wheel alignment

850Cal · Post by **850Cal** » 24 Jun 2016, 22:40

Looking at my Haynes repair manual for my 97 850 wagon, it says the only wheel alignment adjustments are toe for both front and rear. Is that true? It seems like the front should have at least a camber adjustment, if not a caster setting as well. I have some edge wear problems (shoulder wear to be more precise) that I would like to correct before I get new tires. The car does not pull to either side, and seems stable otherwise. (No wonky instability in the corners over bumps or such.) I guess I have two questions...

First, how much work will the alignment be if only toe is adjustable?

Second, what should I be checking that would cause shoulder wear before I get an alignment?

TIA for any advice.

Post by **tryingbe** » 24 Jun 2016, 23:02

http://www.volvotips.com/index.php/850- ... ce-manual/

Get some negative camber dial in in the front. I like negative .5 degree of camber for both sides for the front.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 24 Jun 2016, 23:24

What you're reading in the manual is true but you can buy bolts to add to your suspension to give your car some camber adjustment as the previous poster has linked to on the how-to. We have added these to most of our Volvo's over the year and they often take care of the kind of issue you mention. Btw, I do not recall this ever being a difficult process.

850Cal · Post by **850Cal** » 25 Jun 2016, 20:32

Excellent information, tryingbe! Are the part numbers mentioned Volvo numbers? Lots of good stuff to dig into. Thanks!

Good to know it's not very difficult, MadeInJapan.

Just a little concerned about the torque specs; 37 ft-lbs plus 150 degrees doesn't sound very specific to me. My torque wrenches don't measure degrees!

Post by **tryingbe** » 25 Jun 2016, 20:42

I'm not sure about the Volvo part number. There are camber cam bolt kit on rockauto.com if you search for the car and suspension. Any good alignment shop should have these camber bolts kit in stock though, call and ask.

I'm not sure on Volvos, but some struts are slotted on either top or bottom, so you can get a little adjustment on the camber if you use push in the top of the rotor while tightening the bolts and nuts at the knuckle. I have coilover and camber plates on my car so I have a lot more adjustment available than stock.

Additional 150 degree means tighter than tight!

Post by **chrafael** » 26 Jun 2016, 11:18

First, find a shop that can give you a printout like this one. It goes a long way in telling you what the problems may be. Mine had frozen adjustment bolts on the rear that the previous shop didn't tell me about. Those camber bolts are a common item, I think they're the same as on a lot of cars, but keep in mind that needing a lot of adjustment means something is wrong. The v70 struts aren't slotted but the holes are large enough to allow slight adjustments. My internal strut bushings were worn and replacing them brought everything back in tolerance.

Post by **chrafael** » 26 Jun 2016, 11:19

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... p?id=31159