1st gen lift alignment

Truck wanders a little after lift and pulls to the left so I'm getting it aligned on monday. I can't find alignment specs in any discussions for my exact setup so I came up with the specs I think will work for me and hoping some experts can chime in before I take it in for alignment in a few days.

alignment specs I determined to tell the shop i've scheduled with:

Caster 2.4+
Camber 0 - 0.5
Toe 0 to very slightly inward

2004 4x4 2.7 5sp with:
881 coils, eibach sport shocks set highest I have ~2.75" up front
bastard stock + 2nd gen leaf pack(6 leafs + overload) puts it pretty level with no load
1.25" spacers with stock 16s 285/75/16
stock UCA's for now(i know i need new ones for best alignment and will at some point)


Any input greatly appreciated.

 

No.

Just do the factory alignment. There is no reason to do anything but the factory alignment unless you have VERY specific needs and you race the thing or something.

A factory alignment will get it back to driving like it did before the lift.

 

Easy, I like that.

 

If possible, take the truck to a shop that does a lot of 4x4s.

 

The specs you're shooting for are about right where I get mine, I usually request 3˚ caster though and they are able to do it. I go to a 4x4 shop though.

With stock upper control arms you are probably going to be limited to what they can do.

Depending on where you take it they might tell you they can't do it. Some places particularly chain stores just want to put it on the rack and dial in factory numbers and let the computer do its thing. Firestone locally would always tell me they'd do it for me but never did.

If you aren't having rubbing issues then you probably don't need to push your caster toward it's max and factory green numbers will be OK. If you need more caster then find a shop that works on 4x4 vehicles and does alignments. You may need to consider getting aftermarket UCAs though

 

Thanks, yea it's a local shop that specializes in alignments, not 4x4 exclusive but good. I'll go with factory specs for now and will add JBA or similar UCAs in the not so distant future, I hope.

 

I missed the fact that you're on stock UCAs and are running 2.75" lift...

Honestly, that's pretty maxed out and you'll likely have some CV wear or boot issues, but you're also not likely to get it aligned properly.

You'll more than likely need the UCAs before you can get it properly aligned. The aftermarket UCAs have a different geometry that's specific to correct for lifted applications. Stock UCAs can't generally handle that much droop. You can usually get away with about 2" on stock UCAs, but more than that and most people end up needing new UCAs.

 

Agreed, I'd just like to get as close to correct alignment but not expecting perfect. Just trying to get it as good as I can until I can replace CVs(not clicking yet) and UCAs, ideally at the same time. Boots exploded a couple of days after lift went on lol.

 

If they exploded they were probably rubbing, might want to make sure the new axles you put in aren't rubbing the boots either or they'll also explode in no time.

Take it from someone who has replaced several CV axles over the course of a few years due to boots constantly blowing lol. 2" of lift is the sweet spot for me, higher than that I just keep having to replace cvs.

 

I'll definitely check if the boots are rubbing, I thought they were just stretched too far. And I should have measured when I did the lift because even thought the eibach sport shocks is advertised at 2.75, I think the OME 881 springs took it closer to 3+. And the back is level with the front. It will probably be perfect if I took one of the extra leafs out of the back and took the front shocks down one setting from the top.

 

That's weird, when I had 881s I only got about an inch and a half out of them

 

maybe not, it just makes the 33s i put on look smaller than I anticipated. It's also a 4 banger which is probably at least slightly lighter than the 3.4.