2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission does a 2 inch leveling kit affect your front alignment?

[GreggNoble]

i have totally ruined a pair off "DICK CEPEK" 285 70/r17 in less than 10000. klms ,yea. terrible! i rebuilt the front end before i installed them too. but i put in a 2 inch front levelling kit and now the guy that tried to align my front end sais that my camber adjustment is off,but the camber can`t be off its set to factory 0!!!!!!!!!! don`t know what to do next, the Dick Cepk wheels i instaled has about 2 inches offset stickin outside the fenders. would the front lift or the offset tires cause my alignment to be off therefore ruin my tires. thanks.

 

[LBARTLETT]

a 2" lift witout drop blocks for the track bar with make your axle off center, a 2" lift without longer or adjustable control arms will move your front wheels towards the rear of the truck approx. 1"



a 2" lift without those adjustments & parts will change the geometry of the front end making it harder to align and IMHO create additional problems for a already challenged front end system



I previously had 2" lifts on 3 other 2nd gens I owned, I will not lift this truck the 2" needed to bring the truck level as I will not spend the $$$$ it takes to do it right in my mind



the retailers will tell you a 2" lift does not require new control arms, some offer an adjustable track bar or drop blocks for the track bar but geometry is geometry



there will be alot of owners disagree with me but I think yor leveling kit, it's effect on your track bar and control arm alignment is the majority of your issue

 

[GreggNoble]

thanks , like you said the retailer told me there was no mods needed! the trucks looks a lot beter too. but the 2 tires i runined was $300. each

Geez, so i can see now whay the caster would be affected but why is the machainc telling me that my camber is off ,i can`t see how the axle being further back toward the rear cause that? thanks

 

[LBARTLETT]

you might try another alignment shop and get their opinion, if you're still running the factory track bar that may be where the issue is but I'm no alignment person, did they tell you what the 'fix" would be?

 

[CumminsPower98]

The kit I got (Tuff Country spacers) also said no other mods needed but that's not true at all if you want it done right. I started out with the lift only. I found my shocks were topping out, my axle was shifted left and sucked toward the back as LBARTLETT has said. I got an adjustable track bar, longer shocks, and built my own longer control arms (in stages). Camber is factory set and not adjustable but that doesn't mean its perfect. You will probably have to get aftermarket adjustable upper ball joints. At least I think that's the case for an '01. On the earlier trucks where the joint was in the knuckle you could use degree shims to fix the problem but I think in '01 the joints are probably in the axle.



With all that said, the lift alone shouldn't affect tire wear much if at all if the truck is properly aligned after the install. The lift will tow the tires in a little and reduce your caster angle but both of these can be adjusted out without any other mods. You won't however be to adjust the cross caster, which is often not set correctly from the factory. Since it can't be adjusted at each wheel they will try to "twist" the axle in to place with the lower control arm eccentric bolts but all this does is create an axle push situation where the wheel base is longer on one side.



I drove my truck quite a bit before I had all those mods done as they were done in stages over a number of years. I also ran 33x12. 5x16. 5 tires that stuck out as yours do. I set my own alignment with tape and a degree meter (overall caster, and tow only, cross caster and camber had already been done). Not perfect I know but I got 45k (mostly town and some off road) out of my first set of BFG A/T KO's so I would say your alignment shop isn't doing something right. I got 107k (after all mods were done) out of a set of Michelin LTX M/S 265/75R16's while driving OTR transporting RV's and this too was after setting my own toe. I later sold the tires for $90 to be used on a trailer as they weren't dead yet but probably wouldn't have made a DOT happy and winter was coming!!

 

[Road Dog]

I have to disagree with those numbers. The lower control arm is 18" long and a simple geometry calculation indicates that a 2" lift will move the axle back 1/3", not 1". Still enough for a fresh alignment and new shocks but not enough for new control arms.

 

[DCreed]

i have totally ruined a pair off "DICK CEPEK" 285 70/r17 in less than 10000. klms ,yea. terrible! i rebuilt the front end before i installed them too. but i put in a 2 inch front levelling kit and now the guy that tried to align my front end sais that my camber adjustment is off,but the camber can`t be off its set to factory 0!!!!!!!!!! don`t know what to do next, the Dick Cepk wheels i instaled has about 2 inches offset stickin outside the fenders. would the front lift or the offset tires cause my alignment to be off therefore ruin my tires. thanks.

The new ball joints may not be "true" or the axle could be bent causing the issue, but most likely, the lift caused the axle to move both to the drivers side and rearward and the 2" offset will increase the scrub radius causing wear on the outside edge of the tires that has to be factored into the alignment. All in all, the guy doing the alignment should have noticed it was not right and either fixed it or told you what needed fixing. Previous posters are correct, the steering geometry is complex and ALL components must work in harmony to restore the drivability.

 

[LBARTLETT]

rather than getting into a mathmatical argument simply looking at the placement of the front wheel in the wheel well will show more than a 1/3 inch movement of the wheel/axle backwards



another simple way is to take 2 identical trucks with the same size tires, one lifted and the other not and measure from the rear of the tire to the rear wheel well



there is a reason some of the upper-end 2" front lift kits include adjustable control arms so that the axle can be moved forward to its designed position

 

[Road Dog]

Or I could just lift the frame of my truck 2" and measure the movement of the wheel -- which happens to be 3/8" (0. 375"). The main reason to push the axle forward after a lift is to clear larger (35"+) tires.

 

[GreggNoble]

Thanks guys! my truck was saging down in front anyway so the 2 inches only brought it back to factory or a little better,shouldn`t be a big difference. the camber is suppose to be set at 0 ,but if there were imperfections,i guess the offset tires would amplify those faults?

What i wouldn`t give to have leafs springs on the front off this thing? i think that would fix 80%of our problems,the thing rides like an excavator anyway ha ha ha

 

[AHolt]

I added a 2" lift to the front of my truck, I also made 2" blocks, to lower

sway bar. I took truck back to Dealer to alien. I was told truck was just

in, but there is no more adjustment. I did this 3 years ago and have no

trouble with tire wear. I don't know if being 2wd makes the difference.

 

[BSeitz]

I installed a 2" Rancho leveling kit that consisted of the 2" blocks, taller shocks, and longer lower control arms. I think i paid about 350 bucks. I had an alignment done after the install with no problems. I have about 120,000 miles on the truck since then with no unusual tire wear. I'm running BFG 305/70/16s.

 

[hcole]

I own a 2002 and installed a 2" front lift right after I bought it new. I installed it myself and had it realigned by a competent shop with NO other modifcations. I have app. 170,000 miles on it and have had 3 sets of tires (including the original set) and just installed a new set of 315/70/17 tires last month. I also changed rims to 17" on my next to last set. I have had ZERO problems with the front end.