djpdiag Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 (edited) Hi 2002FAQ community. I’ve been chipping away at my ‘02s needs as time allows since I bought it about a year ago. I’ve done quite a bit of suspension work all the way around to it recently and something going on in the front end has me puzzled. I’ve read about ‘02 lower control arms and strut tubes bending from potholes, etc and I’m thinking that either of those might be the reason I have so much negative camber going on here in the RF wheel. As you’ll see in the pics, the top of the RF wheel is tucked under the lip of the fender quite a bit vs the LF. It’s doesn’t seem to me that the bottom of the wheel is pushed inward any further than the LF. I replaced the front strut inserts and coil springs and didn’t see anything obvious going on with the tube when I had it apart nor can I see anything distorted in the control arm. The old strut inserts were completely wiped and leaked dry into the tubes but didn’t seem bent in anyway upon inspection. The RF strut tower looks to be fine as well and it doesn’t appear that the RF wheel castor is off as the same amount of distance to the fender fore/aft the wheel is present on the left side. Any guidance or suggestions or things to look for are appreciated. Pictures 1 and 3 are of the RF wheel, 2 and 4 are of the LF for comparisons sake. Thanks in advance! Edited September 16, 2022 by djpdiag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulyg Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 Got any pictures from under the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpdiag Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 I don’t have any currently but I can put it on a lift and take some in a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son of Marty Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 When you jack up the car grab the r/f tire top and bottom and see if it has any play in the strut ball joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M3M3M3 Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 pic of top of strut would also help. try actually measuring the camber. most smart phones have a "level" function. put a straight edge on the tire and put phone on straight edge, read the degrees. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzei Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 Fenders can lie (oe vs a/market, how assembled etc.). Take measurements/alignment job to see where you at. Check rims offsets - if numbers match then measure. Wouldn't be first time that the number is incorrect in the rim. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zinz Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 9 minutes ago, M3M3M3 said: most smart phones have a "level" function. put a straight edge on the tire and put phone on straight edge, read the degrees. That is brilliant. Take a gold star out of petty cash, Marshall 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephers Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 Look closely at the strut tube and see if there is any distortion on the tube itself right where it goes into the hub assembly If they have gotten bent from a small accident or even hitting a bad pothole this is usually where the bend Does not take much to get a strut out of specs Thanks, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpdiag Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 2 hours ago, Son of Marty said: When you jack up the car grab the r/f tire top and bottom and see if it has any play in the strut ball joint. Thanks for the suggestion, I did check this when I was replacing the struts and springs and found no movement here to my surprise. 2 hours ago, M3M3M3 said: pic of top of strut would also help. try actually measuring the camber. most smart phones have a "level" function. put a straight edge on the tire and put phone on straight edge, read the degrees. Great suggestion on the straight edge, will try this out in a few days when I look into it. When you say a picture of the "top of strut" do you mean the strut mount? I did replace them both when I was replacing the struts and springs. If you were referring to something else, please elaborate and I will check it in a couple of days. Thanks. 2 hours ago, tzei said: Fenders can lie (oe vs a/market, how assembled etc.). Take measurements/alignment job to see where you at. Check rims offsets - if numbers match then measure. Wouldn't be first time that the number is incorrect in the rim. Thanks. Ill pull the wheels back off when I look into it again and report back. Its certainly possible this set is mismatched I suppose. Ill look closer at the fenders too, the car has had repaints for sure and its overall history is unknown to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpdiag Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 20 minutes ago, stephers said: Look closely at the strut tube and see if there is any distortion on the tube itself right where it goes into the hub assembly If they have gotten bent from a small accident or even hitting a bad pothole this is usually where the bend Does not take much to get a strut out of specs Thanks, Rick Thanks Rick, I had just remembered something related to this - when I had the car on my lift last I recall that the distance between the inside of the RF tire and the strut tube was less vs the distance on the LF tire and strut. Should I be looking for a ding or wrinkle or something to that effect where it connects to the hub assembly? Ill update this thread again once I have the car up in the air and can document the suggestions with some pics. Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephers Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 You look for a little wrinkle ( good way to describe it ) right where the tube goes into the hub Thanks, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TobyB Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 If the inside sidewalls of the tires are at uneven distances from the tubes, that's a pretty good indication that a strut's bent... you're not always going to see it at the base. t 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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