Recomendations - alignment shop in I.E. for first alignment on new radius arm lift.

I had this in the modified tech section but was advised i might want to move it here. Sooooo...

This is a father son project that we are building for my kid. We started off as a low mileage, bone stock, one owner 2000 XJ. Its going to be his first car when he gets his license. Among many other things, we just installed a 4.5" Rough Country long arm kit, new Methods and 33"
We took it's maiden voyage out to TDS in Ocotillo last month and had a great time making sure everything worked. All good now, nothing fell off.

Grabbers. We now need to get the front end aligned. I know of a few alignment shops in my area but none are schooled in lifted Jeeps. Being a newly installed radius arm kit, there are more set-up adjustments that need to be done than a regular short arm kit.
Anybody have any recommendations of a good alignment guy that is in the I.E. (Riverside) area that knows 4x4's? Looking for somebody that will take their time and do it right.

Thanks, DC3

See Shawn at Scotty's Brake and Transmission (something like that) on Baldwin Ave. in El Monte. He's an XJ guy.

More info here:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=58875&page=2&highlight=Good+places+to+know

If you are down in Indio try Pacific Brake & Alignment, the guy's name is Danny he is an XJ guy and I think a forum user here every now and then. I use him and a few others in this area do to.

I always take mine to Roger Daniels down in SD. It's a nearly 2 hour drive but he definitely knows lifted XJs.

Eckles alignment in Ontario

What does an alignment shop do that you can't do in your driveway with a solid front axle? Just curious.

travisk said:

What does an alignment shop do that you can't do in your driveway with a solid front axle? Just curious.

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X2

Set your lower arm length, adjust your uppers for proper caster, and set toe. Most shops will only set caster and toe and that is very easy in the driveway.

Center axle with adjustable track bar. Set axle position, driveshaft angle and caster with adjustable control arms. Eliminate death wobble.

travisk said:

What does an alignment shop do that you can't do in your driveway with a solid front axle? Just curious.

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peterjford said:

Center axle with adjustable track bar. Set axle position, driveshaft angle and caster with adjustable control arms. Eliminate death wobble.

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Yep, damn hard to set caster without a machine.

Ever heard of an angle Guage? Magnetic jobby ... Sticks to axles really well, with a wee tiny bit of math (new diff face angle minus old diff face angle, plus factory knuckle C angle ... you know, fancy math) you can set the caster fairly simply.

Devilfrog said:

Ever heard of an angle Guage? Magnetic jobby ... Sticks to axles really well, with a wee tiny bit of math (new diff face angle minus old diff face angle, plus factory knuckle C angle ... you know, fancy math) you can set the caster fairly simply.

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I didn't say it was impossible, much easier on an alignment rack.

Thanks guys for all the replies.

As far as needing a shop, I like to be precise with my alignments. This jeep is going to be a daily driver for my16 year old kid. Its gotta drive straight and stop just the same. Plus tires are expensive....The jeep also has a slight bit negative camber on the drivers side. I didn't notice it when I bought the jeep because it was all stock. It only became more apparent once the 33's wen on. Putting on an alignment rack will let me know exactly what I got going on. That's why It cant be done at home.

There's a couple places near for you! I will list them in order of proximity to you! It appears from the pics that you are located off Washington south of Van Buren area or off Wood near Markham! 1) Magnolia Wheel & Alignment on Merill off Magnolia, old school type of shop great with solid front drop beam axles and 4x4 front solid axles. 2)There is/was another shop on Main near K&H Metals north of the 60 frwy not sure if they moved? 3) Off of the 215 on Center & Stephens west of 215 on the south west corner there is a shop that I inquired about a solid axle alignment because they had several Wranglers themselves, they said yes they do them! I choose these shops because all the other shops like Allen, Ramona, Tires Plus ect... are focused and do mainly IFS and wishbone type suspensions all day. A lot of them will not get into putting in cam bushings on your upper ball joints.

Update: Try Bud's tire and wheel on Wood and V.B. They manager seems pretty knowledgable or may point you in the right local direction!