white rear beam shims

[F3BZ]

not much in demand but at least 1 person asked about these in 10 years. hard to find new. available from japan through AMAYAMA. about $3.5o ea. or you can make your own from 3mm thick hard plastic.

[Hot_Wheels]

I was looking for them.

[nitrofarm]

Just curious if they are marked with degree's on them,or are they just a spacer?

[Pu241]

not much in demand but at least 1 person asked about these in 10 years. hard to find new. available from japan through AMAYAMA. about $3.5o ea. or you can make your own from 3mm thick hard plastic.

What kind of "hard plastic"?

[Festy46]

I use the ones from Rockauto like this:

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=204259&cc=1128215

[F3BZ]

no degree or any other markings. almost impossible to bend by hand so must be some tough plastic. nobodys probably ever seen one that wore out or broke. i don't even know what they're for. speculating anti-friction? noise suppression? rear alignment?

[Festy46]

They are for alignment. The shims are thick on one edge and thin on the other. If you needed toe in or out, you would rotate the shim so that the thick part was either facing forward or back depending on what kind of toe you needed. Likewise, if you needed positive or negative camber, you would put the thick part either at the top or bottom depending on what you needed. You have to cut notches in the shim to fit over the spindle mounting bolts. I have found an angle grinder works best. If you try to use a pair of side cutters, you can mess them up. The shims are available in different degree sizes. The more degrees the shim is, the bigger the difference from the thick to thin side.

[Pu241]

I disagree on the alignment.
These are located on the pivot point of the trailing arm.
Not behind the drum.
Can't see how they could be used for wheel alignment.

[F3BZ]

i have to say also that these washers are uniform thickness all around. the only alignment for the rear beam is to center it for accurate tracking and you do this by loosening the body brackets and shifting the whole beam left or right. maybe festy46 is referring to those blue moog alignment shims that are always on ebay. i always wondered what they might be for.

[nitrofarm]

i have to say also that these washers are uniform thickness all around. the only alignment for the rear beam is to center it for accurate tracking and you do this by loosening the body brackets and shifting the whole beam left or right. maybe festy46 is referring to those blue moog alignment shims that are always on ebay. i always wondered what they might be for.

How much movement are we able to get side to side? I just noticed my shock is much closer to the bottom mount on one side. Maybe I need to shift my Rear Beam over.......?

[Pu241]

How much movement are we able to get side to side? I just noticed my shock is much closer to the bottom mount on one side. Maybe I need to shift my Rear Beam over.......?

That is what I've seen on every Festiva I've bothered to look at.
Just think that's how they are built.

[F3BZ]

according to the shop manual, and this can be a frustrating PIA, you have to make a mark in the exact center of the underbody between the left and right inboard bracket mounting bolts. then measure from that mark to the center of the lower strut mounting bolts. it should be within 0.2". i don't know if you can even see the center of the strut mounting bolt once it's installed through the strut bushing and into the beam. presumably it should be just as effective to use the center of the strut lower bushing eye or maybe even just the strut bolt head. don't know what drivability issues you'd have if the alignment was way off but this is something that is probably overlooked or not even thought of when swapping in an aspire beam or just reinstalling the festiva beam/brackets.

[Pu241]

So does this mean there is some means of "recentering" the rear beam, so we don't observe the difference between left and right sides?

[ryanprins13]

according to the shop manual, and this can be a frustrating PIA, you have to make a mark in the exact center of the underbody between the left and right inboard bracket mounting bolts. then measure from that mark to the center of the lower strut mounting bolts. it should be within 0.2". i don't know if you can even see the center of the strut mounting bolt once it's installed through the strut bushing and into the beam. presumably it should be just as effective to use the center of the strut lower bushing eye or maybe even just the strut bolt head. don't know what drivability issues you'd have if the alignment was way off but this is something that is probably overlooked or not even thought of when swapping in an aspire beam or just reinstalling the festiva beam/brackets.

There is nothing already marked in the centre there? Has anyone done this or found an easier/better way to make sure the rear axle is on straight?

[nitrofarm]

Mine is waaaay out of wack but I drove it over a 6" curb. The chassis is junk. So I havent bothered with it. I have a new car I'm building. But you could easily use plumb bobs to get it close. .200" shouldn't be that hard to obtain.