lotalucas

So I got a pair of1.5" ball joint spacers from 4crawler a while ago and finally just got them put on this last weekend. The install went fine. I replaced the upper and lower ball joints and also both the inner and outer tie rod ends at the same time since they were all pretty much the originals. after getting everything put on took it down the road to the alignment shop and had it aligned. I watched the guy working on it and it was obvious he was trying his best to get it perfect but he came and got me and said that he couldn't get the camber all the way because it was maxed out. He said it might get closer if I relax the torsion bars. I did that as much as I could and it's closer but it's still about 1 degree off and now it rides too soft. Has anyone else had any similar problems. My tires are pretty new and I'm really hoping to get it right before they wear too much. oh the truck is a 90, 4x4, 22re, with 33x12.50x15's

CitrusTheDragon

Ball joint spacers shouldn't be causing the problem and just in case take them off and have it re checked but I'm pretty sure the problem is in a camber bolt, a-arm, or ball joint.

lilgription

My truck was perfectly aligned before I put my bj spacers in..Shop had to adjust them very little to get it back perfect.. x2 on the above post

lotalucas

That's what I heard before I put them on. I also forgot to mention that when I took the old shocks they were completely frozen. also when I got everything back together there seemed to be a good inch more lift than I was expecting. I'm guessing the torsion bars were a bit tighter than stock. I'm hoping to try and figure out what's behind the problem before getting it realigned. 50 bucks each time they align it. I can do a driveway alignment to and extent but I've never done it before and I don't want to make it any worse than it already is. Is there any way to check to see if the camber bolts are messed up. The truck's been ridden pretty hard and had 287k on it. I can't say I've been gentle to it.

sctrep

I had mine aligned when I had the Bj spaces and it was perfect. Took it for the recall on the faulty steering stuff and they said they couldn't get it right. Not sure why. They told me it was due to the spaces but as I already stated... my first alignment after the lift was spot on. I guess some are better than others.

lotalucas

maybe that't the case here. they seemed pretty good and explained the problem to me pretty well though. Does anyone think there could be an isue with the torsion bars after having the shocks frozen? or any issues with messed up camber bolts.

96vettelt4

They can align after ball joint spacers but it takes a little work. All compinets must be in good condition for them to due a proper alignment that includes torsion bars,tie rod ends , camber bolts and other parts. Ive found best way to get a great alignment is where they give u a printout of before and after alignment specs and if they r within proper range of the specs. Without a printout u r just taking there word on whats been done and where specs r now. When i had mine done after they were finished they gave me that printout it showed it wasnt in specs and i had them redo it until is was done within specs which they finally did although it took a whole lot of timebut it can be done right.

CitrusTheDragon

Just cause it's in the green does not mean it drives straight. Just because it's not in the green doesn't always mean it's not aligned. After apprenticing with a performance shop and doing hundreds of thousands of alignments with the old man lead suspension mechanic telling follow the numbers not the specs not the colors, I have seen cars that no one could align with numbers that didn't match at all drive off the lift and down the highway without an issue. If I were you I would take it to a body shop and pay the little extra to have them align it using the best technology out there.