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I thought an Alignment would be easy!

N

noel86

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Wenatchee WA,
I installed my HD tie rod and drag link and had the alignment done on it and when i went to pick it up the guy said i needed a chamber kit which way 300$ extra is this a bunch of bologna or is this needed? i just thought a straight axle would be easy to align.
 
tell them to print you out the specs on the allignment. if they say they cant, they are full of shit.....
 
well it all depends on how far out the camber is. if its far enough out your tires will start to wear on the outside or inside depending on wether the camber is negative or positive. excessive camber can also cause handling issues. this normally happens due to a bent axle, worn out ball joints, bent knuckles, and so on. but normally ya jeeps are easy to align as long as something isnt bent!
 
I was confused over the CHAMBER kit?

Roll of toilet paper and an old issue of Playboy?

I'm with in4aride, get the printout and post up the numbers.
 
jeeptech1 said:
It all depends on how far out the camber is. If its bad, your tires will start to wear on the outside or inside depending on whether the camber is negative or positive. Excessive camber can also cause handling issues. Camber issues on a solid axle normally happen due to a bent axle, worn out ball joints, or bent knuckles/inner C's.
Click to expand...

Edited the above to make it much easier to read...

Anyway, a front end alignment on your Jeep should be cake. Usually it's just setting the toe maybe 1/16" in and you're done, unless he has to fool with caster, which involves the frame side LCA bolts/adjusters.

If your camber is off like he says, you either have a bent axle or bad ball joints. I'm guessing the $300 is for some sort of adjustable ball joint, which shouldn't really be needed. Get the printout of the numbers and see where the camber is at. You could just need new balljoints.
 
I'm betting he thinks he needs a camber kit because the caster is screwy from lifting the jeep, which plays with the azimuth of the camber measurement. Also there is a decent chance he's actually talking about a caster kit which consists of spacers that go behind the lower control arm mounts on the body end. Post the numbers up, what control arms and lift you're running, etc.

The easy part of the alignment is what you think it is... adjust toe, once it is in spec, adjust drag link to center steering wheel. Done.
 
Im running stock control arms and a front 1.75'' spacer still have sway bar connected but nothing major so it has a dana 30.

I googled CHAMBER KIT and all that came up was honda civic's or an independent suspension type vehicle.

Thanks for the replys!
 
try camber kit instead of chamber kit.
 
noel86 said:
here are my final Primary Angles

left camber -.7*
Right camber -1.1*

Too much negative camber. I like to see about .25* positive + or- .5*

Left Caster 4.9*
Right Caster 5.9*

Too much side to side difference. No more than .5* difference between side keeps the rig from pulling to one side.

Left Toe .00*
Right Toe .00*
Click to expand...

Toe is ok. Slightly negative (.25* is better) Toe will be set after the camber/caster is adjusted.

You have some options. Let them do the camber kits (I assume they are using offset balljoints) They get expensive in a hurry as you have found out.
Personally I would get another housing or use you current housing-strip it down-measure it all out camber and caster wise-adjust as needed and truss it. The Dana 30's tend to bow over time giving the negative caster you are seeing and it gets worse with big tires. You might get lucky and find a used housing that's not bowed. It's not any easy task to straighten a bent housing. I don't like seeing the numbers close to spec on either end of the +- either.
 
Last edited:
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