Excesive front wheel camber

[Buurman]

Hi, my 91 explorer has a 4" skyjacker lift and the front wheels have a mean and uneven negative camber /..\ I am not a 100 % sure what causes this but asume its the cuase of screwy coil springs , the camber shims(nuts?) are at full adjustment and the camber is still quite heavy. I have purchased some bigger wheels but would obviously like to sort this camber issue and alignment first.

If new coils could help me here then what am i lookin for, lenght, spring rate and all that? And could i use a different ford models coils? F150 for instance?

Any help would be much apreciated!

 

[corkey]

did you put the 4 inch lift springs on too ?
that could be the first problem ,you don't use stock springs with a 4 inch lift,

 

[Buurman]

Jip, the lift was done before I owned it but it seems to have been done right, ie. all droped and lenghtened brackets and arms, I'Ts in rough shape though and i think its been there a while! But the coils are definately aftermarket and longer.

 

[Buurman]

The fact that the camber is so uneven leads me to believe that the coils are done, but i am unfamiliar with this kind of stuff, learning though!

 

[Buurman]

I have done balljoints and radius arm bushings, So basicaly I am still wondering if anything else than coils could cause this camber?

 

[Suicide77]

I would agree that lax coils would cause your tires to /..\ camber like that. You could either get new coils or just weld up a few washers to use as spacers under the coils. In the thread in my signature (page 8) that's what I ended up doing. Fixed the problem.

 

[jd4242]

Throw a set of f150 seats in it.

 

[alfilrey]

I had that problem, and simply corrected with coil springs to lift 5 ", my lift is 4".

 

[Buurman]

Thanks everyone, I'm gona go with new coils so at least i will know i'm starting on a even base. Any sugestions on what brand to go for? What did u use alfilrey?

 

[4x4junkie]

Skyjacker's 6" coils (pt# 136) usually work quite well on heavier trucks with a 4" bracket set (4-door Ex, Ranger Supercab).

I have those coils on my Ranger w/winch bumper (sits about 4.5" lift)

 

[Naasau]

x2 on the skyjacker 6" coils. That's what I have on my X and the front is stable now at 5".

Just be prepared, the springs don't drop right into that height, my truck was rolling bad positive camber, \___/ , and prerunner style up front for a couple of days while the springs settled in. I ended up doing my own alignment several times as it changed, and finally got a pro one after about three weeks or so.

 

[Buurman]

Seems like everywhere i go tells me that they can backorder the skyjacker coils but it will take a couple of weeks! My local off road shop has some BDS coils for me though, 4" or 6" lift, i am concerned that the 6" will be to much and look odd? The rest of my kit is 4" skyjacker. Guess i could do the 4" coils and just space them if necesary.
Anyone with BDS experience?

 

[Buurman]

Ok, did a bit of research, seems the BdS coils that fit where designed for the bronco II and 83-97 ranger, both vehicles a fair bit lighter than a 1st gen explorer. Guess I will go for the 6" lift spring after all.

 

[Buurman]

I chickened out and bought the 4" lift BDS coils. So we'll see.

 

[alfilrey]

coil spring 4"#lift 4"? I did not like that configuration for my X, my lift is RC, with springs Procomp 5", 4" bump stop, better comfort when driving in rough area.

 

[Buurman]

So the bds 4" lift coils ride feels ok,but gives about 4"! Thats good in theory but now the rear(with add a leaf) seems way to low, so i add another, pro comp set (it seems tiny), its still up in the air but tomorrow will tell if it did anything. I am doubtfull.

How the hell do i get fotos on here! Pls make it easier.

 

[Buurman]

And in the meantime i had to swap axels cause my pinion bearing went and i have no experience in fixin that tipe of thing. So i did a swap. Hope it works! All goin up at once tomorrow, another add a leaf, new(2nd hand) axle, 33's , wheels redone, shocks redone, cancer cut out, new brake lines done, dam i hope im did the axle swap right!