Unequal rear camber

[budgie smuggler]

Just had my car aligned on a hunter laser alignment machine by a large national chain.

However the rear camber has come up as being unequal by quite a bit.

Car is a boggo 3 year old Mk2.5 Focus.

Any ideas on the cause/fix? I don't know a decent Ford indie round here (Chelmsford) so I'll be at the mercy of the main dealer's fitters... The 'large chain' said it's down to wear and tear and they can't fix/adjust it.

[budgie smuggler]

Hmmm, that doesn't sound good, I was hoping it could be wear to a bushing or something.

Strange thing about it being bent is that I don't recall hitting anything particularly hard. Must have done though I suppose.

Thanks for the help, I'll be aiming to get a front wheel off the ground next time I go for a drive

[budgie smuggler]

Nick1point9 said:

Could be something as simple as slightly uneven ride height caused by one of the springs being a bit softer than the other (through wear and tear). Camber changes as the wheel moves though its suspension travel so different relative position between car and wheel side to side will mean different camber even if everything is straight and true.

How big a difference is it?

cheers Nick. i measured tyre to wheelarch gap on both sides and it was pretty close, certainly not a visible difference.

[budgie smuggler]

Nick1point9 said:

Hadn't seen the picture first time (work laptop blocks most images) and that's a pretty big camber difference for no noticeable difference in wheel height.

Have you got a small spirit level you could use to confirm the difference? Needs to be small enough that you are resting it on the wheel and not the tyre. A misplaced gauge will give a bad reading, so one more thing to rule out!

The thing that is puzzling me is how the camber could end up being very negative! If the focus suspension is how I can remember it then any bent components would pull the button of the hub towards the centre of the vehicle, making the camber more positive.

Yes, I will try that again, tried using one of those angle measuring apps on the phone but couldn't get an accurate reading.

Thanks again for the advice.

one eyed mick said:

Side ways wack on a kerb will do it nicely

I had it aligned when I bought it, and both rear wheels were within a deg of each other, so it has happened since I've owned it. Now I've never whacked a wheel or spun it so I don't know how it could have happened (unless a garage or valet parking driver has bumped it).

Anyway wouldn't a sideways hit to a kerb be more likely to bend it outwards (i.e. positive camber)?

Edited by budgie smuggler on Monday 8th October 10:27

[budgie smuggler]

Sorry for not keeping the thread up to date, have been waiting for a workmate to bring in some alignment kit so we can double check the numbers but he keeps forgetting (or not bothering) to bring it in.

Yes it was checked with the wheels on.

Wheel bearing is a good shout, they were checked last november and found to be 'like new'. Suppose they could have worn a lot since then, so will check that. No droning noise that I can hear which I would expect if they were that badly worn.

I looked at the spring on that side, it doesn't appear broken from the bits I can see, but that's not to say one of the out of sight bits is not damaged. Not sure how knackered damper would affect camber but I've checked it as far as I know how to (i.e. it doesn't 'bounce' and isn't leaking!)

Alas I have nowhere to work on the car in peace so I guess I need to be finding a decent garage.

[budgie smuggler]

Cheers everyone it thankfully doesn't look like that pic KM666.

Cloggie, stupid question but could that also cause knocking at low speed and strange behaviour at high speed?

Reason I ask is that I had it in the local franchised Ford dealer, and they insisted they checked the geo and all the bushings and everything was in good condition (and they put it through the MOT with no advisories) but I have those symptoms.

The strange high speed behaviour is that occassionally when you hit a big bump, it feels like a gust of wind is blowing sideways on the car. Hard to describe and only occassional. Sort of sideways turning motion, only slight but enough to notice.

Need to find a decent indey to have a look. Anyone recommend one for essex (Chelmsford)?
Are there any simple checks I can do if I jack it up? Is it just a case of grabbing the suspension components and seeing if any have play?