Rear Camber Adjustment. Whiteline KCA399 install

Well we have all been through lowering our legacys and outbacks and have found that we have no rear camber adjustment and some thought (me included) that the only way to get rear camber adjustment was to buy some rear lateral links which cost something like 450 bucks. Well there is another solution and it costs less than 60 bucks and that is the Whiteline rear camber adjustment inserts (KCA399). This kit replaces your outside bushing on your upper lateral links to allow +/- 1 degree of camber either way. I initially feared the install due to the lack of a press and the rust that is my outback. Regardless I dove right in and it actually wasnt too bad. Took about 1.5-2 hours.

 

Tools used:

Hot Pink Bench vice

Vice Grips

17mm wrench

17mm socket on breaker bar

Misc. sockets

Pry Bar

Rubber Mallet

Big Hammer

PB blaster

Colorful language may be used but I surprisingly didnt have to use any

 

1. Alright so to start things off put the rear of the car in the air and support it with jack stands. Then remove the wheels (19mm if oem lugs).

 

2. Spray the 2 17mm nuts that need to be removed from each side

Here:

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/fibtlcivic/boltout.jpg

And here (forgot to take a pic before I put the new bushing in)

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/fibtlcivic/boltout2.jpg

 

3. Let them sit and once you think the PB has done its magic proceed to break those little guys loose. The outside ones are easier than the inside. For the inside bolts I just put a 17 mm wrench on the nut and my breaker bar on the bolt side. It was too tight for me to loosen by hand so I just used my feet. Almost broke my adapter but she held strong.

Once you have the 2 nuts off the bolts should slide right out if not give them a little tap they will come out. Then just pull the upper links out.

 

4. Ok at this point if you have a press then you know what to do. Press them out. I dont have access to one so I just used my bench vise. I got a small socket slightly smaller than the bushing and one big enough for the bushing to be pressed into. while tightening Hit the top of the lateral link with a hammer it helps move the bushing through the link.

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/fibtlcivic/pressout.jpg

 

5. My socket wasnt quite big enough to push the bushing all the way out so i just hammered it the rest of the way out.

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/fibtlcivic/hammerout.jpg

 

Heres a comparison:

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/fibtlcivic/bushingcompare.jpg

 

6. Once the bushing is removed. I cleaned the inside of the link with some light sandpaper. I think it was like 400 or something just to get the gunk out. Then greese the inside of the link.

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/fibtlcivic/greeseup.jpg

 

7. Insert the yellow bushing into the link. Mine pushed right in easy.

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/fibtlcivic/insertbushing.jpg

 

8.Then greese and insert this what-cha ma-dinger (complete blank on what its called sorry)

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/fibtlcivic/pin.jpg

 

9. It got snagged up a bit so I put it in the vise to be pressed in.

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/fibtlcivic/squeezetogether-1.jpg

 

10. I just cambered mine out all the way using vise grips to rotate the center piece. For negative camber rotate it so the offset of the center piece is towards the inside of the lateral link.

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/fibtlcivic/adjust.jpg

 

11. Ok the later link is all ready to go back in. Place the links back in and bolt them in till they are snug but dont tighten them yet. I had to pry the outside part to get the holes to line up.

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/fibtlcivic/pryin.jpg

 

12. And thats what it should look like in. The adjustment part should be pointing towards the rear of the car.

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt307/fibtlcivic/done.jpg

 

13. Put your wheels back on. I lowered my car on ramps so that I could get under it and tighten down the bolts for the lateral link. This is what whiteline recommends to do and im assuming it is a good practice for suspension bits.

 

14. An alignment is recommended when changing suspension parts like this to make sure everything is where you want it then enjoy your work.

 

So if your looking for a cheap way to get some rear camber adjustment for your legacy or outback this is the kit for you.

 

Disclamer: I am not responsible for anything that happens during anyones installs. This is simply a set of guide lines to help make the install easier.

Sorry to bump an old thread, but what are your impressions of the kit? Do you notice that the rear is more planted?

Ehhh i did it more to correct the natural negative camber so I dont tear my tires up.

Is it safe to use the bench vice/ socket technique with aluminum?

Is it safe to use the bench vice/ socket technique with aluminum?

 

Assuming you're talking about the Spec.B aluminum control arms, I would say no. If I can make this comparison, Aluminum is the butter of metals.

I second that. I took my spec.B arms to the local Ford dealership since there isn't a Subaru one in town, and even they put some gouges in my control arms using their press.

 

I wasn't happy, but they seem to have been minimal enough to not cause problems (yet).

 

I would just go to a Subie dealer if I was doing it again.

Assuming you're talking about the Spec.B aluminum control arms, I would say no. If I can make this comparison, Aluminum is the butter of metals.

 

I was referring to spec b control arms.

And butter you say http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2484484

 

I second that. I took my spec.B arms to the local Ford dealership since there isn't a Subaru one in town, and even they put some gouges in my control arms using their press.

 

I wasn't happy, but they seem to have been minimal enough to not cause problems (yet).

 

I would just go to a Subie dealer if I was doing it again.

 

Thanks for the heads up guys. I guess dealer it is.

That's the coolest thing I've ever seen

I second that. I took my spec.B arms to the local Ford dealership since there isn't a Subaru one in town, and even they put some gouges in my control arms using their press.

 

I wasn't happy, but they seem to have been minimal enough to not cause problems (yet).

 

I would just go to a Subie dealer if I was doing it again.

 

how much did the dealer charge you to press the old ones out?

I don't remember for sure, but I'm thinking it was half an hour of labor, so $35-40. I would definitely recommend going to a Subaru dealer instead of Ford/whatever.

I took mine out myself and went to a local repair shop that also machine stuff. They charged me $10 for each side to press the old ones out and just installed them myself.

 

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Are these the same for the WRX?

Any one else install these recently at home without the use of a hydraulic press? Wondering if i can get away with an impact wrench and the autozone bushing/ball joint press kit.

About to do this with my koni and rallitech install this weekend, thanks man!!!

well, got the whiteline ball joints in pretty easy (after i took the whole control arm off) but that inside bolt wouldn't budge on the rear control arm. Outside camber bolt came off fine but inside bolt was fused. Didn't have enough room for breaker bar with the car on stands... Im going to try on a lift and if not ill just cut them off and replace... what a B****!!

Did this with a vice last night... Not easy. On new upper control arms. Hard to press out the bushings but it worked. Next time hydrologic press.

Any recommendations on how to adjust these on the car? Is there a tool for it?

I had my car aligned this past friday. Had the tech lift the car on the rack, he put a allen wrench socket in the hole and used that to rotate it, tighten, drop car, look at specs. Did three rounds of the above and set it at -.5 degree neg camber for street driving...It can put you at around -1.5 maybe a bit more if need for a track setup. this is on my outback with legacy suspension.

thanks for the post! really helped me get through the install and inspired me to try this w/o a hydraulic press.