2001 Explorer Sport 2wd Lift with alignment problem

[OneBadExpSport]

I need to upgrade my front lift which is currently lifted using the torsion bars which has caused me many problems. I'm thinking about upgrading to a spindle lift but am not sure which brand and type to use. Secondly I'm not even sure it will fix my problem.

A while back offroading, I ran into dirt mound which ended up being a boulder covered with a lot of dirt. This pushed my entire front end toward the back of the wheelwell. I barely made it home driving back only being able to turn the steering wheel 90 degrees in both directions.

I took it to a body shop to repair it and after the $500 repair, the front alignment was extremely off--about this bad. // \\ The tires wore out really quickly on the insides until I had a cam adjuster kit installed. However it is still pretty bad and my inside treads are all worn out.

My question is would a spindle lift kit in the front help to alleviate this problem? Or should i have it fixed up by a body shop? Thanks

 

[Dan Whitaker]

No, a spindle lift is not going to correct your problem. If it can not be aligned now it can't be aligned with the spindle lift.

What all did the body shop do? I suspect you have damage to the frame.

 

[OneBadExpSport]

The body shop pulled the front end back, how they did it I do not know. They said they had to take off a lot of parts and heat up the frame to pull it back. I'm guessing that the natural outward force ( // \\ )from torqueing the Torsion bars pushed it outward even more when the frame was heated.

I can reduce the torque on the torsion bar but then my tires would rub. I was thinking about getting the spindle lift so that i can loosen the torsion bars as much as possible to get the wheels closer to proper alignment. My other option is to take it to a body shop to see what they can do about it. What do you think?

 

[churd69]

maybe you should try replacing the tires. If you got the alignment issue fixed and still have the tires with the bad thread this will be a problem. If you did this I would take it to a body shop that has a machine to straighten the frame.

-Rich

 

[Dan Whitaker]

It is posible that either the upper or lower A-Arms could be bent. It could be the A-Arm busings were damaged. It could be the A-Arm mounts on the frame were bent. Did the body shop check the rear torsion bar mounts to see if the were damaged?

Your drawing ( // \\ ) shows severe toe in. Have you checked for damaged inner & outer tie rod ends? The spinldes could be bent as well.

You need to have a well qualified alignment shop check every part of the front suspension to determine what is causing to problem.