Camber issues

[j602]

Well I finished putting on my 2" lift yesterday, which consisted of Skyjacker lift coils, Warrior 153's, and Pro Comp ES3000's (Which, by the way, are awesome). So I dropped it off the jackstands, and discovered my tires looked like this: \ /. I knew the camber was going to be off by a good amount but it didn't think it would be that bad. So I took it in to get it aligned today, figuring the shop could fix me right up. Wrong. They call me a couple hours later to say that my camber is off by more than 1 1/2, so all they could do was change the toe to ease up on tire wear. So I go pick up my truck and they put a note on the receipt that says, "Needs 3 - 4 degree camber, pulls when braking." Isn't 3 - 4 degrees a huge amount? So anyway, should I call Skyjacker to get the camber I need? Also, could I install it myself? (Me and my dad put the lift on.) Any help would be greatly appreciated, especially from people who have done this lift also. Thanks.

 

[jrgaylor]

I do my own alignment, the ranger station has a write up that you could read.
It really isn't that hard, I bought a angle finder and used that at first but now I just eyeball it and use a tape measure for the toe set.

 

[XplorerKid]

Hey Josh, while i was gethering parts for that lift, i went to Napa, they will have the Camber Adjusters or whateever they are called, im sorry the name has slipped my mind. But Go To Napa, if yall got one, and tell them what you need, and they have differnt degree's. Get that, and they and you should be set.

-Caleb

PS- Hows it look?

 

[j602]

Thanks for the info Caleb! I think I'll do that tomorrow. Anyway, It looks great! Well, except for the fact that my tires look like this \ /. Yeah me and my dad got the lift and shocks put on in about 4 or 5 hours, with no problems whatsoever. By the way, how come you decided not to do the 2" suspension and do a 3" body lift instead? Just curious. Anyway, thanks again! Later.

 

[XplorerKid]

Actually ive had teh 3" Body Lift for a while, i was gunan do the 2" on top of the 3" Body, but just decided against it. Now i wish i wouldnt have but oh well. I coulda really used it to fit these 33"s im prolly gunan try and get. Oh well out comes the Sawzall.

Reason i sold it, i want to go bigger eventually, and was gunna use the money i made selling it to goto that fund. But can you guess, i ended up havign to buy other stuff And i have no money really now, with my accident, and my truck gettign broke into.

I want soem pics man! I can also host them for you if you need me to.....

later

-Caleb

 

[j602]

Well you could always try to find some used spacers and shackles and throw those on to get a bit more clearance. So what kind of 33's you gettin? Anyway, I can't do pics for 2 reasons: 1. I don't have a digital camera and 2. I don't want to take pictures until I'm done, then I'll take pictures of the "finished product." Well, as finished as it's gonna be for the time being. I've got a couple more things to do, then i'll be done for the summer. But when I'm done, I will take PLENTY of pictures; you can be sure of that.

 

[XplorerKid]

A Dude in the 4x4 Club im a part of has some TSL Radials for sale i wanna get, he wants 400, im sure i could get him down to 300, and they have 90% tread left

 

[j602]

Man those would be sweet. Yeah $300 would be an awesome deal for those. Later.

 

[410Fortune]

UM if your camber is more than 2.75 degrees + you are in trouble,

For the 4x4 TTB axle 2.75 degrees is the max camber shim correction they make. Moog makes them, car quest.
Spicer also mkaes them but the Moog are a better design.

You will wear out those tires in NOTHING flat if you leave it the way it is.

You need less lift, or axle pivot drop brackets.

 

[Brandon1993Sport]

I had the EXACT same problem when I installed 1.5" coils and shackles on my '93 2wd. The tires looked just as you describe them. I got my tires from sears and they told me I HAD to get drop brackets. After looking around and not finding any I told them to do as best they could without the brackets. They used the max degree shims and got the camber almost within specs and I knew the coils would settle a little. They also told me to bring it in to get the tires rotated every 3k miles instead of 5k. It ended up working fine, the springs settled within a few months and it came into specs and the tires lasted 4 years even with my bad driving. Your radius arm bushings WILL bust though with all that added pressure on them from the springs so be ready to replace em. My advice would be don't bother with the brackets, just get the allignment as close as possible with shims, and rotate the tires more often. The springs will settle and be fine. Good luck

 

[j602]

UM if your camber is more than 2.75 degrees + you are in trouble,

For the 4x4 TTB axle 2.75 degrees is the max camber shim correction they make. Moog makes them, car quest.
Spicer also mkaes them but the Moog are a better design.

You will wear out those tires in NOTHING flat if you leave it the way it is.

You need less lift, or axle pivot drop brackets.

Well I'm 2wd, am I still screwed? I mean, all I did was a standard 2" lift, which I've seen tons of people do. Why were my results so different?
EDIT: Also, do you know how much the MOOG camber shims are?

 

[j602]

Thanks for the info Brandon, I'll guess I'll try something like that and see how it comes out. I'm 2wd too so I guess that's just what happens. Have you replaced your bushings yet? If so, how hard was it?

 

[AlaskanJack]

hmm I am finding this interesting since I have added 1.5" skyjacker lift coils to my Ex and f150 coil spacers and I still have my stock camber bushings in. Now I need to get it aligned but my driveway alignment was ok I guess actually I have enough adjustment to get my camber looking like this / \ sort of.

can someone get me the link to the ranger station alignment info

 

[jrgaylor]

Link to the ranger station alignment page,
Once you understand the principle of how the alignment is adjusted it is a piece of cake to set up, My explorer drives better now than what it did after I had schwabs do the alignment when I first got it,I just added f150 spacer and they wanted almost $300 so I did it myself using the stock bushings and it came out great.

 

[AlaskanJack]

hmm after reading that I am wondering if my camber is within specs but my caster is off. I am now looking for one of those angle finders. Thanks

 

[j602]

Ok I'm about to order some MOOG camber shims from Rockauto.com. The shop told me I needed 3 - 4 degree. The biggest they go is 3 1/2. Should I get 3 or 3 1/2 or both and just let the shop use the correct ones?

 

[410Fortune]

Is this a 2wd or 4wd truck?

Moog only makes up to a 2.75 degree shim for a 4x4 ttb truck, TRUST me on this.
The same shim (2.75 degree) for the 4x4 is a 3.5 for a 2wd.

If your camber is 3+ degrees out, and its a 4x4, sorry but no shim is going to align it, I have been there....

2.75 degrees is the max correction shim, available for a 4x4 from anybody.
Moog shims are the best.

 

[j602]

2wd. I said that in answer to your post a while back. But I have checked and they make them up to 3 1/2 for 2wd AND 4wd. Camber shims.

 

[410Fortune]

OKay dont go against me on this. Like I said the shim will say 3.5 degrees on the side, when installed in a 2wd that is true, When installed in a 4x4 it is a 2.75 correction. BELIEVE ME I KNOW BETTER then your shop does, all they know is what the computer tells them. I wrote the book on camber shim adjusters and the TTB...if you would like I can find the link, I went through the same process as you years ago and did all the leg work, research, even schooled a few alignment shops on TTB alignment along the way. I ended up building an entire new front custom set of beams to go bigger on my truck and I have stock shims with perfect alignment.

You are in luck however since your truck is a 2wd you can get your camber in check with those shims! So thats good news...

 

[j602]

Believe me, I don't doubt your knowledge of alignment/suspensions/camber at all. I've seen your truck, and read your stuff on the boards, and I know you know what you're doing. All I'm telling you is what Rockauto.com has on their website. That's all. But yes, it is a good thing that my truck's 2wd so I can get it back into spec. It seems to me that this extreme camber throwoff seems to be a problem only in 2wd trucks. Who knows. Anyway, so if the shop told me 3 - 4 degree, should I go with the 3, the 3.5, or both?