Alignment Solution

[birdman]

Well my explorer has chewed up 2 sets of tires and is working on a 3rd so I called Ford today and actually found somone who knew what they were talking about. Explorers don't come from the factory with camber adjusters.... I don't know why this is or if this is common with other cars but it sucks. This is why every stock explorer you see driving around has their tires looking like this: / \ That wears the hell out of the inside. How lame. Anyways it's $215 for the camber kit from ford and I didn't ask about install. Wish I found a write up on this years ago.

 

[Rhett]

Explorers don't come from the factory with camber adjusters....

1st gens did come from the factory with camber adjusters I think...2nd gens must not have. Anyone else know for sure?

And here's little tip from an alignment place...ask your alignment guy about the possibility of putting a washer or two *under* the coil springs, and THEN aligning it. Sometimes the springs sag just a tiny bit over time, and it makes it very difficult to align the front end. Or, the balljoints wear and settle, and replacing the springs won't help with the camber problem. This was/is especially true with the TTB (1st gen) trucks but it might help you, too.

 

[birdman]

Yes you're right, I just meant for 2nd gens. Not sure about 1st or 3rd but this must be a problem for a lot of people. Can't believe none of the mechanics I took it to never suggested the adjusters, little mad right now.

 

[Robb]

Yep, 2nd Gen didn't come with adjustable camber shims. But they are easy and cheap to come by in the aftermarket world........$215 for them is a joke.

edit: and birdman, you have been on EF for three years now, and never searched for posts about alignments?

 

[410Fortune]

this has been covered about 40 times I think, but I have always just read and thought, man gen II's have some issues, now that I own one I see / \ hahaha
torsion bars have sagged!

 

[birdman]

guys that's why I'm so pissed, I searched for this 3 years ago, look at the posts, most of the informative ones are dated 2004. Also, I did take this thing to ford like 4 times over that issue and they never put in the camber adjusters even though I told them about the posts here. That's just messed up. I will never get my car worked on again without thoroughly researching it on this site. I hate car repair people, they're all the same.

 

[410Fortune]

Yes they are the same, except maybe 2% of the honest ones who actually have a clue.
You know your camber is off because your torsion bars are getting old and you may be able to correct the camber by twisint the torsio bars for a little lift, has anyone tried this?

Ford wants you to buy their $215 adjusters and pay their $80/hr shop rate to fix this, if your service advisor or tech was NICE they would have mentioned the adjusters and referenced you to a local alignment shop.

My alignment guy still uses a tape measure, he's the only 1 I trust, lazers shmazers I say.

 

[birdman]

410, in the last few days I've read some post where people fixed it by lifting it. I plan to do this as well, I want this fixed for sure.

 

[jimbo74]

at parts places the adjsuters for both sides are less than $50

at wholesale prices if you know someone that is a seller, they cost $12 ... i used to work @ a shop that does alignments and was sent to go pick them up from the local parts house.....

 

[MONMIX]

I hate car repair people, they're all the same.

woah hey!! easy there man easy !!!!!!!!!

 

[KPT]

I thought the whole point of the two piece upper control arm on the right side was to make it possible to adjust camber??

But anyway yeah thats way too much. I got Moog adjustable cams/wedges, they were around $15 for each side.

 

[ExplorerDMB]

I heard that Ford make kind of a "two-piece" upper control that only they were suppose to mess with. So if you needed an alignment, they said you could only go to them for one. Well, then they found out that mechanics were messing with them anyway - so they went back to the normal control arms (like whats on my '00). Some Chevrolet Suburbans and Tahoes don't come with adjustments. But there is a metal piece you have to punch out which then accepts an adjustment tool. Just a little "noise" I heard around the shop one day.

-Drew

 

[jimbo74]

its not even metal, its a plastic sleeve....

 

[birdman]

Just called firestone for the hell of it and they want $100 a side installed which is still better than ford's and the work will be warrantied so I might just go there, I know nothing about putting in camber adjusters or I'd do it myself.

 

[Rhett]

410, in the last few days I've read some post where people fixed it by lifting it.

That's about what my alignment guy said, that in many cases (on a TTB truck, at least) you can put a spacer under the front coils (lifting it a little) and it will just about solve all the problems. My truck is aligned that way, and it's pretty straight.