Does my camber and toe look ok?

[matt97gst]

97 GST. Tokico Illuminas and Tein H-Techs (F -9 R-8)
Should I take it back to get the rear toe to zero? Everything okay for a daily driver?

 

[mkspriggs]

do you feel a pull at all?being at 0 does not always mean that it is good,i would say it is good as long as it feels good to you.i havent done alignments for to long but i would say its ok,someone else please second this just in case im wrong i have only been doing these for a year.and went to schoold for them for awhile

 

[Nanan]

Ah no thats bad actually. Your car is going to track to the right because of the front toe, your camber points the drivers side wheel in and your pass side tire out, your camber isnt even so tire wear will be uneaven. For the rear your wheels toe out so high speed stability is going to suck likely to pull to the left more then right due to larger outside offset, and again the camber isnt even so tire wear will be uneaven.

 

[mkspriggs]

see thats why i like are pictures highlights everything in red or green to bring attention to, reminds me ases are coming up and i signed up for that one,better hit the books.

 

[wret]

Now why the hell would any shop leave the toe at the maximum instead of trying to zero it? They obviously adjusted it so it isn't a matter of stuck cam bolts. Not very responsible.

 

[matt97gst]

So go back and get the toe corrected to zero? And what's with the camber? Do I really need some camber kits for such a tiny drop? And the car feels to be handling okay - not pulling to the side at all.

 

[wret]

Add some longer bolts and washers to the rear before you take it back.

 

[jtmcinder]

.11* thrust angle. What monkeys! Do not go back there.

- Jtoby

 

[matt97gst]

Okay, so I go back to NTB/Tire Kingdom and tell them I want the toe at 0 and to show me the print out before they finish the job. So I go out to the service area to check out the specs and they tell me that the ecentric bolt for the rear left toe is maxed out and it's as close to zero they can get it. Also they did my car as a gsx instead of a gs-t - dunno if that makes the read out different or not but the specified ranges are different between the two. I also think it's weird that some of the before specs are different than the after specs from last time.

 

[wret]

Holy Cow! What's going on with your camber? My advice would have been get whatever you can from them as long as you don't have to pay more. I think Jtoby's advice was better. You don't know if any of those readings are right.

 

[FourG63 97GST]

total toe in the rear is suppose to be 12*
its either 12 or 14, one of the 2

 

[jtmcinder]

Our toe-arms often seize. They are also rather cheap. Replace them.

I'd heard of this situation before. The toe-arms are seized, but instead of telling you this (the first time), they just get all four corners somewhere in spec and give you the car back. I hope you didn't have to pay a second time to get the story.

One last attempt to get this done without much pain would be to shoot a can or two of PB'laster or Thrust at the eccentric bolts and get them to try again in the rear (if it would be free). Also, tell them to go to town on the bolts, such as using two wrenches in series and hanging from them. We managed to get one last season from my original arms using this method. However, if they do this, make absolutely sure that they bounce the car violently before taking the new toe reading seriously. Twist can be stored in the bushing and released later, such that five miles down the road, you have a pile of rear toe again.

But, with all that said, I really stick with my first recommendation: I never let an iodiot work on my car twice; go somewhere else.

- Jtoby

ps. as with all rules, there is an exception to the above: I am still allowed to work on my car

 

[matt97gst]

I was changing my settings on my illuminas and I found that shock bolt on the rear left shock (in the middle of the white arrows in the picture) was super loose. Any chance this could have messed up the back left specs? Anyway I will spray that ecentric and see if they can get it to go. I bought a 3yr plan so I can get as many alignments as I want. (About $110 with coupon at NTB/Tire kingdom) I'll probably go to a different location this time however. Lets say I get the toe nice and good - would everything be ok then? I really don't want to do the camber kits/washer mods unless I HAVE to.

 

[matt97gst]

Is the toe ecentric bolt by chance?

 

[Nanan]

Yep that is the toe bolt and it is totally maxed toe out... Either the arm is bent, the bushings are shot, or your cars suspension is seriously tweaked, with that much toe on the ecentric bolt it should be at like 3* out.

 

[wret]

Damn the underside of your car is clean. They must use less salt on the roads than in NH and MD.

Mine looks like an underwater shot taken in the titanic boiler room.

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[Nanan]

Haha no doubt Wret, thats how my car looked before I bead blasted all the bolts and hangers.
My car came from NH, it was clean and looked damn good when I first got it, I guess 4 winters in the Chicago region didnt help with all the salt that they use on the roads.

 

[matt97gst]

Yep that is the toe bolt and it is totally maxed toe out... Either the arm is bent, the bushings are shot, or your cars suspension is seriously tweaked, with that much toe on the ecentric bolt it should be at like 3* out.

So if I replace the toe-arm that will fix it?

 

[Nanan]

I would drop the arm and see what the bushings look like first before doing anything futher. Replacing the arm is Mitsu's solution to bushings, imo a weak solution but unless you want to go with poly bushings it is basicly your only option.

 

[Slow99x]

I actualy work at an NTB and I think that it is the car and not the alignment mechanic that is messed up. The car should actualy have a slight drift to the right because of the caster being so high on the right side compared to the left (possitive caster means the wheel is closer to the back of the fenderwell). On the GST there is no caster adjustment so you are out of luck unless a camber kit happens to move the caster but I doubt it. I have not gotten an alignment on my car in years and I most likely wont untill I replace everything on the suspention and steering at one time.

 

[matt97gst]

I bought some spacers and bolts for the rear camber from RRE b/c I didn't feel like running around town to find what I wanted. They say they're set up to correct amount of camber for the eibach pro kit springs (about +2 degs). Well my Teins don't lower quite that much so I planned on not using all the washers, but then I see the spacers and they're each one single spacer. So these should probably take me to about 0 deg camber in the rear, would that be okay? (this is my daily driver).

Also I went to have my tires rotated at Discount Tire and they said and showed me that my rear tires are wearing down on the inside - which was expected on my left side due to my toe being messed up (which I'm taking to Mitsu to fix), but kinda surprised about my right side wearing down. Hopefully it's just due to the camber.

 

[matt97gst]

Which of these is the toe arm that I'd need to fix my toe problem?

 

[wret]

Parts List:

(1) MR162571 Toe Arm
(1) MR162572 Toe Arm
(2) MR911314 Bolt
(2) MR130510 Nut
(2) MB911283 Cam Washer

The lot should run about $80 delivered.

You will probably need a reciprocating saw with a fresh pack of heavy metal cutting blades. The bolts are hardened. With a bit of luck, you may get each arm off with one cut (my 1st one took 3).

 

[matt97gst]

1. MR162571 LINK,RR SUSP ASSIST,LH $26.91 Item in Stock
2. MR162572 LINK,RR SUSP ASSIST,RH $26.91 Special Order
3. MR911314 PART NOT FOUND
4. MR130510 NUT,RR SUSP ASSIST LINK $1.80 Item in Stock
5. MB911283 PLATE,RR SUSP ASSIST LI $1.41 Item in Stock

Know where to get the MR911314 bolt? I checked www.mitsubishiparts.com and www.mitsupartsdirect.com so far. Thanks for the list too.

And I'm replacing the left arm so do I only need the "LH" one?

 

[wret]

I got mine from Norco Mitsubishi. They also do internet orders but I had to use the phone to find the bolt. I didn't have a part number when I ordered but that was the number on the invoice. Their prices are a little higher but they seem to have a little better phone service.