What aftermarket parts should I buy for my 2003 Honda Element (FWD) to help my wheel alignment shop get the rear end back into spec? I would appreciate links to specific products.
Even after an alignment with the stock parts, it's showing for the left rear as out of spec:
Toe: 0.46 degrees
Camber: -0.2 degrees
Click below for the before/after alignment report.
Background
A few months ago, my poor E was hit while sitting on the side of my street. My goal was to keep the vehicle and not get it totaled, so my body shop worked with the insurance to get most of the parts back in spec.
Even after replacing many parts with OEM, it wasn't driving well because the front was way misaligned. (The frame is confirmed straight.) I just returned from the alignment shop, and they were able to fix the front adjustments. But the toe on the rear is still far out of whack.
My impression from reading these forums is that the toe measurement is the more problematic one. Which products will fix the toe (and maybe camber) on the rear?
Rear camber would be easy - MOOG RK90489 among others. It will probably affect the toe to some extent, but is unlikely to bring it up to spec. To get there, you will have to start swapping parts. Possibly need to replace the trailing arm on that side, and that's a lot of money, with no guarantee that it will fix the problem.
If I were you, I'd look for a used trailing arm. Will still be $200 or thereabouts, and the bushings in it might not last, but at least it's less risk than upwards of $600 for a new one.
I am pretty sure Moog makes an entire control arm replacement, but I don't remember if that is the brand I use. I do remember there were not many choices.
This is a known problem in the Element, and a lot of time springs can fix it too, and more than half of the Elements I see have tires turned in from this issue.
I honestly don't remember as it was 4 years ago at 80,000 miles, but the car looked absolutely ridiculous with its tires not sitting straight. Cost me about $200 for the pair.
Sounds like the camber, and not the toe. The OP's problem is the toe, and I can't see how that would be significantly affected by camber adjustment.
As for the camber, other than "looking ridiculous" (which is in the eye of the beholder), I have not experienced any issues with handling or tire wear. I can see things might be different if you put a lot of weight in the back. And of course if you lift or lower.
crap, you are right. I just pulled down my files and yes, it was to adjust camber. I replaced the rear control arm with adjustable. So ya, might not fix the toe issue but it straightened it all out once I replaced it.
I'm no alignment expert, but correcting the camber with the adjustable upper control arms, thereby getting the hub closer to it's correct position could also affect the toe in. I did 2 wheel alignments on old RWD cars back in the stone age (late 70's - early 80's) and this is the reason why we always set the toe in adjustment last.
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The toe is only out by half a degree, I would try to enlarge the slot for the eccentric. Any decent alignment tech will know how to do this. Not those clowns that just set everything to green.
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