5 replies to this topic

[P S Robinson]

Hi All, I have major negative camber on both rear wheels on my 1980 S2. Where do I start to adjust / fix this.
All inf o welcome, Thanking You, PAUL

[peteyg]

What are you calling 'major', Paul? There should be some negative camber but I'm not next to the manual so don't have the exact figures. Will dig them out as soon as I can.

Pete

[andydclements]

Hi Paul.
Before attempting to "fix" the "issue" we shoudl ask some questions.
have all other dimensions been checked and found to be in tolerance (including ride height front and rear while weighted, rear toe etc)?
Is the gearbox sound (I recall the s2 uses the gearbox as the top link like my Europa)?
What suspension set-up do you have?

Please confirm that by negative you mean the tops are further in than the bottoms of the wheels, and then as Peteyg asked, what are the readings currently?

[P S Robinson]

Hi guys, I am a bit of a novice so bare with me. Yes it has negative camber as in the bottom of the tyre sits out from the car. I am doing repair work to the rear of the car at the moment so have all rear suspension and gear of the car. I am not to sure how to measure the camber but from rear veiwing when the car was together and on the ground , using a spirit level against the wheel rubber vertically and measuring the distance from the level vertically to the top tyre wall would of been about 8cms or 3'' (if that makes sense) it looked like one of those old VW beetles with negative camber. Maybe the previos owner set it up like this on purpose. Will it cause future damage? As far as the rear suspension is concerned it just has the standard S2 with Koni shocks. In what way does the gearbox effect camber and how do I alter that? The car drives and changes gears fine. I am in OZ so finding Esprit experts is near inpossible.
Thanking you, PAUL

[andydclements]

The rear camber should be closer to 3mm than 3 inches, but you say you have things off the car. Is it laden with engine , fuel tanks half full etc? If not, ignore camber for a while until it is back together.



The upper and lower arms are very different in length (upper is your drive shaft for s1 & s2 IIRC), so when they are approximately horizontal it gets the wheel to the correct camber, when the body raises you end up with what appears to be a lot of camber. When the body is lower (relative to the wheel) you get lots of camber camber.

If the arm length (either top or bottom) is too short at the top I'd suggest that would be the drive shaft Universal Joints being incorrect or the bearings in the output of the transaxle are in need of adjustment.

The change in body weight of the car (engine etc) can cause the body to rise, so can exceptionally strong springs. Similarly, lowering the car by the use of shorter/ weaker springs would give a lot of camber.


First thing, is when the car is assembled, don't tighten the pinch bolts on the suspension. Load the car to the correct weight and measure the height from the floor to the lowest pint on the hoop of the rear frame. It's not normally adjustable (adjustable spring seats and different spring will adjust it). It's possible a previous owner has altered it by fitting different components.

If the ride height is correct (or there about) and you have a reasonable rear toe in, then suspect a previous owner of having swapped some parts.

[P S Robinson]

Thanks Andy. The car rear end is all pulled apart at the moment but the major negative camber was like I said prior to pulling it apart. I just thought that while I had it all apart to do other repairs I might of been able to fix camber problem too. I appreciate the advice and believe you could be right about the previous owner changing things around, ( he is a rally car driver so maybe he made a few adjustments. ) . I think I will do as you say and do my other repairs first and put it all back together and then see how it is and then go from there.
Thanking you, PAUL