Yes, another alignment thread

I updated my other thread regarding alignment and lift but didn't get much traction, so I'm doing the unthinkable and creating a new one.

Just looking for some feedback based on my alignment. I recently lifted with OME 884s and 5100s set on zero. I also went with a Deaver AAL. I gained 2.5" of lift in front on a set that I thought was going to yield "1.75. I'm cool with it as it looks and rides pretty sweet. If I knew it was going to be that high, I would've ordered UCAs.

I think part of the drastic difference in pre/post lift is the factory stuff was hella sacked out with 207k on it.

My questions are:

1. Is this alignment that terrible? I was hoping to get at least a little caster, but the alignment shop said hell no. The truck seems to handle pretty decent I guess. I'd like a little more road feel and heavier steering though. The positive camber seems excessive though; plus it looks goofy.

2. Will this suspension "settle" to the point of being able to align with some caster?

3. Should I just bite the bullet and spring for aftermarket UCAs?

 

the suspension could be allowed to settle first.

why would they say no to caster?

you appear to have excessive positive camber.
They have a relationship. Adjusting caster affects camber. It’s a trade off where you pick one or the other.

positive camber means ugly look and edge wear.

It also appears they may have done a toe and go (this is not an alignment) and not changed your camber/caster at the LCA cam tabs at all.

if all you wanted was straightening toe you could have done that at home with a string.

UCA’s claim to be needed with lift and result in more able to achieve better alignment numbers.

post does not state who did the alignment and if they’re trustworthy or not.

if you want to do an experiment I can put your truck on a rack and fudge the numbers to make them look better than they really are and show you putting a pocket screwdriver between the read head. To hold the head at a different angle so the machine is a different number than actual.

lot of folks go to Firestone for work. This is not to be done. But to each his own. If that’s what they want. Or know the tech on an individual level which is not common. There is a reason they are at Firestone.

machines are not perfect. They go out of calibration often. Seeing a change of 0.1 without doing anything is common. Not to mention if the tech does not re read with a caster sweep like you’re supposed to. Or the read head moving on the tire.
For example. Your rear moved. When it was not touched. Because nobody touches it and it’s generally not supposed to be since it’s a fixed position not adjustable.

wheel weight, tire weight, offset affect steering weight as well.

 

1. The positive camber is way too much imo. It looks like the shop did not touch the camber/caster bolts as they are adjusted through the same bolts on your LCA. Those bolts have a habit of seizing up could be a reason why the tech did not want to touch it, or just lazy.

2. The suspension will settle a bit but regardless if it settles or not caster can be adjust independently. If the tech doesnt want to adjust the caster/camber presettle they will not want to adjust it postsettle.

3. I would say go back to the alignment shop and ask for a reason why they cannot adjust camber/caster. If they give you some bs or if they tell you the bolt is seized then you can see how you want to proceed. Most alignment shops offer some sort of 30 day warranty. If they refuse service i say screw them and bring it to another shop that will adjust it for you. Ask for max allowable caster with 0deg of camber. If that is still not enough for you then I would look into aftermarket UCA but there is no point in spending the money in new parts when the majority of caster adjustment comes from the LCA bolts.

 

Plus. Typically if they think it’s siezed, they’ll tell you. Should. Or if they’re expecting it to be, warn you, to potentially get new parts on hand and prepare you for the possibility of additional work to cut the old ones out if they need sawzall.

not a bad idea before hand to take them out, clean, and grease as preventative.

and, the stock cam tabs are fragile. Reinforcement is recommended.
I am told by a Toyota dealer tech they are known to be so fragile that dealer procedure is to jack up the front during alignment to take the load off of them. Which is a feature within a Hunter alignment rack.

as well as typically more labor. A front end with a bunch of adjustments can be more than on other vehicles that do not have adjustable camber or caster and simply a subframe that is centered from factory and tie rods to toe and go.

 

The caster is basically non-driveable, you need to find out if they tried to adjust the arms or if they skipped it and only adjusted toe.

Upper arms will help, but ultimately it looks like nothing was even attempted.

Most 2" lifts with stock arms I can get +1.5 cater +0.8-1 camber.

 

I need to figure out what’s recommended with my parts setup
Or play with it more

right now got 0 camber
Caster around 1
Toe 0

but one side sitting somewhat farther back with more tendency to rub

Probably going to take it to a specialist if I don’t have access to a rack, front end alignment
Tell them the goal and see what they can do:

0 toe (easy)
0 or close to 0 camber
Caster the same on both sides as far forward as they can get the tires moved for clearance reasons

what they’re able to get out of it will likely depend on the parts
I think clearing things behind the tire tends to be more of a concern than in front of them where there appears to be more room

maybe that will cost more because of the work involved. Maybe prices have gone up as everything has.
But said shop has been touted as good and been around 30 years. Used to be as low as $50 per axle alignment (for example front end)

don’t know about getting the tools to DIY caster and camber as it’s likely expensive and a lot more tooling (angle gauges etc) than simple toe. Have done toe before with wood, string, jack stands, ruler, linoleum tiles acting as swivel plates with grease in between. (Square the vehicle using string to hub and measure to each tire side with ruler)

probably after swap to HD bumper springs
That and figure out ideal height setting for 6112; have heard max 2” front lift is ideal so may keep it at that. Could be why the CV boots didn’t tear; generally didn’t lift higher than that.

 

Checking in.

I asked the alignment shop as to why they didn't adjust anything aside from Toe. They said the adjusters were "maxed in the rear" and "frozen in front." I could see where the tech tried to put a wrench on the adjuster. I jacked up the truck, marked the adjusters with a paint pen, and was able to loosen all of them with minimal effort. I could watch the lower a-arm move as I loosened them so I knew it wasn't just the bolt spinning inside the bushing.

I have an alignment scheduled for this Friday at an "off road" shop. Hopefully, they can get some better numbers out of it. I have not gone back to the first shop yet. I plan to once my alignment is for sure complete. The lame thing is, the guy who tried it the first time has been doing alignments for 30 years! Yet, he was too inept to loosen the adjusters from the front by dropping the skid plate.