Alignment questions

smith92rc

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2008
Location
concord
So, got 4" lift put in...all new adjustable control arms, adjustable front and rear track bars.. currie steering... went to get alignment today and here are the results... guy said I needed an adjustable upper ball joint for the passenger side...simeone said axle is bent....what the heck. We bought the jeep from original owner, never has been off-road, carfax was clean... any way to check axle... any one recommend a good 4wd alignment shop near concord that will adjust the control arms, etc...
 

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I think any shop who fabs axles or welds axle tubes into diff housings should be able to check and straighten that, assuming they have or can make a bearing fixture for that axle.. That's common practice after welding tubes.
 
Was that after the alignment? If so, they didn't adjust the control arms at all to dial in the caster. I really hope they didn't charge you for that.

Also, before you go assuming the axle is bent, I'd check the wheel bearing and ball joints realllll good on the passenger's side.

You can dial in the caster yourself with a magnetic protractor or angle finder...hell, I use an app on my phone most of the time. Just set it on top of the inner C of the axle and make sure you're on flat ground.
 
Nope they didn't do anything.. he said alignment could not be dine due to camber issues... said to install adjustable upper ball joint on passenger side and then he could adjust it...
 
Woah woah those numbers they printed out are all over the place. The numbers on the rear axle even say something is up. I guess you have a TJ or a ZJ since you have front and rear trac bars.

Odds are your "alignment guy sucks" and your jeep will ride down the road no problem or your axle is slightly tweaked and your jeep will ride down the road no problem :D

Get your axles centered, front axle pinion angle in good terms, and a good toe in on the front tires and move on :usa:

Note: if you have never replaced the ball joints or unit bearing then this will be the proper time to knock it out.
 
Yeah...that guy sucks. I bet he'd be amazed that the camber numbers would change once he set the caster and toe.
 
Too far. We are in concord. I wish I was close. I just don't know what to do. Maybe someone willing to come to my house and help with an angle finder to help me understand. But just understand lifted jeeps.
 
Who is it that runs a chain of tire and lube places in your area...sure he could recommend someone.
 
If you're that worried about it, put the adjustable ball joint in the PS side. It probably has a bent yoke on that end, or maybe just a bad ball joint. It's pretty typical for D30 axles, IME.

All you really need to do is fix the toe and add some caster, and you can do that yourself in your driveway with a tape measure and a helper. No big deal.
 
This is a simple correction @smith92rc. Any alignment shop who WANTS to adjust the caster will be able to do so. If not, a reputable shop like @MarsFab definitely can.
It's just a matter of centering the front wheel in the wheel well via the LCA, then correcting caster angle via the UCA. Both of which you indicated are adjustable. Then set the toe to spec and most likely the camber will be close enough to spec to not cause any issue. Have whatever shop of your choosing inspect the balljoints as well. They tend to wear quickly on most Jeeps.
This isn't rocket science or anything. My gut says the shop that wouldn't align it, didn't want to align it cause it required more than "set toe and go."
 
smith92rc said:
Yeah. Going to do some adjusting myself and see what I can get. Any way to check that. Thabks
Click to expand...

Easy to do yourself.
Pick up an angle finder at your local home improvement store. You'll also need a tape measure.
With the Jeep on level ground, set the angle finder on top of the upper ball joint, pointing towards the front of the vehicle. Note what your reading is. That is your caster. Ideally on a TJ/LJ you'll want about 5.5 degrees with the bottom of the coil slightly kicked in front of the top of the coil. Like this (viewed from driver side): /
You'll adjust the upper control arm until you have the required caster.
To set toe, you will need to support the vehicle from the axle and adjust the tie rod until the front of the tire is turned inward just about 1/8" more so than the back of the tire. Like this if looking down from the top of your Jeep: \ /

This is the quick explanation of how to do it. There's a ton of videos on Youtube showing it step by step as well.
 
Okay thanks going to do some measuring and adjusting and I'll post back my results with pictures
Will the control arms be the same length from left to right for the upper and lowers or could they possibly be different in lengthe and everything still be square just wondering
 
smith92rc said:
Okay thanks going to do some measuring and adjusting and I'll post back my results with pictures
Will the control arms be the same length from left to right for the upper and lowers or could they possibly be different in lengthe and everything still be square just wondering
Click to expand...
They should be very similar lengths aside from slight inconsistencies between frames. But regardless, start with setting caster and go from there.
 
Yep or possibly lengthen the lowers.
 
Maybe, but caster angle is more important than front axle pinion angle.
 
Halls body shop in Mt Pleasant might do it, if not 4 wheel parts in Charlotte, Mars Fab, or Tarheel 4 wheel drive.

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