JPQuattro

Question for all of you who have delt with aligning the front camber of your A6. The 99 A6 I have recently purchased has severe negitive camber on the front drivers wheel, you can see the wheel is "caved" in. This car has stock springs & struts and I have just completed replacing all 4 upper & lower control arms which did not change the camber. I think a previous accident on the same side of the car may have knocked the subframe out of adj?

I do not see a negitive camber adjustment on this car so I went to the forums and found that the Audi Dealer has to align the subframe to adjust camber? This sounds kind of crazy and I am sure Audi will rope me crazy $'s. I see you can buy after market adjustable upper control arms. Has anyone tried these and do they have a wide range of adjustment?

Thx - JP

GTA_Driver

What you can do is unbolt the subframe and move it around, but I couldn't do that on the rear of my C5. The rear subframe I not adjustable.

In any case, my alignment was solved.

Is your one wheel sticking out further than the other side? First thing, get computerized, laser measurements by a professional body shop. You need to know what is wrong. Compensating a crooked or damaged subframe with adjustable control arms is just masking the problem.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Look underneath the car and check the alignment holes in the subframe...they're about 3/4" in diameter and there are three of them that should be aligned perfectly...I happened to have to unbolt the RHS on my 2K4.2A6 to remove an engine mount to get to the oil cooler casting among other things and used a deep impact socket to line them up again.

If they're lined up, fine, then you go to a good alignment shop.

JPQuattro

Interesting info, thanks guys. I think the other side looks good. It maybe sitting out slightly but no camber issue's with it. I am wondering if the subframe adj will allow enough to push out the amount needed to offset the neg camber it is off on the drivers side.
I cringe at bringing it to the Audi dealer to align. All I can think is the list of other stuff they will want to fix to do an alignment even though the rest of the suspension is in good shape. I'll give the subframe adj a shot first.

4Driver4

I'd probably try replacing the upright if the camber on the opposite side is close to good. If there is old damage, the upright might be bent.

ChrisRoser

Does anyone have the procedure for aligning the front subframe.
Had to replace due to rust damage.
Thanks

GTA_Driver

I would assume you'd want to be at an alignment shop when fiddling with the subframe.