Problem with lower control arm front camber adjustment bolt
 

Everyone should check the front camber adjusting bolts.....the rear part of the bushing (a big washer attached to the rubber bushing) seizes to the adjusting bolt...and makes the adjuster unable to rotate...and therefore unable to adjust the alignment properly

I would strongly recommend that everyone has this lubed with penetrating oil or taken apart and greased, or "never seized".....

Otherwise you will spend an hour cutting it off, and have to replace the front bushing and bolt....not a fun job ( I had to do the left side today)

I don't live in an area with a lot of salt in the winter.....so if you do it might be too late :(

mind posting a few pics?

Tomorrow ...gotta get the camera back from my son :(

I had this problem when I had my springs installed. They couldn't get the camber to spec at the shop I went to. I brought it to the dealer and they were able to free it up. I don't know what they did though...

one of the advantages of not driving on the street much :D:

sorry about your problem tho :(

^ Ja, but then we'd all have to put a bag over our head like you and go to the track so they don't know who actually won the race.

By the way did you loan that bag to the bonehead last Staturday at Miller Motor Sports Park?

He wrecked the Speed Source RX8 and almost killed Nick.

I just had this problem happen. Basically, both of my front camber cams are seized. I'm back to stock height for the winter and after hammering the left-side cam, the best the tech can do is get a touch of positive camber out of it (forget about negative). The other side is better, but not much better.

The dealer says that I need to replace the lower control arms, because the bushing is part of the LCA... dannobre, how were you able to just replace the bushings?

He has seen this problem on several other RX-8's. Usually, this stuff is replaced under warranty, but I'm just 4K out of warranty. So I'm looking at a nice repair bill now ($550 in parts, plus 5 hrs labor).

The tech says that they do not put any anti-seize on the cam bolts at the factory. When he replaces the cams/LCAs, he puts anti-seize on them and things are good for a long time.

I would recommend that anyone who drives in a wintery area to do some preventive maintenance and replace the front camber cams (should be cheap) and put antiseize on them when putting them in. When doing this, the tech also suggested cleaning out the bushing sleeve with some sandpaper or brush to get the rusty parts out and make it nice and smooth before reinstalling the cam.

Basically, if you are keeping your car for the long term, you owe it to yourself to do this preventive maintenance.

the control arms are just a bushing, the bolt itself has the cams that set where the control arm/bushing sits relative to a slot in the frame. All you need to do is unbolt the arms, remove them, clean everything up, and put it all back together.

If the bushing is seized, when you force-remove the cam bolt, wouldn't you destroy the bushing (hence the need to replace the LCAs).

Dannobre says that "the rear part of the bushing (a big washer attached to the rubber bushing) seizes to the adjusting bolt". I'm not sure how he replaced only the bushings though.

dont they have a recall of this issue? search for it....you might get it replaced for free cuz i remember i read about it.

no, that's a lower ball joint recall, different from this.

I had a spare set of lower control arms.....but I think you can get the bushings from Mazda..I'll look and see if there is a part #.

You will need to buy a new bolt with the adjusting cam attached as well...I think they are about $6 each.

Just looked...I guess I was mistaken...there doesn't appear to be a part # for the control arm bushing.......

I would look for a set from a wreckers off a low mile car......

Thanks for the update dannobre!

I'm wondering whether it's worth trying to soak the cams & bushing with PB Blaster for several nights and then see if it gives way then.

I managed to get one loose like that.....worth a try for sure...you really haven't got anything to loose. I would soak it and give it a good blast with an impact...and repeat

It's really a PIA to have to cut them off :(

I dunno, mine came right out :dunno:

:): Cause yours weren't seized :D:

Update: I tried a 3-night dose of PB-Blastering to see if I could loosen things up, but no dice: the bushing turned with the bolt/cam side, the nut/cam side stayed put. Fail.

So, the dealer replaced lower control arms this morning (one grand poorer as a result, :( ), but car drives great again with a proper alignment.

I theorize that this happened because the dealership at which I got all my alignments before probably never touched the front camber on the car, and the car went through two NE winters like that.

I just had this same problem (siezed camber bolts) while getting my car aligned at my local shop.

They kept the car for a few days and soaked it in penetrating lube and also tried to vibrate the bolts to work the solution in. They also had a similar issue with another adjustment (I think the tie rod).

In the end, they ended up charging a couple of extra hours of labor which I don't mind paying because it sounds like a PIA.

that sucks, glad they got it fixed. i need to remember to get these bolts greased next time i go in for an alignment.

Shazam! Me too on this deal!! I have prolly spent 6 hours total screwing with those camber bolts to no avail. That includes pb blaster, wd 40, air impact wrenches, air hammers, and propane torches. I had a caster adjuster seize but was able to drill it out. Can't get a drill on the camber ones. My solution was to see where they wanted to be rotation wise and i just cut that side off the eccentric washer with a dremel cutoff disc. Then me and the alignment guy just loosened and beat. To fix it right will mean cutting the bolts and ruining the bushings. Boooooo!

the lower front control arm bushings, bolts, and cams are all available separately, let me know if you need the actual part #s

Anyone with a pic of this on the car? My car is only a year old so I have some hope I can put some antiseize on these. Any chance of me ruining my alignment by removing the bolt and putting it back?

I can't find any pics now, but it's an eccentric cam that's located on the inside front of the lower control arm. So if you look at the lower control arm, which is where the front strut is attached to, and then trace towards the inside of the car (and towards the front of the car), you'll find the camber adjustment bolt.

Technically, as long as you mark the cam's old position with a marker and return it exactly to that position when you put it back in with antiseize, you won't change the alignment.

it's shown in the linked pic I posted above

I would recommend realigning the car, the actual position shown by the cam isn't very indicative to the bushing positiion due to slop between the bolt and bushing hole. It will be close, but no guarantee ...

Same thing happened to me, left front camber adj. bolt....that damn bushing. Took me like 6hrs to finish everything, with alignment. That is i work in a shop too, with pretty much all the stuff. I didn't want to take the whole lower a arm out, and took me forever to get the bushing out.....what a pain in the ass, hope i never need to do it again......next time i rather just replace the whole lower arm