Alignment specs

sdibbers

Well-Known Member
Hi All, does anybody have an idea what the specifications are for camber, caster and toe algnment? I've adjusted caster recently (with a big improvement in handling and steering feel), but I'm interested to know what the starting point should be.
 
IIRC book setting for FWA is 1/8" toe-in + or- 1/16", but it has been said that parallel gives a better outcome.
Thanks Harvey,
That's what I'd read. I'm close to nuetral (0.0") on toe right now. But caster and camber seem to be missing.
 
Camber and Caster should be in the WM, but as they're not really adjustable I can't ever remember looking.
 
Camber and Caster should be in the WM, but as they're not really adjustable I can't ever remember looking.

You can adjust them to an extent by shimming the top pivot mounts. Camber by inner or outer mounts being shimmed, caster by shimming both inner and outer mounts.
 
You can adjust them to an extent by shimming the top pivot mounts. Camber by inner or outer mounts being shimmed, caster by shimming both inner and outer mounts.

I'm aware of that, but that hardly counts as a service item.
 
Did you manage to gain some positive caster? Have you measured the degree change?
Inspecting my media blasted shell hasn’t filled me with confidence in the thin tubes that the bellcrank studding goes through, their strength and factory welds..I’m planning to reinforce the area a little and perhaps support the studding on both ends of the tubes with another welded boss as per bulkhead so they’re positively located and not just held in place in tension. This would of course mean losing the ability to shim there, but I’m also fabricating adjustable lower arms so will be able to alter camber and caster properly there..
Jim
 
By shimming both top mounts you will be taking off caster and thus making the steering lighter, less self centring and the car more twitchy.

As I do not have a caster gauge I have not been able to find out what I have, I do run 1/2 deg negative camber. I will try to find a gauge to get an setting for caster.
 
I wasn’t able to measure the angle, but steering has always been far heavier under loading than other P6’s I’ve owned or driven. I added about 0.06” (1.5mm) of shims on the mounts and the steering feels 100% better. Stability is about the same as before and turn in is improved. So I think, if anything, I had excessive positive caster on the front end. She doesn’t pull to one side and feels solid under braking that suggests camber feels right. I’ve measured camber using an angle finder app on my phone and that seems to be about 2° positive camber on each side.
 
My Rover manual for 2200 & 2000
Camber 2200 0.0 degrees +/- 1.0 same on 2000
Caster 2200 0.75 degree positive +/- 0.5. 2000 0.5 positive +/- 0.5
Swivel pin inclination both 8 Degrees
 
My Rover manual for 2200 & 2000
Camber 2200 0.0 degrees +/- 1.0 same on 2000
Caster 2200 0.75 degree positive +/- 0.5. 2000 0.5 positive +/- 0.5
Swivel pin inclination both 8 Degrees
Awesome! I probably should have looked in the manual more carefully. Seems like my camber is way off, probably weak front springs.
 
Specifications are listed at the end of each specific section in the manual. Of course the ride height has to be correct to achieve these figues.
 
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Weak front springs will lower the car, in lowering the car you will gain negative camber. To have 2 deg positive camber something is not as it should be. 2 deg positive camber will be visible to the eye when viewed from the front, I would re check that.

I am only throwing this out there, don't jump on me - does a V8 car have shorter lower arms ? if so is it possible your 2000 has been fitted with V8 arms thus giving you lots of positive camber ?
 
The 2000 arms are longer but I've seen a car where 2000 arms were partially installed and they just don't fit. unfortunately I've forgotten what the issue was...
The manuals go to great lengths to get certain measurements very accurate. Top link mounting points isn't one of them. Steering box and damper mountings are. Also Air Con cars (both built in and after market)have a shim under the left side spring to overcome the compressor weight.

The swivel pillar is offset to the ball joint, consequently all measurements change the moment you turn the steering wheel...There are also dynamic changes caused by the movement of the lower arms, the construction of which causes a good deal of twisting of the rubber mounts which will throw out the angles according to the compliance of the two bushes and ball joint that fight each other.

note also that the firewall has to be perfectly straight so that the top arms move in parallel.
 
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The manuals go to great lengths to get certain measurements very accurate. Top link mounting points isn't one of them. Steering box and damper mountings are.

A mate of mine had all the factory crash repair jigs, and one sat in across the bulkhead mounted to the steering box and idler mounting points, another fitted underneath into the 4 lower suspension arm mountings, and IIRC those 2 linked together somehow, and then there was a jig for either side between the front wing front mounting points and (I think) the doorhinge mounting points on the "A" pilar, so as you say, the toplink mounts weren't included in the jigs as I remember them.

Incidently, I think all those jigs went in the scrap when he retired, even though I had asked if I could buy them from him when he packed up. Either that or they're sitting in his shed at home....
 
Mine is a 2000TC ex AC car. I bet the shims are still there hence the positive camber. I will double check the measurement though. Looking from the front there doesn’t seem that much positive camber.
 
I've often wondered if anyone actually bought those jigs, it would be quite an investment to collect the lot. Pity to see them scrapped...Hopefully they are in his shed at home! Oddly Dr Flynn didn't seem to have any; which surprised me as he had three hoists and copious quantities of everything else.

The shim isn't very thick and i'm uncertain if the TC's had them as well as the V8. My Library is 250 Kms away so i can't look now but will check tomorrow night. My somewhat oblique point was that Rover didn't seem to worry much about top link mounting points location and secondary point that the angle of the pillar doesn't match the angle of a line though the ball joints due to the offset at the top. My thinking is they did that to give some camber correction when cornering, helping to reduce the understeer.
 
Mine is a 2000TC ex AC car. I bet the shims are still there hence the positive camber. I will double check the measurement though. Looking from the front there doesn’t seem that much positive camber.
If you don't see a lot of positive then there probably isn't. I wonder if you can make up a straight edge and try again with the phone going off the wheel rim. Of course the car has to be on level ground.
I use a 2 foot digital spirit level for that task, I have a piece of steel box with a couple of M8 studs sticking out 4" or so, these are set at the wheel rim spacing. This allows the level to stand off the tyre bulge or centre cap etc. I also have a smaller version I made up for caster on another car that lines up with top and bottom ball joints. I have not been able to come up with a system for the Rover caster yet.

Perhaps it is yet another isolation job :rolleyes:
 
Update for everyone.

I found some level ground and rechecked the measurements. The shimming certainly helped I guess. Camber is now 0.0° on the right hand side and +0.5° on the left. I also measured ride height to wheel arches up front and found the left was 16 (5/8") higher than the right. This suggests that the shim for the AC is still in place.

I’ve tried a number of ways to remove the spring but none of them inspire confidence and now is not the time try the local A&E/ER depts. I’ve read the stickied post on spring removal and I’m not sure I can make a safe compressor similar to theirs.

Anybody got another suggestion on spring removal.
 
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