Alignment issues

[AlilDirtnvrhurts]

I need some advice from someone knowledgeable with suspension and alignment. So I took the ex to get aligned but the shop said they had to order a caster camber kit and when it was all said and done it would cost me like 350 bux, so to save some money I figured I could order the parts and install them myself and then I'll only have to pay the 80$ alignment. I want to make sure that I order the right stuff so I was hoping to get some advice as to what I need. I think I need half a degree negative on one side and 2 1/2 degree positive for the other to get me in the ballpark, someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[donalds]

People here tend to lean toward the moog
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...,alignment+caster+/+camber+cam+bolt+kit,13512

I'm not sure if you have a v6 or a v8

 

[Mr. Alligator]

How about trying a second opinion on the alignment? Maybe the caster/camber kit is not needed?

Good luck.

 

[AlilDirtnvrhurts]

Much easier said than done Saturdays are my only free day and this is basically the only shop in the area open Saturdays that doesn't devote them to large trucks, I wonder if a good alignment tech could tell me over the phone though? Worth a shot

 

[Mr. Alligator]

I have heard some shops need this. I have heard that some shops do the work without this. I have almost 500k miles, do not have a caster camber kit, and have never been told it was necessary. Just a thought, but I do understand that time and scheduling can be tough.

Good luck.

 

[AlilDirtnvrhurts]

Thanks man, I've been through the wringer with my front end, I've taken it for an alignment and got ripped off because they tried to charge me for an alignment that they never performed, didn't even install the grease zerks on the ball joints, then another shop installs tires without balancing them all, and then my front gets smashed in and now my new tires with barely 2000 miles on them are cupped pretty bad, bad enough that I've rotated them once already. Don't know if that was a good idea or bad since now all 4 tires are cupped. How can one man have such bad luck with 3 different shops? 2 of them are reputable establishments and the third one over charges. If only I had the time to work on it myself, as a mechanic I absolutely hate taking my cars to a shop, you get kinda spoiled financially when you do your own work and then everything else seems like a rip off. But I digress, we'll get through it eventually.

 

[koda2000]

I have heard some shops need this. I have heard that some shops do the work without this. I have almost 500k miles, do not have a caster camber kit, and have never been told it was necessary. Just a thought, but I do understand that time and scheduling can be tough.

Good luck.

I agree. I've never needed a caster/camber kit to align any of my 6-7 Explorer's or Mountaineers. The one time someone installed a kit on my daughter's Mountaineer ruined her front tires in short order because the bolts would not stay tight. My regular alignment guy has never found it necessary to install a C/C kit. I think the only time one might me required is after an accident that damages the front end.

 

[AlilDirtnvrhurts]

The one time someone installed a kit on my daughter's Mountaineer ruined her front tires in short order because the bolts would not stay tight.

The accident was purely cosmetic but I thank you for this information, it seems that I need to find a different shop after all.

 

[koda2000]

The accident was purely cosmetic but I thank you for this information, it seems that I need to find a different shop after all.

I good alignment tech at an honest shop will tell you if he believes you need a C/C kit, but not before he actually tries to align you wheels w/out it.

 

[AlilDirtnvrhurts]

I good alignment tech at an honest shop will tell you if he believes you need a C/C kit, but not before he actually tries to align you wheels w/out it.

Sounds like they were trying to get a payday from my accident, it does look pretty bad but it isn't. Thanks again.

 

[toypaseo]

I good alignment tech at an honest shop will tell you if he believes you need a C/C kit, but not before he actually tries to align you wheels w/out it.

My local mechanic did exactly this. I trust him. I've used him for over 20 years. He wouldn't have "tried" to align it, and had me come back so he could install a camber kit. He's busy enough, so that would just be wasting his own time to get that little of labor money.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

I don't see how you'd need the camber bolt kit? In theory a slight adjustment of the torsion bars would correct the camber issues. It did on my 2000 where someone lowered it I believe in the front. I would believe though that they should try aligning it before telling you what you need, who says they can't align it? If they haven't tried, they can't claim they can't align it IMO. I'd bet it can be aligned and I'd get a second opinion. I run a driveway alignment on my 2000, and it's doing great and drives great, wears the tires level and drives just like my machine aligned truck.

 

[donalds]

I didn't Need the kit there is a little bit adjustment with the factory cams a LITTLE

https://www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php?attachments/20180618_082740-jpg.160176/

Here is a pic of mine with the factory cams

 

[koda2000]

My alignment tech lets me watch and ask questions as he works. He always shows me that he gets my vehicles w/in OE specs and has never needed C/C kits. It's not a super busy shop, just a local shop in a small town.

 

[donalds]

Lol he lets me bug him too and ask
It pays to live in a small town
I had this confusion with the numbers to and thought I needed a kit but as you said there is zeroed and then factory spec

 

[koda2000]

Lol he lets me bug him too and ask
It pays to live in a small town
I had this confusion with the numbers to and thought I needed a kit but as you said there is zeroed and then factory spec

Yes it does pay to live in a small town. You find people you know and trust and deal with the same people year after year. I can see why a busy shop would just throw in the C/C kits w/out even checking to see if they're needed, but I don't like spending money unnecessarily and based on my experience with the C/C kit bolts loosening up multiple times on my daughter's Monty I don't trust them to hold the alignment.

 

[donalds]

When I asked him he loosened the bolts and showed me the like 4 degrees of movement then pulled the upper c arm towed him which spun the factory cams rather fast then he tightened everything up showed me on the screen that he ran out of adjustment

When I got home I tightened them bolts real good lol

 

[AlilDirtnvrhurts]

I think I'm going to get a camber tooltand try it myself, I'm kind of kicking myself for switching to the one piece control arm because my caster is off on that side and I can tell that if I fix my camber it will throw my caster off worse, maybe they weren't lying after all