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I just replaced the struts on my vehicle from a pair I brought from the junkyard and went in for an alignment, the shop then told me that my left wheel has 2"30 degrees of camber and the only way to fix this issue is by "opening" (translated from arabic) the strut, not quite sure what that means. Now I have had the exact same issue with the old struts before and the camber was fixed by doing that. They also told me at first that they thought the issue was with the used struts but after remembering that the car had the same issue with the old struts the problem seem to be with the car itself.

Now my questions are, what is causing this excessive camber on the left wheel? Is the only way to fix it is by "opening" the strut? and what exactly is that?

The vehicle in question is a 06 Chevorlet Aveo with a single control arm type suspension

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  • Has the car ever been in an accident?
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Jun 17, 2017 at 11:25
  • No but I have hit a speed bump (they use them here instead of traffic lights) at a very high speed
    – method
    Jun 17, 2017 at 11:34
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    I don't think a speed bump (even at high speed) would cause frame damage like I was wondering about. If there was body/frame damage at the mounting point, it could cause the issue you're talking about. Other than that, it could be there was an issue straight from the factory which is causing the inconsistency. I think the only real way to fix it is to take it to a frame shop where they could straighten things out, but really, if you can do as vini_i suggests, it's your best way to go. I have no clue what "opening" it means, either.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Jun 17, 2017 at 11:39
  • Why would not a speed bump do that (just curious) here speed bumps are not your regular ones they are made out of asphalt and are usually very big most of the time
    – method
    Jun 17, 2017 at 12:00
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    Two things come to mind: 1) Unless you hit it off center (one side and not the other), the same thing would happen to both sides of the car. 2) The suspension, meaning the springs/shocks, will and can take the abuse. Something like this may mess up the alignment itself, but it usually won't mess up how much adjustment you can achieve on a vehicle. I'm not saying it didn't happen via the speed bump, I'm saying it's highly unlikely. As an aside, don't believe for a second you're the only one with speed mountains you have to overcome ... their everywhere, lol! :o)
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Jun 17, 2017 at 12:21

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I have no idea what "opening" the strut means.

In your vehicle the strut mounts to the knuckle with two big bolts. When these bolts are loose there is some wiggle room. This wiggle room is how camber is adjusted in your car.

If the wiggle room is not enough (assuming nothing is damaged) you have two options. The bolt holes can be oblonged by grinding. This will give you more wiggle room. The other option (better option) is to get a special bolt that has a built in eccentric. This gives more adjustment and allows the adjustment to be more easily controlled. You will have to figure out what bolts are available for your car. enter image description here

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  • I believe that what it exactly they mean by opening the strut is grinding the holes cause I remember them doing that, I don't think I will easily find those bolts here in my country unfortunately. Just one final question as long as the camber is within the spec I don't think this damages the alignment in any other way, am I right?
    – method
    Jun 17, 2017 at 11:57
  • @method You are correct.
    – vini_i
    Jun 17, 2017 at 12:02

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