Be aware that camber bolts are not needed, and many times prevent the full range of motion at the strut/knuckle interface.
Camber bolts are designed so that one Tech can perform an alignment,without help from another Tech to apply force to the strut/knuckle assembly together the proper camber setting.
Repeat, they are not needed, and many times on a Fiero application will prevent proper camber adjustment.
I use the stock bolts...But I have machined a piece of metal that fits between the strut mounting plate and the bolt to keep the strut from moving during any large suspension gyrations....Back approx' 10 years ago I was driving on Redwood road following some MCs, cranking thru turns and I hit a large dip/bump....Almost lost control of the car- on the drive home I noticed something was odd with how the car was driving.
Next day I jacked it up, pulled the rear wheels and noticed right off that the left side had shifted. It was bad enough hitting that dip/bump but when the suspension camber shifted that made things worse. (And yes, I am VERY careful about torquing those bolts)
I can't even begin to count how many times a customer has installed camber bolts that we had to remove and discard in order to get the proper camber setting on the rear of a Fiero......
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.
This is what must be dealt with in the world of 'interchangeable' parts.....
ACD 45K18014, Dorman AK901145PR and others same format will move the strut over entire slot. The struts are made for this "washer cam" with stamped areas for the washer to force the strut to move in/out.
Other types may not work well or not @ all because of how there made.
If have "lower" car then any cam bolt and Plan bolts may not adjust camber enough to align the car.
Note: Some are sold single, others 2 bolts. Go to marker and double check this.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
I ordered a set of ACDelco 45K18014 camber bolts. It looks like they will push against the tabs on my KYB struts.
Previously, I've seen a mechanic place an air bladder between the tire and the MacPherson strut. The mechanic loosened the strut-to-knuckle bolts, inflated the air bladder to adjust the camber, and then locked the camber into position by tightening the bolts. It looked really straightforward.
Other times, more often than not, I've been told that the camber is non-adjustable, or that camber bolts are required.
Once I complete my suspension rebuild, I'm planning on getting the car aligned at a garage the day after, and then going on a 1400 km road trip the day after that. In this terrible plan, there isn't much room for delays in the schedule, so I want to have the camber bolts in place to minimize the risk to the schedule! I'll bring the original bolts with me to the garage, in case there's an issue with the camber bolts.
Yes, They make it very easy to set and hold the bolts while use air tool to tighten the nut. Plus once set, if needed to have assembly apart then easy for you to mark pieces and get same when done so don't need another alignment right away or at all.
Shops "can" to the job w/o them but isn't easy even w/ two people. Often is a Safety Risk because 1 that move/support the wheel often have to reach in weird ways etc. If hurt doing that... opens a very nasty can of worms.
Almost No-one now have alignment machine w/o match lift and all shops don't what OHSA or State Equiv and Insurance problems. Most employees find out dealing w/ Multiple I-co's is not fun on that side either. Suing isn't easy and can take months to years to get any money If you win.
I get everyone has an opinion, but just for clarification from the Fiero sages here... Camber bolts good or bad?
I have put them in after rebuilding the entire rear with an engine swap, but haven't torqued them down nor made 'close homestyle' alignment.
I still have a lot to go before I can take it to an alignment shop, but I have always heard camber bolts were a good thing. But now people are saying 'no'?
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.
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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.
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).]
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.
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.
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.
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.
Be aware that camber bolts are not needed, and many times prevent the full range of motion at the strut/knuckle interface.
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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...