Any vehicle alignment gurus out there?

[blacksunshine]

I have a 2009 F150 super crew, put a 2.5" front leveling kit on it a few years back along with a set off 33" tires from a set of 31" tires. Had it aligned at the time and was told it will pull to the right a bit because from the factory they did not put enough adjustment range to counter that and with the bigger tires it would be exaggerated. Said I needed some caster/camber kit deal but they couldn't get one...

I lived with it for a whole and almost three years later I can see the passenger front tire's outer shoulder is wearing down to almost nothing, looked for said kit and found SPC 86250

Question is do I need to do both sides with the kit or just the passenger side or was the original alignment guy full of fecal matter?

[The Insurance Guy]

I had an 07 f150 with the leveling kit and tires and never had to do that. I did have to get it aligned and that was it. I am no expert and have no idea if the 2 years makes a difference.

[blacksunshine]

I am sure it need another alignment but it always pulled to the right anyway...come to think of not, I think I had it aligned after the leveling kit and it wasn't till I out the lager tires on and had it aligned at the same time that the put of whackness became so prominent

Here is the dealio I was talking about

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79e1xQgmIww"]86250 - F150 Camber / Caster Adjustment - Specialty Products Company - YouTube[/ame]

[buzzberry]

put a caster/camber kit on both sides

[blacksunshine]

[ATTACH]477619[/ATTACH]

[dropem]

put a caster/camber kit on both sides

Any auto parts store sells these and usually has them in stock.

[AJMag]

honestly you dont need them if you can find an alignment guy who isnt a lazy picky jerk. if it were the upper arm that adjusts its a must, but those adjust from the lower arm so all the need is a good pry bar. if its been that long though, theres a good chance you may have ball joints or something getting loose. I'll add that i did alignments for 8 years and never once did i put those cam kits in an 04 or newer unless the customer specifically asked for it. Posted from Texasbowhunter.com App for Android

[blacksunshine]

honestly you dont need them if you can find an alignment guy who isnt a lazy picky jerk. if it were the upper arm that adjusts its a must, but those adjust from the lower arm so all the need is a good pry bar. if its been that long though, theres a good chance you may have ball joints or something getting loose. I'll add that i did alignments for 8 years and never once did i put those cam kits in an 04 or newer unless the customer specifically asked for it. Posted from Texasbowhunter.com App for Android

what I am trying to comprehend is it looks to me like the travel area doesn't change, this just gives the ability to adjust at the nut itself as oppose to, as you stated, with a pry bar.....the hole the bolt is in doesn't change.....right?

[AJMag]

no the hole doesnt change. it's elongated. from the factory there's a metal washer-looking tab that keeps the bolt/control arm from shifting. once that tab is removed the arm is free to be moved. the cam kit only makes it a little easier and more acccurate to adjust. if theres still not enough room to correct the issues then it's a ride height issue between the two sides. generally though, after leveling the caster drops when making camber line up. but camber is more important for tire wear and usually you can get the half degree caster difference to corrext road crown pull. sorry i can ramble on about automotive stuff.


Posted from Texasbowhunter.com App for Android

[Black Ice]

I have no idea what I'm talking about but I have an 8 inch lift and I had alignment issues. I took it to a regular alignment shop/ auto place and they aligned it. I was still having problems after this so I took it to an offroad shop and they said they axle need to be rotated either forwards or backwards(can't remember) because of the lift and tires. They said when aligning a truck with a lift and bigger tires you can't put in the regular specs for the vehicle. They said they see it a lot.

[blacksunshine]

I have no idea what I'm talking about but I have an 8 inch lift and I had alignment issues. I took it to a regular alignment shop/ auto place and they aligned it. I was still having problems after this so I took it to an offroad shop and they said they axle need to be rotated either forwards or backwards(can't remember) because of the lift and tires. They said when aligning a truck with a lift and bigger tires you can't put in the regular specs for the vehicle. They said they see it a lot.

ahh...that makes sense....they are trying to cram a round block in a square hole...not going to work.....ie, trying to use stocker geometry target points based off of a vehicle then input into that fancy triangle checkerboard reflector dealio and so most likely, even when it would be aligned properly, that computer dealio would think it's out of whack based on the stock geometry....that makes sense....yes AJ?

[Black Ice]

ahh...that makes sense....they are trying to cram a round block in a square hole...not going to work.....ie, trying to use stocker geometry target points based off of a vehicle then input into that fancy triangle checkerboard reflector dealio and so most likely, even when it would be aligned properly, that computer dealio would think it's out of whack based on the stock geometry....that makes sense....yes AJ?

Yeah!! What he said. All I know is there is this little dial looking thingy with numbers and an arrow. You rotate the axle further one way than what the factory settings and little fancy machine thingy says. Isn't there a mechanically inclined thread somewhere cause I'm staying the heck out of it

[AJMag]

Yup, when you've altered the stock ride height with a lift, leveling kit, whatever... the specs will end up being changed. That's pretty much what I said before about having to lower caster (what determines the direction of pull) in order for camber (the straight up and down of the wheel looking from the front or rear, this is one angle that wears the inside or outside edge) to be right. I can go in and change all those measurements so that the machine would tell me how to adjust it to make it all look right in the eyes of the machine.

Rotating an axle is a double edged sword. That can only happen on trucks like Dodge 4x4's with a solid front axle. Camber isn't typically adjusted so it's a caster only thing. The catch is, twisting it to adjust the caster helps make it show up "good" to the machine and on paper to the customer, but changes the geometry of the front drive shaft angle which can cause issues when driving in 4 wheel, granted not typically done for long (sever enough and it could break a u joint).

In short, it helps to trust the alignment guys when you have a modified suspension. But you have to have an alignment guy that knows what he's doing in the first place.

[Black Ice]

Yup, when you've altered the stock ride height with a lift, leveling kit, whatever... the specs will end up being changed. That's pretty much what I said before about having to lower caster (what determines the direction of pull) in order for camber (the straight up and down of the wheel looking from the front or rear, this is one angle that wears the inside or outside edge) to be right. I can go in and change all those measurements so that the machine would tell me how to adjust it to make it all look right in the eyes of the machine.

Rotating an axle is a double edged sword. That can only happen on trucks like Dodge 4x4's with a solid front axle. Camber isn't typically adjusted so it's a caster only thing. The catch is, twisting it to adjust the caster helps make it show up "good" to the machine and on paper to the customer, but changes the geometry of the front drive shaft angle which can cause issues when driving in 4 wheel, granted not typically done for long (sever enough and it could break a u joint).

In short, it helps to trust the alignment guys when you have a modified suspension. But you have to have an alignment guy that knows what he's doing in the first place.

I have a dodge 2500 4x4 with an 8 inch lift. Do you think I will have any problems?

[huntingpj]

I'd get a kit for both sides and check the ball joints, tie rod ends, bearings, and idler arm, pittman arm for any signs of wear also. Most uneven tire wear is from wore out front end parts and alignment issues.