Celica Forums General Discussion Engine and Performance Installed Camber Links over the weekend...

so I lowered my car and the rear camber was off...I had it aligned but they went right back to the negative camber (it causes a droning noise in the cabin if its too negative)...so I decided to indulge myself with the Hotchkis ADjustable Camber Links...they are nice and they do the trick...but GAWD!!!! WHAT a serious Pain in the ARSE to get installed!!!!! To all those that have ever thought about these..yes they are neat...and yes you can adjust your camber for autocross...but put half a day aside if you haven't ever put camber links in before...and you don't have any help...I lowered the car myself...no problems...but these were something different...

how much did you lower your car to need the links? and what exactly is involved in putting them in that is so difficult and time consuming. do they come with instructions?

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Tools Required/Recommended
Hydraulic Jack
Jack Stands
Torque Wrench
14,17,19,24mm Wrenches
Ratchet
14,17,19mm Sockets
3" Extension
5mm Allen Wrench





Break the torque on the wheel lugs while the car is still on the ground.





Securely block the front wheels of the car using wheel chucks or wood. Use a jack to raise the rear end of the car and support both sides with jack stands.





Remove wheel lugs, take off rear wheels.





Here is a picture of the factory suspension link and the 3 bolts to be removed labeled in order of removal.





Use a 14mm Socket to break loose the nut on the end link where it meets the rear spindle assembly.





Use a 14mm wrench and a 5mm Allen wrench to loosen and remove the nut.





Use a 17mm wrench and 17mm socket to remove the bolt and nut holding the rear upper link to the spindle.





Here is a picture of the the assembly after bolts #1 and #2 have been removed.





Use a 19mm wrench and a 17mm socket with extension to remove the upper link bolt where it mounts to the sub-frame. Remove the stock suspension link by jiggling it left and right until it pulls free. Bolt #3 was a pain in the butt to put it nicely. This one was by far the hardest as you can not see what your doing and its a tight fit for your hands.





Here are a couple pictures of bolt #3 removed from the car.








Here is a picture of the stock suspension link and the new Hotchkis Camber Link. The new Hotchkis Camer Link should come set at the same length as the factory link but its always a good idea to double check.





To adjust the camber link you use a 24mm wrench to loosen the jam nut and rotate the head. Shorten the arm to add negative camber, lengthen the arm to add positive camber. Usually a lowered Celica requires positive camber, I rotated the head a full 6 turns and that still left much room for improvement.





(No Picture)
Use the grease pack provided to apply a thick coat of grease to the bushing faces on the Hotchkis Arm. You can also apply a light coat of grease to the bushing contact surfaces on the vehicle.


Install the Hotchkis arm in the stock location and use the stock hardware to mount it. I installed the Hotchkis link reverse from the factory link, doing bolt #3, then #2, and finally #1.

Here are a couple notes that should make this process a little easier:

1) When putting Bolt #3 back in place it only goes in one direction being flatside down. This is hard to do as you can't really see what your doing but keep jiggling the bolt around and you should be able to find the hole.

2) I found that using a jack to raise the hub helped ALOT when trying to put bolt #2 back into place.





Use a 17mm socket with extension on Torque Wrench and 19mm wrench to tighten the link in place. Torque the bolts to 55 ft/lbs each.


So your done one side, Now repeat the removal and installation process for the opposite side suspension link.


Re-check all hardware for tightness. Cover the grease fittings with the plastic zerk caps provided. Replace the rear wheels. Use a jack to remove the jack stands and lower the car. You're finished installing the camber links!


Here's a few installed pictures.














Camber Before Hotchkis Links








Camber After Hotchkis Links

Damn!
The pictures didn't come out

Here's another Install Guide wit no

HOTCHKIS CONTROL ARMS
(REAR CAMBER LINKS)

TOOLS REQUIRED
- 14mm Wrench
- 17mm Wrench
- 5mm Allen Wrench
- Socket Wrench
- Socket Extension
- 19mm Socket
- 17mm Socket
- Floor Jack
- Jack Stands
- Hammer and block of wood

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1) Using a floor jack, Jack up your Celica using the rear center jack point (the one near the muffler). Use Jack stands on the side jack points in front of the wheels. You will be up underneath the car quite a bit, so this is highly recommended.

2) Remove the Rear Wheels.

3) Using a 14mm Wrench and a 5mm Allen Wrench Remove the bottom nut and disconnect the endlink (shown below).

[img]https://celicahobby.com/gal3/albums/inst/camberlinks1.jpg[img]


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4) Using a 17mm Socket and Wrench remove the bolt and nut from the Control Bar Spindle (shown below). Then Detach Spindle pulling towards you.

[img]https://celicahobby.com/gal3/albums/inst/camberlinks2.jpg[img]


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5) Using a 17mm socket with Extension, and a 19mm Wrench, Unbolt the Upper Control Arm Bolt (shown below), and Remove.

[img]https://celicahobby.com/gal3/albums/inst/camberlinks3.jpg[img]


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6) The Arms are set at stock length when shipped, you will need to adjust them in to decrease camber, or adjust them out to add camber (most likely). With mine, I have a 2" drop, and it takes about 6 turns to even them out. However everyones will be a little different. I suggest getting it close, then taking your car in and having an alignment done, they will adjust it accordingly. See comparison below.

[img]https://celicahobby.com/gal3/albums/inst/camberlinks4.jpg[img]


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7) Grease the spindles of the new Control Arm (grease provided).

8) Install Control Arm in reverse order of removal. You may need a hammer and a block to get the Lower spindle arm back in place, however the upper goes in easy with a little wiggling.

Yes the Hotchkis Adjustable Camber Links
makes a big difference.
If your celica is lowered past 1.5 inches. I would
reccomend buying a set of these.

you know, i thought they were easy and pretty straightforward, the only detail part is to make sure you make them a similar length to stock when you install them for a guide. but to make it better, you should prob go stock length plus a turn because as the wheel travels upward in the travel it pulls the top in, so making the link longer will straighten the wheel assembly up more

i ended up dropping the whole rear subframe to get mine in lol. it only took two hours tho