coffeebowl

Hey guys,

My 2013 5.0 is lowered on eibach sportline springs and. The problem is my rear passenger wheel has negative camber(at least it looks like it) which I don't understand. It's noticeable, my rear driver side wheel is flushed with the fender and when you look at the rear passenger, it's tucked inside the fender I havn't taken it to a shop yet but I was hoping you guys could give me some insight because i'm clueless. I would take pics but it's raining outside.

Thanks

yourmom6990

Did you install an adjustable panhard bar after the lowering springs? If not, then this is your issue. The panhard bar is there to eliminate lateral (side to side) movement. So one end is connected to the body (passenger side) and the other to the axle (drivers side). When you lower the vehicle, the axle will then be pushed to the drivers side. An adjustable panhard bar will need to be adjusted to the correct length in order to re-center the axle after a drop.

coffeebowl

Yeah i bought the car as is. the salesperson was able to get a list of mods done and he said that it has an adjustable panbar. I havn't checked under the car to see but if it does have one, i'm guessing that it hasn't been adjusted properly.

I really appreciated it.

coffeebowl

I was really confused because i know these have a solid rear and that there is no way it has negative camber lol

Norm Peterson

That's a common and all-to-easy assumption to make, but it's flat-out wrong.

Actually, negative camber on a stick axle is entirely possible. Wouldn't even surprise me that factory tolerances allow a fraction of a degree tolerance from zero at least in the negative direction.

I had a (solid) axle under a previous car that measured out at -0.5° camber on both rear wheels (plus a little toe-in on both wheels as well), and I know of a few people who have intentionally modified their cars' stick axles specifically to put a little negative camber there to improve cornering performance at autocross. I know of at least three different ways of getting it done.


Norm

DPE

But to be clear, OP, it's almost certainly due to the axle shift from lowering and not from negative camber. An adjustable Panhard, properly adjusted, will very likely fix it.

Not to tread on you there Norm, but I didn't want the OP to think that's a typical situation. Live axle cars can have negative camber and slight variations in toe, but on a standard issue Mustang it's quite unlikely that it'll be enough for a casual observer to notice at a glance. And in fact it's pretty unlikely that it has any significant camber or toe out back.

Norm Peterson

I agree that negative stick axle camber isn't typical, at least that for most cars it wouldn't be enough to be readily visible. I have heard that the tolerance on certain Camaros actually went out to -1.5°, though I haven't heard of one actually being built with that much.


Mainly, I just wanted OP to understand that negative stick axle camber is not impossible just because it may look like "there's no way that it can be".



Norm

flash_xx

Do tell, which way to get a bit of negative camber out back Norm, I'm curious. I imagine it involves a big hammer or press but maybe there's an actual correct method.

Norm Peterson

Two of the methods involve actually bending the axle tubes - there is usually enough clearance in the axle splines to accommodate 3/4° or a bit more. The easiest DIY is to use heat and the axle's own weight to let the middle 'sag'. Kind of have to have it off the car even if open flames near the gas tank don't make you nervous.

Purely mechanically it can be done with some sort of hydraulic jack and chain arrangement, the way camber can be adjusted on big trucks (18-wheelers and such).

A third is basically an offset end welded to each axle tube.


Norm

Sam Strano

You could put it on an alignment rack and see if the axle is bent and out of spec. But it's not likely and there won't be much if any negative camber in a stock axle unless it's bent.

What I suspect you are seeing is either the car's body not sitting square over the axle (which the PHB can adjust) and the RR is more tucked under than the LR making it more covered or hidden looking. But what I really suspect more than anything is that the car isn't on level ground and the axle is pivoting up on the RR and down on the LR a touch. That will make it look like negative camber on the compressed side and more positive on the slightly extended side. This isn't actually camber, it's a function of a solid axle's articulation.