This is topic Caster camber plates adjustment?? in forum Tech Talk at Northern California Ford Owners .
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Posted by mrovai (Member # 8657) on
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About 4 months ago. On my 98 gt i replaced my old aftermarket caster camber plates with new aftermarket plates from summit. After i installed the new ones which were different from the ones i had on there b4, there is a bolt that sticks up too far and is starting to penetrating through my hood. The hood doesnt close all the way like it should and everytime i hit a bump, i can hear and feel that bolt aggresively eating at my fiberglass hood. Did i install the plates wrong? Should i just cut the bolt so it doesnt stick up as far? Does anyone have a good reference on adjusting caster camber plates?
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on
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Take pictures, it's likely you have installed the spacers incorrectly. Installing the spacers under the plate rather than ontop will drop the height of any of the 'bolts'
Spacer stack placement on the strut is critical for correct bump travel and hood clearance.
Posted by mrovai (Member # 8657) on
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I went over the instructions again thoroughly here at http://www.qa1.net/tech/documents/CasterCamberPlates1994-2004Mustangs.pdf
I installed everything correctly. I successfully put a bunch of washers under the bolt that sticks up in order to take away some top slack off that bolt. The assembly is still hitting my hood. Is there anyway to adjust my stock hood or something?
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on
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what bolt is sticking up too far? The strut shaft itself? If so the amount of spacers on the strut shaft under the top plate is incorrect. The amount of spacers and their placement depends on the ride height.
If any part of the c/c plates hits the hood, they aren't installed correctly, period.
Here's how my MM c/c plates look setup on my `97 gt with the stock hood, nothing hits the hood.
[ January 18, 2012, 09:05 AM: Message edited by: Blind ]
Posted by mrovai (Member # 8657) on
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Looking at your picture, its the bolt on the farthest bottom left. Its not installed wrong cuz i had a mustang freak install the plates and then i just went over them with the instructions again yesterday.
Posted by mrovai (Member # 8657) on
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Posted by mrovai (Member # 8657) on
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this picture im showing u is the driver side plate. Yesterday i put washers on the bottom right bolt that sticks up farther than the nut. That bolt is now hidden like the rest of the bolts inside the nut. But my hood is still hitting.
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on
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that looks really bad, those aren't lock washers and those locknuts aren't threaded to the nylon portion.
There's something wrong with the spacer setup on all of the bolts IMO. Those nuts are going to back off and the plate will fall off within a few months if you leave it like that!
I think maybe the bolts were used in the wrong locations, or the bottom plate installed on the wrong side of the car.
Posted by mrovai (Member # 8657) on
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http://www.qa1.net/tech/documents/CasterCamberPlates1994-2004Mustangs.pdf
^So these instructions made by the manufacturer are incorrect????
[ January 18, 2012, 11:12 AM: Message edited by: mrovai ]
Posted by mrovai (Member # 8657) on
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ttt
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on
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those instructions have 4 bolts coming through the strut tower, so either your lower plates are missing one of the rear bolts, or those instructions are not for the plates on your car.
Posted by Duncan Motors (Member # 7045) on
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if u lower the car the struts raise up a bit . ive had a couple cars where the struts center main stud hit the hood. and ive had to cut a hole in the lower frame of the hood to clear. but blind is correct on your bolt arraignment completely. sum thing is mismatched.
Posted by Gatlin6T9 (Member # 5646) on
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Okay forget what I just said... That's actually how the directions say to install them. That's kinda rigged... But still, I'd take them out completely and start over from scratch. Something isn't seated right.
[ January 18, 2012, 08:17 PM: Message edited by: Gatlin6T9 ]
Posted by mrovai (Member # 8657) on
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after driving more today it does sound more like the strut center main stud. Should i cut into the fiberglass?
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on
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if it's a knocking sound it's likely one (or several by the looks of things) are not tight enough.
if the spacers aren't setup correctly on the main strut stud, the nut on the top can bottom out on the threads before actually being tight, allowing the strut to "pop" up and down when going over bumps, I've fixed a couple of peoples botched c/c plate installs by just measuring out the amount of spacers needed, which the MM c/c plate install guide on the MM website has a great write-up on how to measure for any ride height car.
you don't need to cut the hood if it's setup right, my car has a 2" drop with a stock hood and as you can see the strut stick up pretty damn far from the strut tower and don't come anywhere close to hitting the hood.
Posted by mrovai (Member # 8657) on
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I don't think you saw manufacturer diagram that i included twice in the post. These ARE NOT Maximum Motorsports plates so stop talking like they are. I installed the spacers exactly how the instructions said and i went over it three times now. It is the correct placement of the spacers. Please give some useful information instead of flooding my post with your ignorance and trying to make me feel like im stupid. Im hear to get positive helpful feedback from the community. Thank You.
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on
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I read the instructions and viewed the diagram you linked, I offered advice from the point of view of fixing others botched c/c plate installs (of all brands) based on the helpful guides at MM. A knocking noise indicates a bolt is loose, most likely by the spacers being setup wrong. I see the bolts are not seated correctly on every bolt of your c/c plate picture.
I don't see other people helping you, I'm not being paid to help you - I'm just trying to point you in a direction to fix your problem.
I suggest stepping back and taking a deep breath, it's not like I'm suggesting you set fire to your car or anything.
if you want to look at the MM guide, which is 95% the same design as your c/c plate, it is located here-
http://www.maximummotorsports.com/content/install/pdf/front_susp/MMCC9994v4r8.pdf
again, this is just to help, not to anger (?)
Posted by Duncan Motors (Member # 7045) on
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blind is really a lot of help , shit hes probably the most helpfull one on here. and hes very knowledgeable, and hes just explains that its looks like it is loose cause of the mounting studs not cuming all the way thru the strut tower. it would make all that noise. i disagree a lil on the hole in the hood, but not all the ones i did, had to be notched, so mabey that was his luck. ive done to many, followed the instructions as well, and still had more than half touch the hood. but before u get that far , blind is very right in sayin that first it needs to be mounted correctly then see what happens. and u your self are on the right path on thinking to rip all the way out take a closer look and start from scratch. but blind is awesome help and i only seen him trying to help, no sarcasm, maybe your frustrated lol.
Posted by Duncan Motors (Member # 7045) on
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oh and ive only installed 4 camber caster plates on non foxbody cars, and none of them hit the hood on the newer mustangs.
Posted by Gatlin6T9 (Member # 5646) on
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From the look of it, the bottom plate is not seated correctly. The nuts on the base plate should at least have all the threads engaged, any less is just dangerous. Like I said before, it would be best to take it apart completely and start over, or take it to a shop that knows what they are doing. I know it sucks, and yes it is frustrating, but it's necessary.
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