Alignment tech-(multiple threads merged)

[sydude]

...I can't get my Bronco's right front camber to get within specs. It's 1.5 degrees positive... I have 4 inch pro comp springs up front, they've settled for sure. I've driven the truck well over 5,000 miles since putting the lift on. Am I missing anything? I'm eating the right front tire up.

If your springs have settled, then wouldn't your camber go negative? As the suspension squats, the top of the tire should arc in, and the outside out. See here:



Also, I'm definitely not an alignment expert, but I don't think 1.5 degrees of positive camber on a TTB's front wheel should cause that much wear, unless you have too much toe-in. Under load (cornering and braking) that tire's positive camber should start reversing, first going towards 0 degrees and then to negative camber. I think that's why some suggest that a small amount of positive camber is a good thing on a TTB.

[Deleted Account]

I'm a mechanic by trade, so I understand the basics of aligning vehicles. However I can't get my Bronco's right front camber to get within specs. It's 1.5 degrees positive. I tried a moog adjustable cam to correct it, adjustable from 0-3.2 degrees, but there isn't enough movemnet in the ball joint it appears to use the full adjustment of the cam. It just will not go all the way. They're solo beams, the only thing I can think of is that they didn't add enough to the lower ball joint when they cut and turned them. I have 4 inch pro comp springs up front, they've settled for sure. I've driven the truck well over 5,000 miles since putting the lift on. Am I missing anything? I'm eating the right front tire up.

That is very common to not be able to use that big of a cam.. the ball joint only moves so much. depends on how the beams are done..

[tcm glx]

Hmm, that is the shorter of the beams so it gains camber quicker. If the C+T was done correctly you should have 0 degree or close to it for alignment eccentrics.

Have you called Bobby? I assume you got the beams directly from Solo and did not buy them second hand?

X2. Call Bobby, he is great to deal with, I am sure he would be happy to take a look.

[Pony Boy]

Right, I understand the ball joint only allows so much movement. I bought the beams secondhand unfortunately

[bajascott]

dumb question but do you have the 3/4"-1" spacer in between the beam and coils?i had a customer of mine complain about the same thing and he installed the 2wd spacer.....

[Pony Boy]

No spacer other than what was on the original beams.

[kylesgorter]

post a pic I bet i can prob tell you whats going on

This happens when someone who doesnt know the finer points of what they are doing turns beams without using a proper jig. Ive seen it happen before and this is usually the result because the shorter beam needs more material than the driver side and people make the mistake of adding the same amount to both beams.

That being said because you are having this issue i highly doubt they are actually solo. They use a jig to do their beams and their work is always spot on accurate.

TTBs wear the outside of the tire more than anything so having any positive camber is going to exaggerate that factor. I like a little negative camber (-0.5) on TTB setups with a very small toe in (1/8-1/4). The lifting force from the toe-in seems to balance the slight negative camber on the street while still hunkering down and increasing stability in the dirt. You can do what you like with your setup but from trying lots of combos that seems to work best for me. The thing about TTB is changing one aspect of the geometry affects the others more than a-arm setups so theres a lot more give and take in setting these things up. Even with a lot of setups under my belt it always takes me several tries to get everything close enoguh to be satisfied with it so dont beat yourself up too bad lol

[Andy Jones]

Would any of you have a list of the Different Size dana ttb Alignment Cams / Bushings. And where to Get them?.. i Know they start at 0* But where does it end!!.. thanks.

[ChaseTruck754]

I want to say 3.25* (3 & 1/4 degree) is the biggest, but it's been a long while since I've looked.

[tcm glx]

Kartek

[philofab]

4wd maxes out around 2.5 degrees if I remember correctly.

You can buy them at any auto parts store. Stay away from the aluminum ones.

[Deleted Account]

post a pic I bet i can prob tell you whats going on

This happens when someone who doesnt know the finer points of what they are doing turns beams without using a proper jig. Ive seen it happen before and this is usually the result because the shorter beam needs more material than the driver side and people make the mistake of adding the same amount to both beams.

That being said because you are having this issue i highly doubt they are actually solo. They use a jig to do their beams and their work is always spot on accurate.

TTBs wear the outside of the tire more than anything so having any positive camber is going to exaggerate that factor. I like a little negative camber (-0.5) on TTB setups with a very small toe in (1/8-1/4). The lifting force from the toe-in seems to balance the slight negative camber on the street while still hunkering down and increasing stability in the dirt. You can do what you like with your setup but from trying lots of combos that seems to work best for me. The thing about TTB is changing one aspect of the geometry affects the others more than a-arm setups so theres a lot more give and take in setting these things up. Even with a lot of setups under my belt it always takes me several tries to get everything close enoguh to be satisfied with it so dont beat yourself up too bad lol

x2 Kyle is right

[kylesgorter]

the most angulatrity you can get ith cams is 3.2deg with specific moog cams but those are technically designed for adding caster or for lowered street trucks trying to gain positive camber.

The ideal cams in my opinion are the ones offered by JBG wich are a full rotational style and have 2.75deg of adjustment which is the max you should run on a TTB. I have used them in the past and have reccomended them to many customers with no issues.

That being said I feel you should only run the cam you actually need to get your camber where you need it. In my bronco I have (+/-) 3/4deg cams and they have all the adjustment I need.

I will also add if you have cut&turned beams you prob wont be able to use a very high degree cam as the upper balljoint can only misalign so much

[93Broncobuff]

Alright so I had a stock ride hight before i put in a 2 inch lift.... I had daystar leveling pucks in the front because my front end was sagging a lot because of an after market bumper i had on. So i put in 2 inch larger coil springs as well as 2 inch fabteck blocks for the rear and 2 inch-ish larger bilstein shocks all around. I got the 5100's from 4wheel parts and the guy said these were the right ones i needed so i would sit level. I ended up needing to uses to 2 inch spacer/ leveling pucks in addidion to the lift so shock wouldnt bottom out...

I then sent it over to a shop to get it aligned but they say the biggest cams they have wont cut it because im still 2.1 degrees off or something.... Do i really have a 4 inch lift? As it stands right now its a tail dragger which i didnt want so im under the impression that i do have upwards to a 3.5-4.0 inch lift. Are CNT beams needed???


Thank you for your time,



Matt

[AussieRod]

Sounds like you have 4" lift shocks on a 2" lift. Once you go past 1 1/2 - 2" of lift on uncut beams, camber goes out really quick. 2" is about all most cams will adjust out. You would be better to take out the spacers and stay with the original 2", and space down your bumps to stop the shock bottoming out until you can fit taller buckets or taller shock mounts (or shorter shocks).

[93Broncobuff]

would cut beams fix the issue and or drop down brakets? which is the best route? i rather just keep everything in my rig right now as i dont have time really to make it non opperational....

[ChaseTruck754]

Either c/t beams or drop brackets would fix it, but different (correct) shocks & taking out the 2nd lift puck would probably be cheaper.

[93Broncobuff]

This is lame.... ok so The c&t beams frome what i read is a better choice over the drop brakets correct? The reason i wanna just keep me set up is because it was hell going thru 4Wheel Parts for the shocks n they work fine n rather than going thru another mess the new beams would fix the issue for about the same money.... I picked up the shocks for about $530.....Im running bilstein 5100's 6 of em...

[PaulW]

Alignment 101
OK - answers are imbeded. These guys have correct answers. Still have questions then ask. Be specific.
Tell why you have a Q?

These items are the variables.
1) caster
2) camber
3) toe
4) lift brackets or custom beams stock length or longer

PaulW

[VintageIronFab]

Here is what I have with my 3" taller than stock and C&T beams-- with the Moog cams set at zero, new balljoints and the arms set at zero camber/caster (meaning the top mounting plate is parallel to the top tube) --- the caster is at 10* at static ride height. Anyone think that is way too much, not enough?? I couldnt find a really hard and true Ford spec on the interweb.

Thanks,
Matt