2wd alignment specs

[MBergman]

What alignment specs are you guys running on the 2wd's? I set my truck up for as much positive caster as I could get, and a bit of negative camber. I'm debating if I should stick with the factory recommended specs this time.

The left upper ball joint came loose from the control arm on a smooth North Texas freeway this morning. I swear, this state has some of the most poorly designed and constructed roads in the nation. Anyways, it pulled completely out of the control arm as I just before I got to work. Now I'm back to driving the green pig again.

Any input would be appreciated. The service manager doesn't like the parts guys working in the shop very often. He's afraid we'd make the techs look bad. But at least we don't do this while the OSHA inspector is in the shop...

 

[dpuckett]

What in the world happened to the Jeep?



I am at the mercy of whoever does the alignment. shop owners around these parts aint too friendly to people who ask questions about the work they did, what specs stuff got set to, etc. God forbid you want to see the old parts... ...



East TX roads are smoother than most MO roads. Cant speak about central or west TX.



Daniel

 

[Sri Ram]

A good alignment shop should give you a printout of the specs they set your truck to. I'll try to dig mine up for ya…Also, the latest TDR issue (52?) has a good write-up on alignment.



Edit: What the devil happened to that Jeep?!! :--)

 

[MBergman]

While getting all the parts rounded up to put the truck back together, I decided to try using the Moog problem solver upper control arm bushings. The autocross guys use them to get more positive caster by installing the rear bushing in backwards. I have yet to hear of anyone trying it on a truck. The bushings are offset so the camber isn't affected. I'm going to do the alignment myself. The shop should be quiet tomorrow, so I'll be able to try a couple different settings to see what works best. Pictures and the specs I settle on will be posted tomorrow.

As for the Jeep, the lifting pads on the end of the arms of the lift screw in. The lube tech that was responsible for that little mishap, had less than one thread engaged, and the locks to hold the arms in position disabled. All was fine until the lift reached the top of its travel. The pad popped loose and the arm swung out from underneath the Jeep. The customer was from South Dakota, just traveling through and decided to stop for an oil change. The same tech backed a Ram 1500 into a Neon today. No, he hasn't been fired yet. Simply amazing.

Marc

 

[tugboatphil]

No, he hasn't been fired yet.

Bosses son???

 

[JLEONARD]

Or maybe this guy witnessed an intimate act with a donkey. :-laf

 

[1stgen4evr]

Ball joint seperation is not pretty at any speed but if you have had it happen, you think about what might happen when you run fast. The Dodge system is a lot like the Chevy that fell apart on me. That is the reason I like straight axles or the twin beam that my old 70 Ford had.



I know about as little as the average idiot with regard to alignment. I found a shop that can make the twd drive without any drift or pull which gets very important on a week of driving.



I am interested in what you are wanting to accomplish by tweaking the system away from factory.



James

 

[JLEONARD]

I am interested in what you are wanting to accomplish by tweaking the system away from factory.

Me to. Mine drives fine and I'm sure it was set to factory specs by my son... who is pretty much an expert on alignments.

But he's also deviated on specs for some guys who race their cars on autocross , etc. to accomplish certain goals.

 

[pepecat]

The front end on my truck always makes me leery because I feel that it just isn't stout enough. I think that the new tough lower control arms with airbags is the way to go. Other than that if you wanted to put a straight I beam in there, you'd need the 4wd crossmember, and would need to get rid of the 2wd front end ifs setup altogether.

 

[dpuckett]

I have had a few trucks that were supposedly set to "factory specs" that wanndered like a drunken sailor on shore leave. Thsi was with new suspension and steering components, plus a new box and coupler. So, I'd bet it is to try to get a better feel down the road, instead of having to babaysit the danged thing all the time. I cant take my hands off the wheel of mine- it pulls, and when it isnt pulling, it is kind of listless.



Daniel

 

[JLEONARD]

Mine tracks pretty well. It's not a wanderer.

 

[Sri Ram]

Mine also has new suspension front and rear, Borgeson shaft, and has been aligned twice in two years. It tracks well, but the steering still has enough play for it to wander. Alignment may help to correct that, but at the cost of tires or suspension components, especially upper ball joints.



EDIT: BTW, Jay over 3k posts

 

[JLEONARD]

BTW, Jay over 3k posts

Yikes!



Original steering shaft, and I haven't touched the front end in the last 80 K other than brakes. Most of what is under there looks original to me.

 

[1stgen4evr]

"I think that the new tough lower control arms with airbags is the way to go. Other than that if you wanted to put a straight I beam in there, you'd need the 4wd crossmember, and would need to get rid of the 2wd front end ifs setup altogether"





I bought a set of fwd axles (3. 07) from Michael Miller for the purpose of heavying up the front suspension but it is for the crew not my regular truck. I realize that I will have to change a few things.



Who has/sells an air bag setup for the front? I remember Mysteryman mentioning this but have seen nothing else. I have used air bags mounted over the axle on the rear and I like that quite well. I would agree that bags on the front should be a great improvment.



James

 

[MBergman]

I ended up setting the camber to the recommended spec of +. 5 and the caster at +1. 5 on the left and +1. 8 on the right. The truck goes STRAIGHT down the road and no longer wanders around. It stops straight now too. That was my goal and I'm very pleased with the results.

Marc

 

[dpuckett]

How does the caster setting compare to the recommended spec? And why the difference bewteen sides?



DP

 

[MBergman]

The recommended caster setting is +. 5 degrees. I was only able to get 1. 1 with the stock bushings. There is just not much adjustment to play with on these suspensions. The difference in left and right is to compensate for the road crown. The roads almost always lean to the right, so ideally you want to have a slight pull to the left. A vehicle will always pull to the side with the least positive caster. I'll admit, I was so proud of not having to adjust the passenger side at all after eyeballing the alignment in the parking lot, I almost dialed in more caster on the left side. One of those Homer Simpson moments I have all too often.

Marc

 

[dpuckett]

The recommended caster setting is +. 5 degrees.

No wonder they wander so much. I'll see if anyone around Poplar Bluff will align it to "custom" specs. I have given up on decent to fair auto service around here.



DP