before I take it to the alignment shop: causes of bad negative camber?

96 RMW, stock except for Bilstein shocks (box-9C1 type) all around.

When I removed the RF wheel to look at a brake problem recently, I found that the inner edge of the tire was badly worn.

Now that I know to look for it, and having temporarily put on an older identical tire on a flat-faced Custom Cruiser wheel, I can clearly see the negative camber.

Now before I take it to the tire/alignment shop and say "fix this" without any clue: What can cause distinctive (but not overly obvious) negative camber like this, other than something seriously bent? Is the camber adjusted with shims that could fall off?

I don't remember if I paid for a "lifetime" alignment when I had them align it on the occasion of buying these tires, but if I did and it hasn't expired for some other fine-print reason, the reason for the negative camber might well affect what part of this I end up paying for. (Though even if it's clearly something that should be covered, I'll still be paying for the tire since it might have been discovered earlier if I regularly took it in for overpriced tire rotation that no doubt is required for the lifetime alignment.)

TIA.

Things that will cause negative camber,.

sagged springs, bad ball joints,.bad tierod(s)

sometimes toe out due to worn parts gives th appearance of negative camber,.

Nick

I would check first to see if the shims are still in place!If they are gone then your alignment guy clearly didnt tighten
the front and rear shim nuts down.I would go looking for the paperwork because someone screwed up.If the place that
did your alignment is honest they will still have you on their computer.If the shims are there then its a worn part and
they should have checked your front end prior to doing the alignment.It boils down to how much time has passed and how many miles have been driven since your alignment was done and the warranty.
Jim

Thanks.
I'll need to look it up, but since it was some time after our last house move, it's been somewhere between 2 and 3.5 years. So, probably quite a few miles. (Those tires sure do look aged considering the short time - the identical set I took the temporary wheel/tire from is at least 7 years old and has no more cracks etc.)

So I'm not exactly looking to blame them (unless it's an obvious mistake like loose shims), since all sorts of damage could have occurred since then.
And I assume it hasn't been like that too long. The inner edge of the tire is just starting to get to the belt in a place or two - once the camber is there, it doesn't take all that many miles to wear to that point, does it?

I'm more worried about getting a response of "every single joint is loose and must be replaced" (even if it's incompetence rather than dishonesty) and want to have enough of a clue to respond reasonably.

If that much time/miles has passed,its more than likely a worn part.I would still check to see if the
shims are there.Dont know how much you drive but a lot of time has passed since your last alignment.
Best of Luck
Jim

Are the shims (potentially) used at the upper, lower, or both control arms?

You can see them from under the hood opposite your exhaust manifolds and on top of the frame.
Do you have any manuals besides your owners manual?
Jim

I do have the FSM. For some reason it never occurred to me to RTFM on this topic.

It may help you find the spot I mentioned.
Jim

You can get a camber gauge on ebay for around $100 (or less used). They come with a magnetic adapter, and you can measure your camber on any level parking lot in about 20 minutes.