Adjusting rear camber

[23skidoo]

I recently bought a 12k mile used 2021 Premium ER AWD from a local Ford dealer.

I measured the rear wheels with a camber gauge and they're measuring around -3.25 degrees on both sides. This is with an empty vehicle. My understanding is spec is -1.30 +/- 0.75 so this is out of spec.

Called the dealer service department and they said Ford only covers alignments for 12 months from new, and the dealership did not offer any warranty on alignment. So I would have to pay for it myself.

My questions:

Should I worry about having this corrected? I am concerned about abnormal tire wear.
Does the rear suspension have adjustable camber? If not, is there a mod kit available?
Any suggestions on taking it to my favorite local repair shop instead of the stealership? Are they going to know how to deal with this vehicle?

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[markboris]

Yes the rear has adjustable camber and you can do it yourself if you have the tools (nothing special). I adjusted mine a couple of years ago after fitting larger wheels and tires.

 

[Teslaeata]

I recently bought a 12k mile used 2021 Premium ER AWD from a local Ford dealer.

I measured the rear wheels with a camber gauge and they're measuring around -3.25 degrees on both sides. This is with an empty vehicle. My understanding is spec is -1.30 +/- 0.75 so this is out of spec.

Called the dealer service department and they said Ford only covers alignments for 12 months from new, and the dealership did not offer any warranty on alignment. So I would have to pay for it myself.

My questions:

Should I worry about having this corrected? I am concerned about abnormal tire wear.
Does the rear suspension have adjustable camber? If not, is there a mod kit available?
Any suggestions on taking it to my favorite local repair shop instead of the stealership? Are they going to know how to deal with this vehicle?

If both are -3.25deg both sides is too much of a coincidence because variance in steering/suspension angles usually occurs due to wheel impact or wear that doesn’t usually happen to exactly same extent on more than one wheel.

Looks like somebody who knows or thinks they know what they were doing adjusted the camber angles to improve handling characteristics.

I bet it corners fast well!

Should you worry? Not necessarily because just that they are out of Manufacturer’s specified limits don’t really mean too much unless anything else is out of true or is damaged.

If I were you, I wouldn’t mess around doing just the rear camber angles yourself as a DIY project unless you have calibrated level ramps and full 4-wheel alignment kit, I’d take it in to a garage that specialises, and I MEAN specialises in 4-wheel alignment and pay them to check & adjust all the angles.

It is an investment which will pay you back in improved handling, minimised tyre wear and maintaining or increasing range.

The front & rear camber angles & tracking/toe angles should be corrected along with thrust angle and front caster & king pin inclination measured, too.

 

[23skidoo]

OK thanks for the replies so far. Appreciate the service manual excerpt. Looks like the upper control arm adjustment should be pretty standard for any competent alignment shop to work on.

If I were you, I wouldn’t mess around doing just the rear camber angles yourself as a DIY project unless you have calibrated level ramps and full 4-wheel alignment kit, I’d take it in to a garage that specialises, and I MEAN specialises in 4-wheel alignment and pay them to check & adjust all the angles.

I hear you there. I'm definitely going to have this done in a shop that specializes in alignments. After finding the rear camber is so out of whack it makes me wonder what else the previous owner had done. I'll post back results.

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