Alignment, Caster, Clearance, and Driving Report with Light Racing UCAs

FYI, do not use a torque wrench to loosen up bolts. you can ruin the wrench doing that (for 99% of them out there)

 

Thanks. I had a hard time finding good pics of the UCA bolt removal so I figured I least get some good ones. The right side was even easier to get out after some bending. And I didn't even pop the clips for the wires, there was enough slack to squeeze the bolt through.
My mistake on the sway bar reference. Will fix.

Yea I broke a 3/8" one yesterday (Princess Auto is good for it lol). That 1/2" one is pretty tough. I don't have a breaker bar but that is on my list of tools to get.

 

One of mine broke off also last time i took it off. Mine is ziptied also lol

 

I've put 300kms on the truck since the alignment and it steers much better now. When I use to brake, it would often veer to the right or left especially over bumps. Now it seems pretty straight. I don't think its 100% perfect, perhaps 95%, but I am probably just being picky!

 

Looks Great!

 

Im about to switch out my worn 5100s for new ones, and want to go back to the stock spring at 0 (currently have eibach at 0 with Maxtrac Spindles). I have the setting at E right now. So if i do stock springs at 0 or 0.85 setting, should I set my UCAs on setting G? Thoughts?

Thx

 

Just got my truck aligned at Firestone, got the lifetime alignment. Kept the Eibachs with 5100s at 0. (w/spindles in front, 3" springs in rear).

Asked for 0* Toe, 0* Camber and Closest to 3* as possible for Caster. And they got it exactly! Drives great. Kept the LR UCA setting at -1* (So total +1* in caster).

Is the toe on the rear left tire an issue tho? Hm..

 

That's odd. I see the front are both zero. If the steering wheel is straight as you cruise then the rear toe discrepancy is nothing to be concerned with.

 

Hey Relik,

I just adjusted my Ball Joints yesterday to the +1 position as well. i had them at neutral.. but was having rubbing issues, so i wanted more clearance at the back of the fender. Adjusted and now need an alignment.. it feels sloppy and loose driving down the road as well as pulls slightly to the left. Not to mention my vibes but I think that's another issue (balance and worn tires hopefully)

Was it easy working with Firestone and getting them to get the numbers spot on? I went to another alignment shop awhile ago and they wouldn't even touch the UCAs.

What did your truck ride like before your adjustments? Im hoping ill have them same great results as you did and my issues will be resolved.

 

Just installed my LR UCAs. A few questions:

1) what size socket is the top ballpoint nut? If I understood the directions correctly I should wait until alignment is done to torque. I just snug it up with a crescent wrench to drive to the alignment shop tomorrow.

2) the ball joint "slides" in the grooves on the UCA. When I do the final torque do I want it all the way flush forward on the UCA?

3) my front wheels looks like this... / \ ... My alignment is obviously wayyy off.. Is this normal immediately after install and before going to the alignment shop? It should be an interesting 2 mile ride to the shop tomorrow, glad I don't have to go any further.

4) I couldn't seem to fit the small washers from the "update kit" where they were supposed to go.. Did y'all manage to fit them?

Thanks for any help!

 

it shouldn't be, it cant really be adjusted. if the rear toe is way off your truck may track a little sideways lol, but a good alignment guy will compensate for that up front. I noticed that my rear toe was way off when I installed my dakars, I recently got another alignment about 6 months after I installed my leaf springs, and the rear straightened itself out, and my rear toe is a lot closer to 0 than it was. I wouldn't worry about it, since you got the lifetime alignment (which was a good call) go back in a few months after flexing out the rear and get another alignment, I bet it will be closer to 0

 

Cool thanks for the comments on it not being an issue. It drives so great now, solid and straight.

But this last weekend I put my motorcycle in the bed and towed a trailer with two dirt bikes and it has a very slight turn to the right. But now its perfect again.

With firestone I guess it's a gamble. I first went to one near my work and they did not want to touch my truck because "they use the stock alignment specs and will not work for lifted/lowered vehicles....go to local shop that specializes...blah blah". Even though I said I don't have the common issue where people lift their trucks and want perfect alignment with stock UCAs...which I could understand they get crap for when guys crank up their suspension a lot and complain it doesn't align....

Then I called the "local shop" and they said $90 one time and that lifetime alignments are a scam.

Then drove to another Firestone in my town (that has new management) and they did the lifetime alignment no problem. I asked If I could recommend the setting I wanted rather than have them align it as they normally do (to stock ranges). I specified 0 toe and camber and the closest to 3 for camber. Spec sheet came out exactly as I asked.

I didn't have firestone touch my UCAs or did I mention they can adjust. I just set the LR UCA to +1 setting (E) and the ball joints are set all the way out away from the vehicle. Picked it up without any comment on it not aligning and the spec sheet said just what I wanted.

My truck rode fine before the alignment other than my previous bad tires and blown shock. Once I got new tires and set my alignment to where it was (I marked my cams before changing my shocks).

 

Got my first alignment since LR UCA install today. Asked for Caster 3, camber and toe 0 - this is what Firestone came back with. How's it look?

 

How does it drive?

 

Steering wheel is a little to the right when driving straight and it pulls hard right when letting my hands off the wheel. Ive had this same issue with stock UCAs and I took it to a different firestone and they corrected it, except for a slight pull to the right. My truck has always pulled right, but not this hard...

 

Looking at the specs, you should not have a pull to the right. You may need to thoroughly check out some other components like the lower control arm bushings for excessive play.

 

Will do, thank you sir

 

I think the steering wheel not being straight is because the toe specs are not equal. The front toe is the easiest thing to adjust on these so shame on the alignment guy for not getting it spot on. You could get down under the drivers side with a couple of wrenches and toe in the driver's side slightly. It's actually quite easy to do. You don't even have to take off the skid plate for that.

The pulling to the right I think is caused because they changed your cambers from slightly negative to positive. That can cause a pull when you are on a slight slant like the crown of a road. You might want have them zero out the cambers.

 

for firestone thats pretty darn good