WRITE UP: Front Camber Installation - Honda Prelude Forum

natcc99 · 12-23-2003, 01:33 AM

WRITE UP: Font Camber Kit Installation
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This camber kit came from a company called SPC.
They were installed on Charlie's 2001 SH (a.k.a ShadowLude).

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***STEP ONE***
Park the car on a level surface.
Put the parking brake on and place blocks around the rear wheels.
Lift the front of the car up and place it on two jack stands.
"Safty First!"

Remove the rims.

***STEP TWO***
Remove the Ball Joint.

To do so, bend the cotter pin straight and pull it through the hole.

Next, place the ball joint remover around the unit.

Tighten the ball joint remover, and the ball joint will pop out.

That stuff you see is grease from the ball joint. I accidentally tore the rubber boot. It's ok because they would be replaced with the camber kit.

**STEP THREE***
Place a jack under the brake assembly to give it support.
Also, tie some clothes hangers around the suspension arm to prevent it from hanging on the brake lines!

The picture below will give you an idea.

***STEP FOUR***
Next, remove the the damper fork from the bottom of the strut.
To do so, remove the bolt located behind the fork near the top.
Then, remove the bottom bolt and the damper fork will drop off the strut.

Once finished, go inside the engine bay and remove the three nuts that hold the strut assembly in place.
Be careful not to drop the strut!!

**STEP FIVE***
When the sturt assembly is removed, reach in and unbolt the upper control arm from the car.
There are two long bolts on either end of the control arm.

When the upper control arm is out of the car, it is time to use a press to remove the stock ball joints.
I had a friend use a 3 ton press from his work to push out the stock ball joints.

sorry...no pictures

***STEP SIX***
Here is what the upper control arms look like with the new camber kit pressed in.
Refer to the camber kit's special instructions on installation specs.

That thing to the left is the stock ball joint without its rubber boot.

Put the upper control arms back on the car. However, do not tighten the bolts fully just yet.

**STEP SEVEN***
It is time to adjust the bushings for the new lower stance of the car.

In the picture below, the owner did not have the bushings adjusted and you'll noticed that they have been twisted.
It is ok to drive like this, but the life span of the bushings have greatly decreased.
Bushings are designed to rotate for a few degrees. When the car is lowered, it exceeds the rotation limition of the bushings.

To adjust the bushings, put the suspension components back on the car except the strut assembly. (they need to be off the car to allow clearance for the upper control arm bolts.)

Place a jack under the car and lift the suspension up to the normal lowered ride height.

Only then, can the upper control arm rear bolts be tightened down.

***FINISH***

And you're DONE!

Tighten down the new ball joint and place the cotter pin through the hole.
Put the strut assembly back on the car.
Double check everything and lower the back back to the ground.

Then, take the car to an alignment shop for the finishing touches.

sandiegan · 12-23-2003, 02:17 AM

natc is thar diy king!

camber kit is the one thing i didnt tackle on my own car (that and the alarm and the window tinting lol)

natcc99 · 12-23-2003, 03:22 AM

hahaha...anything to help everyone out

i could have done a "how to" for a alarm system
but that would ruin my secret custom alarm! HAHA

Ludatic · 12-23-2003, 04:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by natcc99
hahaha...anything to help everyone out

i could have done a "how to" for a alarm system
but that would ruin my secret custom alarm! HAHA

agreed

nice write-up

although i don't need a camber kit WHOOHOO

JayZ98 · 12-23-2003, 07:42 AM

Nice write up man!! This will certainly come in handy for allot of luders. I dont believe it is that much different from the rear either, so added to my summer projects (the list is getting real long!!) lol

ludehawk · 12-23-2003, 08:00 AM

Was this the SH specific camber kit?
Awesome write-up

natcc99 · 12-23-2003, 12:08 PM

I don't think this was SH specific, althought it was installed on a SH.
I'm assuming the suspension components of a base and SH are the same.

sandiegan · 12-23-2003, 12:19 PM

the thing is coming up with the 3 ton press... how is the average luder gonna do that

natcc99 · 12-23-2003, 12:31 PM

you could put it in a vice and hammer the crap at it.
the bigger the hammer, the better!! HAHA!!

or you could take the upper control arms off the car and bring it to a shop.
ask them to press it out for you.
they may do it for a few bucks.

or if you can find a way to wedge the upper control arm on the jack, you may be able to pop the ball joint.
this may be tricky though.

MugenPoweredLude · 12-23-2003, 05:09 PM

FAQ every topic he starts

great write up

checkmate58 · 12-23-2003, 06:59 PM

After reading this, I dunno if I want to do it myself now. Damn it! Might just take it to a shop now.

--Sam

natcc99 · 12-23-2003, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by checkmate58
After reading this, I dunno if I want to do it myself now. Damn it! Might just take it to a shop now.

--Sam

this project isn't really that hard.

the hardest thing is taking out the stock ball joint.
other than that, it's a piece of cake!

BoYgUaN · 12-23-2003, 11:36 PM

hmm my friend had these and during certain bumps they would hit the top of the fender

checkmate58 · 12-24-2003, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BoYgUaN
hmm my friend had these and during certain bumps they would hit the top of the fender

I know ingalls makes two versions. One is for normal drops (.75-1.5" drop) and then that have another one that is extreme which is a diff. part #.

--Sam

FoShizzleLude00 · 12-24-2003, 02:19 AM

I have the SPC kit for normal drop (adjusts up 1.5deg). It hits the top of the fenders only on GIANT potholes, like the kind in Baltimore city. But when I hit stuff like that, the camber kit hitting the fender is the least of my worries.

preludeGT · 12-24-2003, 09:47 AM

Man I realy could have used this when I messed up my ball joint installing my rear springs. Ended up buying a whole NEW control arm $

$ only struck me afterward, hey why didn't I just get a camber kit to replace the joint, duh.
Great write up.

checkmate58 · 01-07-2004, 12:54 AM

One last question:

Since you used the press to press out the stock balljoints, did you the same 3 ton press to put in the spc camber kit?

--Sam

natcc99 · 01-07-2004, 11:54 AM

yes, i used the press to install the camber kit
however, it doesn't required to be pressed in hard like the stock ones do.
technically, you can line the camber kit and bolt it down to tighten it, but the press made it easier.

you had to be careful using the press so the boot doesn't break.

vipastyle · 01-08-2004, 09:30 PM

FAQ'd.