2002 corolla camber bolt replacement question

[exodus125]

Hello, I have a 2002 toyota corolla. I was having a problem with the vehicle pulling to the passengers side. I took it to get aligned at firestone, where I have a lifetime alignment program.

I had another mechanic recently replace the struts because they were shot. I had the car aligned before and after the strut replacement.

However, after the strut replacement the car was going to the right slightly and it got worse over the course of 3 months.

At first it wasnt so bad, but then I took it to get an oil change so I had them realign it and they said the front and rear passenger cam bolts needed to be replaced. Im thinking either them or the other mechanic might have broken them.

But anyways, I called Toyota to get a price quote on the parts, because firestone wanted $130 for the front and $130 for the rear cam bolt replacement. I normally just pay to have it done, but Im thining this is a fairly easy thing to do and I am pretty familiar with vehicle tear downs.

So I call Toyota, they tell me there are 4 different sizes and that I need to measure the bolt to find out which one I need. They also told me the rear has no cam bolts. They said the sizes were 12.4, 13.3, 13.9 and 15 (im assuming cm). and they said they were about $7.13 each.

So I wanted to ask here to see if anyone could guide me a little bit.I know advance auto parts sells aftermarket kits, would it be fine to use one of those? They do sell rear cam bolts so ima ssuming the dealer didnt know what he was talking about. Also do I need to change both in the front if I need to change just one? Or is it ok to have a stock cam bolt on one side and an aftermarket on the other?

Also, would it be ok to change the bolts at home and drive it about 5 miles to the alignment place, or would it be a better idea to just swap the bolt in the parking lot? Aside from the bolt maybe being seized up, I see no problem doing this and should be a quick job.

Any guidance would be appreciated. I have never changed a cam bolt before, but I do have the hanes for the car and prety sure I could follow the steps with no problems, I have no torque wrench though, so I would need to get one.

[fishexpo101]

Normally, the car shouldn't use any cam or eccentric bolts for the struts unless the car was so off-spec, alignment wise that they needed those bolts to bring it back inline. Hence sometimes cam bolts are referred to as "crash" bolts - as they are usually employed to get the car to run straight after a car was banged up.

Need a bit more info - running stock suspension or aftermarket (ie, performance springs, etc.)? Running lower profile or wider tires? What did the alignment sheet say - what was causing the pulling (ie. toe, camber, etc.)? Any accidents in the car's history? Other than the strut replacement - was any other suspension part replaced?

Funky alignment, can be a real PITA. As there are a number of things that can be throwing it off. Cam bolts are one such fix, but it depends on what is throwing the specs off. If the struts you just replaced are "bent" or otherwise not true - that could be the root cause of the new problem you have. The old pulling could have been from a bent suspension part or bad spring - without diagnosing the problem initially - you'll be spending a lot of time at the alignment shop (least you got the lifetime alignment!).

As for the job itself - should be able to do it fairly easily. Should be able to drive on it for a short distance - though they are easy enough to change in the parking lot, if they let you. Plus side - if the bolt is seized up - you can probably borrow some tools from the shop.

[exodus125]

Thanks for the reply. The car is stock, nothing fancy on it. Its never been in a crash. Don't know what the sheet said as they didn't give me one ref the alignment. They just said the cam bolts on the passenger side front and rear needed to be replaced and they couldn't align it without new bolts, on the quoted it said "damaged parts needing replacement." When the struts were replaced only the struts were replaced, I assumed maybe they were damaged during the install and the mechanic didn't say anything.

[mr1114]

Camber bolts are just regular bolts but thinner. Can be used on the front or the back on struts that do not come with an elongated top hole. For struts with elongated holes, the stock bolt can be used.

Its not uncommon for older cars to need camber adjustment even if they have not been in an accident. I have used camber bolts many times before to correct front or rear camber problems where the strut was not adjustable.

[exodus125]

thanks again for the help guys.

So you think it would be fine to get an aftermarket camber bolt set from discount auto parts?

[mr1114]

Yes. I know CarQuest should have them too

[PhatRoyale]

Or pick up a set of Eibachs or Ingalls from the Tire Rack.

[GreenYoda]

Doesn't sound like a camber problem with the car, but aftermarket ones can be easily found anywhere. Could be a toe problem or as one of the other members also commented something could be bent up causing the tires to go off alignment or start tracking on the road. 130 seems like a lot of money for an easy fix such as camber bolts they are usually 30 for a set of 2