Bent Spindle?

[AK_Stang]

Camber on the passenger side is way out. I looked and could not see any damage but I'm thinking it has to be the spindle/steering knuckle. On this side the strut is nearly touching the tire. Anyone have a passenger side spindle for sale?

 

[RocketcarX]

Did something happen to make you think the spindle could be bent? The wheel bearing could be bad enough to allow that kind of slump in the suspension.

 

[mrt2you]

did you hit a curb or something? suspension doesn't just mess up by it's self.
in your pic is the steering wheel straight? if it is it look like you have significant toe in and check that first.

i have been a bodyman for over 30 years and have seen a lot of suspension damage cars.. the spindle will be one on the last things to bend after hitting a curb. and if it's bent it won't change suspension geometry to move the wheel a significant amount. it will break before changing camber 3*.

the strut will be the first thing to bend, then the ball joint and lower control arm, then the inner and outer tie rods.

as rocket said a worn out wheel bearing can throw off the camber also. but it should be making a lot of road noise before it changes camber.
maybe the bolts holding the wheel bearing in are loose. this can affect camber without creating road noise.

 

[07 Boss]

I'm thinking control arm is bent. What did you hit?

 

[AK_Stang]

I bought it this way so I'm not sure what happened. Just trying to get it fixed. I replaced the strut this weekend thinking it was bent and wanted to upgrade anyways. There is much greater clearances between the strut and tire on the other side. Since the strut attaches directly to the spindle I figured that was the next thing to replace. The wheel bearing seems good and there is no play in it. I did measure the ball joints to center of the vehicle as best as I could and they appeared to be the same for each side. I can disassemble the front hub tonight and see if I can tell what is going on.

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[07 Boss]

Did it have stock suspension when you bought it? Reason I ask is if the PO has slotted some of the holes off the spindle or has camber bolts in there it may throw off the camber. But that looks like something is bent.

 

[AK_Stang]

Factory strut to spindle bolts and the holes are not elongated. I will pull it apart further tonight and maybe even pull the other side apart to get a good comparison.

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[bl817]

What lowering springs are those? 1.5" and lower springs will give you the result in the first pic. if everything just bolts up like you said, i.e. no worn mounting holes or bolts and the ball joints are good then all that's left is the strut mounts. the arrow and "notch" are supposed to be lined up over the spindle to strut bolts on a stock spring and strut set up to keep camber within spec. when you add lowering springs and leave the strut mount arrows pointed out, you end up with excessive negative camber as in pic 1. To get the camber back to within spec, rotate the strut mount so arrows/notch face the engine, this will bring positive camber back into play and hopefully get you within spec. what wheels are you running? they look aftermarket and could have the wrong back spacing, putting them closer to the strut thus it looks like something is bent. I'm running SR springs on koni oranges and just recently replaced all lower front control arm rubber with poly bushings, ball joints and strut mounts (new GT500/FRPP parts). prior to parts replacement, I had strut mount arrows pointing out and was barely within tolerance on drivers side and barely out on pass side. shop said using camber bolts would fix, visually I could see the wheels tilt in (negative). after new parts installed, strut mount arrows pointing towards the engine, back to same shop for alignment and both sides back within spec and negative tilt less visible. sorry for the long response, juts want to give some good info. good luck

 

[07 Boss]

What lowering springs are those? 1.5" and lower springs will give you the result in the first pic. if everything just bolts up like you said, i.e. no worn mounting holes or bolts and the ball joints are good then all that's left is the strut mounts. the arrow and "notch" are supposed to be lined up over the spindle to strut bolts on a stock spring and strut set up to keep camber within spec. when you add lowering springs and leave the strut mount arrows pointed out, you end up with excessive negative camber as in pic 1. To get the camber back to within spec, rotate the strut mount so arrows/notch face the engine, this will bring positive camber back into play and hopefully get you within spec. what wheels are you running? they look aftermarket and could have the wrong back spacing, putting them closer to the strut thus it looks like something is bent. I'm running SR springs on koni oranges and just recently replaced all lower front control arm rubber with poly bushings, ball joints and strut mounts (new GT500/FRPP parts). prior to parts replacement, I had strut mount arrows pointing out and was barely within tolerance on drivers side and barely out on pass side. shop said using camber bolts would fix, visually I could see the wheels tilt in (negative). after new parts installed, strut mount arrows pointing towards the engine, back to same shop for alignment and both sides back within spec and negative tilt less visible. sorry for the long response, juts want to give some good info. good luck

Everything you said is true but it does not address the issue of the strut to wheel clearance being off. Clocking the strut mounts will not change the distance between the strut and the wheel. It changes the camber but the wheel and strut relationship should be unchanged.

 

[bl817]

I agree, that's why I mentioned possible wrong back spacing on aftermarket wheels. could also possibly be a staggered setup that was rotated improperly. hard to say till we get more info.

 

[AK_Stang]

It's been sitting on the jack stands all week and I finally figured out the problem. I pulled the strut bolts out to check the holes to make sure they were not slotted and noticed that the lower hole had metal shards. I remember it was a tight fit going together but just hit it with the impact. Turns out this is where it bend and the holes weren't lined up anymore. Now to find a right spindle.

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[RocketcarX]

It's been sitting on the jack stands all week and I finally figured out the problem. I pulled the strut bolts out to check the holes to make sure they were not slotted and noticed that the lower hole had metal shards. I remember it was a tight fit going together but just hit it with the impact. Turns out this is where it bend and the holes weren't lined up anymore. Now to find a right spindle.

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Is the flange that sandwiches the spindle warped the same way. IT's hard to believe the knuckle was bent on installation.

 

[AK_Stang]

Car was definitely in an accident prior to me purchasing.

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[bl817]

Yeah, that's no Bueno. I'm surprised you got that one in the strut to begin with. good thing is that these cars are starting to show up at the local PnP places. I would think any spindle from 05-09 would work. not sure if V8 and V6 are different or just the brake components. good luck

 

[mrt2you]

according to my online catalog base, GT and GT500 all have the same part #'s for both the knuckle and hub.