Freelander 1 Rear Camber needs attention

I had a go at sorting my wheel alignment with string and as expected it's not perfect, so I plan to bring it to a tyre depot to do properly, but a while back I noticed the camber on a couple of wheels was a bit off. Today I put a spirit level on the wheels and found 2 a bit off and one rear a mile out.
A few years ago I had a MGF which three tyre depots failed to fix a pulling to the left and eventually I realised the camber of one rear wheel was a mile out and I put the problem down to this so I want to sort the issue.

Passenger rear a little out but maybe acceptable.



Passenger Front Spot on



Drivers side front a little out



Drivers side rear a mile out



I've had a look and can't see any obvious cause apart from the fact I replaced both lower suspension arms last year so I suspect the non adjustable one is a fraction too long.
So what do I do? I'll probably end up buying camber bolts to adjust it but looking for suggestions.

Love the engineered block of wood .
But that said it does show a big difference on the 1 rear.
Roll the car 90 then 180 degrees tyre rotation then check again. just as a double check.

J

marjon said:

Love the engineered block of wood .
But that said it does show a big difference on the 1 rear.
Roll the car 90 then 180 degrees tyre rotation then check again. just as a double check.

J

Click to expand...

A lot of care and attention went into adapting that piece of wood I'll have you know.
It was pretty obvious when looking it it from the rear and moving it made no difference and if the wheel was buckled it would be very noticeable.
I had to replace the lower arms a year or so ago because the rear wheel was badly out of alignment. It was like that when I bought the car. Try as I did I couldn't persuade the adjuster to turn no matter how much heat and force and antiseize spray I used and as normal the long bolt was seized solid to both lower arms.

Alibro said:

A lot of care and attention went into adapting that piece of wood I'll have you know.
It was pretty obvious when looking it it from the rear and moving it made no difference and if the wheel was buckled it would be very noticeable.
I had to replace the lower arms a year or so ago because the rear wheel was badly out of alignment. It was like that when I bought the car. Try as I did I couldn't persuade the adjuster to turn no matter how much heat and force and antiseize spray I used and as normal the long bolt was seized solid to both lower arms.

Click to expand...

I don't know the FL setup it was just to check you weren't chasing something simple.

J

The only camber adjustment is in the bolts which secure the bottom of the strut to the hub assembly. There is some "wiggle" room in those bolts, so start there to get them even. From memory there should be a bit of negative camber, but I can't remember the figures off hand.

Surely the wheel angle (camber) will also be affected by weight distribution in the vehicle.

Maybe all design figures were for tank of fuel etc. That has all somewhat changed in your vehicle !!

I vaguely remember getting a set of camber bolts with the 50mm lift kit which IIRC were for the rears. Are there already camber bolts on the front? I can't remember but I tried loosening all the bolts bolts and there isn't enough movement to sort the problem so I've ordered some of Ebay.
I found a set advertised for Freelanders at £28.44 and searched for the part number. I found the same for £26.99 so hopefully I've saved myself £1.45.

andyfreelandy said:

Surely the wheel angle (camber) will also be affected by weight distribution in the vehicle.

Maybe all design figures were for tank of fuel etc. That has all somewhat changed in your vehicle !!

Click to expand...

Yeh, with IRS, looks like some lithium needs shifting to the back from the engine bay.

Or chop the springs down a bit

GrumpyGel said:

Yeh, with IRS, looks like some lithium needs shifting to the back from the engine bay.

Or chop the springs down a bit

Click to expand...

The issue is only with one rear wheel and probably unsurprising after replacing the lower arms with aftermarket parts.
The front axle is close to the standard weight so any issues there have nothing to do with the conversion.
But yes I accept the excess weight in the back will have some effect.