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just a curious question...

03 Civic EX coupe. Stock. Staying stock.

One of the rear sides is out of alignment for some reason, and cannot be within specs without a camber kit. So I was wondering if it would be an idea to replace the stock camber control arm, with a new or used one, thinking that the alignment problem is related to a crappy stock piece. Is this piece easily changeable, or a difficult ordeal?

...or should I just get a rear camber kit?

 
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It's easy to change with a stock one or a camber adjustable arm. Was your car in an accident or something?

 
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The g/f (her car) hit a pothole with the problem side. I don't know if that did any damage or not. She got the alignment done a few days later, just to check things out, and the Sears alignment guys said he could not get it into specs, and a camber kit is needed to get it there.

So, I was thinking that the pothole damaged the OEM camber control arm, and replacing it with another one might solve the problem. I figured alot of people are getting camber kits, so there should be alot of fairly new OEM ones available.

 
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the rear camber cant be changed on our car cause it isnt adjustable. Only on the front. Replacing it with another one wont do anything. It isnt adjustable. What you need to get is the adjustable ones, that way they can get your rear camber back within specs all the time.

Now sears will offer to get you one at there price, dont do it. You can get a full front and rear camber kit for around $150 on ebay, and some websites. Stick with SPC if you get one.

Now if you dont know what you are doing, then I would let a shop do it, but if you have mechanical knowledge and tools, it isnt that hard to do.

 
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Ahhhhhhh. I thought the rear was adjustable to an extent with the OEM ones. I don't really know much about 7th gen Civics. Thanks for filling me in!

 
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If its all stock and you can't get the camber right, chances are something is broken. I wouldn't put adjustable camber arms in there just because. I would get the whole rear corner looked at, making sure that niether the upper or lower arms or the trailing arm is bent. If its bent even the slightest bit, it'll throw it off.
On the other hand... I do have a set of stock upper control arms collecting dust in my garage.

 
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I think alot of us have those stock arms lying around in our garage.

Still though, I dont think anything is bent. I just think the camber got knocked out back there and it wont go back within specs.

 
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Well, if its not adjustable, and it can't go back into spec, what other explaination besides damage can you come up with for it being off?

 
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hitting that pothole. Just cause it cant go back into spec doesnt mean its damaged. On my old car, my camber was out in the rear and couldnt go back into specs and my rear control arm was fine. No damage whatsoever.

 
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If the camber is out and the car is basically OE there has to be something bent or it wouldnt be out of specs. I would have to agree with boilermaker to have it looked at by someone who knows how to diagnose bent parts. Or if you have some basic mechanical knowledge its as simple as using a tape measure to figure out whats bent. But on the other hand if you want an easy fix put a camber kit in it. But you may be able to fix it for less by replacing whats bent.

 
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If it used to be fine, and now its not, but its not damaged then what would you call it? An unfortunate shift of dimensions due to an impact force?
ITS NOT POSSIBLE. Something has to be wrong for it to get knocked out if it used to be ok. Things don't just magically shift on their own. The geometry got altered in some way that the angle of the wheel cannot be put back to where its supposed to be. It doesn't have to be the control arm itself. It could be anything back there. A bushing that tore, a bolt got bent, a bolt mounting location got shifted by it, who knows, theres lots of things that can shift around back there and cause a problem.

 
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the weakest part is the upper control arm. A strong enough force could bend it, the tabs on it, or destroy the bushing.

I say replace the control arms, or take them off, and examine them both for dimension changes.

Or simply go to a place that could tell for sure...

 
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so, in theory...

if something is bent, and I get the rear adjustable camber kit, and can get an in-spec alignment with it, should I be worried about anything?

 
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I have the same problem, and it is a good answer to know. Will the camber kit fix the problem without having to replace any OEM parts, or will it just delay the start of a cataclystic event that ends up costing a lot of money down the road?

Paul
__________________________________________________ ______
"stickers suck"-said a wise man

 
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I am still curious on that also.