barely able to force the camber on the right rear to a near spec -0.6° I didn't believe he couldn't adjust further than that until he showed me, especially since the old struts were Monroe Sensatracs, and the cam bolts were reused. I went home and took a picture:



If you look, you can see that the cam bolt was forced hard enough to distort the bump it rides on to increase negative camber. If the cam washer (that was fine before) was just a bit smaller, it probably would have the full range of adjustment. But as it is...