Camber caster toe help

I got an alignment yesterday for $99 it's a 6 month deal but the guy had no idea what he was doing with the lift and everything. I want to take it to an offroad shop to get it done right but I don't want to pay 100 again. Can I set the camber, caster, and toe myself and then go get an alignment again? If so how many degrees for each? Pics would be very helpful

 

Uhh no.

When you get an alignment all he is doing is setting the camber, caster, and toe.

 

If the guy didn't know what he was doing, go back and talk to the manager and either get a refund or have someone else re-do the job.
You've got a 6 month warranty on it, if you aren't satisfied with the results then it should be done properly for free.

What are the specs now?

Don't try to change it yourself. You'll do more harm than good, and possibly end up with dangerous handling if you screw up the toe or caster.

 

Idk, but walked up halfway through, at that time he was only adjusting the steering. My old tire was worn on the side much more than the middle and I can still tell that it is tilting to the side.

I thought I read one time to set caster to -2 degrees one time so I thought that maybe I could preset them then have the guy just re adjust the steering which is probably all he did...

 

He didn't give you a printout of the specs?

 

No...some auto places are just plain sorry. I saw it but I didn't leave with it, the blame is on both of us. He should have given it to me and I forgot to ask for it.

 

Check your LCA bolts for fresh tool marks, that'll tell you if he touched the caster and camber settings.

Either way, take it back and get it re-done if you have this warranty.

 

Yeah, I called and talked with someone. I'm gonna take it back in tomorrow after work. But damn alignments are expensive for adjusting some bolts and only 20-30 min of labor....

 

Alignment racks are stupid expensive. You're paying for the use of that tool as well as the mechanics paycheck.

 

Yup.
If you lack the knowledge and tools, you're going to pay for someone else's knowledge & tools.

 

Can anyone tell me if the caster is supposed to be like this with 285s and 3inch lift?

 

Sorry it is sideways. It posts it like that no matter what for some reason

 

Camber and toe are best ideally at 0.0....or as close as you can get. If you told him 2deg on caster then without adjustable UCA's, that may be as close as they can get. With a 3" lift you want your caster in the high 2's...close to 3. I belive the caster #'s are to be in the negative also...so -2.8deg or so. You will most likely only get that with aftermarket UCA. The high caster allows the truck to track better and gets rid of bump steer..or loose feeling.

 

^Nope. You want positive caster (steering axis inclined back)



Alignment doesn't depend on tire size. 2 deg caster is pretty good for a lifted truck without aftermarket UCAs... if 1st gen suspension geometry is similar to 2nd gen's.

 

Yep. It's been awhile since I have looked at that stuff. Sorry for mis-info, I was taking a 50/50 shot in the dark.