[4herb2tas0tik]

well today i replaced my tire's with 16500 miles on them and it seemed that the front were totally shot on the out sides and the rear was not bad but tread was pretty much gone...but i know why that happened...lol...but anyhow back to the front>>after the tires where installed i had a alignment and the guy tells me that the camber and toe is all messed up in the front
and that he could only fix the toe>>>well i think he said toe<<<but he said the the camber, he could not fix because it had something to do with lifting the motor then seting the camber and the dealership had to fix it..now it might be opposite, as in he could fix the camber vise versa...but i have a print out of the alignment if i need to post it let me know, but does anyone have any idea?...bringing it back to chrysler and letting them lift my motor SCARES the shit outa me....iam thinking if i can get 16500 out the f-1's then maybe i should leave well enough alone...any thought's??
OBTW.....no ive hit nothing at all and florida roads are pretty nice so no huge potholes either...

 

[cbutler32]

dearest herb,
man I would love to get 16,500 miles outta my F-1's...
I only got 9,500 out of the backs...
the fronts are running a little smooth on the outside...
when I was in the shop 2 weeks ago...
the issue was bad toe in...
and thus the outside unusual wear...
so you are not alone...
but at 16,500 miles...
I would gladly trade with you bigdog...
anyday...
oh, and DanRealtor is on his 3rd set of rears after 17,500 miles...
he is at 18,300 now...
in 4 1/2 months...

 

[4herb2tas0tik]

dearest herb,
man I would love to get 16,500 miles outta my F-1's...
I only got 9,500 out of the backs...
the fronts are running a little smooth on the outside...
when I was in the shop 2 weeks ago...
the issue was bad toe in...
and thus the outside unusual wear...
so you are not alone...
but at 16,500 miles...
I would gladly trade with you bigdog...
anyday...
oh, and DanRealtor is on his 3rd set of rears after 17,500 miles...
he is at 18,300 now...
in 4 1/2 months...

hey CB....thanx man....now i dont feel so bad..iam going to leave well enough alone...

 

[cbutler32]

thought you would...
as they say...
don't "cry" when you are ahead...
well my friend...
you are WAY ahead!!!
CONGRATS!!!
now go ride that monster...
the horse that is... :wink1:

 

[DESIREE]

I too had “toe” issues (front left tire was really feathering) and had it adjusted to within the acceptable range. This adjustment affected the camber readings a bit, but they were still within the acceptable range as published by DC. Subsequently I have rotated the tires twice with the left front tire showing excessive outer edge wear as compared to other tires. The stealership blames the Conti’s (of course!), not the camber.

Camber on the 300 is adjustable by two means: 1) moving the “engine cradle”, and 2) replacing the camber bolts.

The first involves loosening (4) bolts and skewing the “engine cradle” around under the unibody. The term “engine cradle” is a misnomer. The “cradle” is just the entire front suspension assembly which is positioned beneath the “engine” like a cradle.

The second involves replacing the stock camber bolts with special ones. These are the same bolts that are involved with the fix for the problem of certain 300’s drifting to the right. My C tracks straight, so that’s not an issue for me. The stock bolts have (2) longitudinal grooves located 180-degrees apart their circumference. The grooves are in contact with what are called “bat wings”. These “bat wings” position certain suspension components that affect camber. The replacement bolts also have (2) longitudinal grooves but they are not 180-degrees apart. When in contact with the “bat wings” the offset grooves reposition the “bat wings” which in-turn reposition the suspension components and change the camber angles. By my estimate this method is not nearly as adjustable as with camber plates, eccentrics, or adjustable spindles. DC’s idea, of course.

I am trying to accumulate information to deliver to my stealership to get them to do something about the excessive wear situation. I have my original before and after alignment numbers. I have the specs. from the service manual on CD. Of course, my camber numbers are within the acceptable range of those specs. I have some data published on this forum about revised specs., but have not yet been able to compile and compare differences. What it all just might come down to is to make an adjustment to the other end of the acceptable range to, literally, correct for the visible condition. Getting the stealership to swing for that doesn’t seem too likely at this juncture. I am afraid it’s going to take a couple of bricks slapped together on their genitals to get their attention.

PS - Your car (and many others apparently), and/or the tires, is/are having a problem and it needs to be remedied. Getting less than 20K miles out of a modern original equipment tire on cars like ours is just atrocious. Getting DC to admit to their being responsible is going to be just about impossible.

 

[4herb2tas0tik]

dam desiree....excellent post...you way more then answered my question..thanx...herbs

 

[DESIREE]

dam desiree....excellent post...you way more then answered my question..thanx...herbs

I HAVE studied the problem, just haven't found the right pair of bricks for application to the stealership's genitalia yet!
But, much like with the DRL situation, I am on the case. Continuing the discussion of this camber problem (and it IS a problem) on this forum will help find the solution.

 

[ktek01]

and that he could only fix the toe>>>well i think he said toe<<<but he said the the camber, he could not fix because it had something to do with lifting the motor then seting the camber and the dealership had to fix it..now...

Cradle shift is nothing special that only the dealer can do. Any modern alignment machine should have that capability, dealerships do not use any special "dealer only" alignment machine.

 

[cbutler32]

dam desiree....excellent post...you way more then answered my question..thanx...herbs

I was thinking the same thing...
talk about a throw down...
go girl!!!