Alignment trouble

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TooTallMike
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:32 am
Location: Jblm, Washington

Alignment trouble

Postby TooTallMike » Thu Jan 17, 2019 2:24 pm

Put a lift in..
Front spacers
Armada springs
Front camber bolts
Rear UCA bushings
Haven't been able to get the rear camber in spec without wrecking the toe.
Firestones latest results.
Hopefully this image shows up. But pretty much at +.9° camber for the rear DS and +1.0° camber for the rear PS. And the rear passenger side has been the one giving me the biggest headache. Bushings are installed like this...

Frame<o>tire on both sides.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/gpyUPRXWNtKL71nQ8


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smj999smj
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Location: Prospect, VA

Postby smj999smj » Thu Jan 17, 2019 3:53 pm

You need eccentric, rear upper control arm bushings to provide more camber adjustment:

https://www.4x4parts.com/i-22756999-rea ... hings.html

TooTallMike
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:32 am
Location: Jblm, Washington

Postby TooTallMike » Thu Jan 17, 2019 4:14 pm

Yup! Those are the bushings I have installed too! Still has the camber out about a degree on the rear passenger side. Guy told me he put the driver side about the same to eliminate cross camber. But they are both out a degree now. Any ideas??

TooTallMike
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:32 am
Location: Jblm, Washington

Postby TooTallMike » Mon Jan 21, 2019 4:45 pm

Can the coils spring position affect camber or alignment that much? I'm on having issues with the rear passenger side being out +1.5 of camber. I out the eccentric bushings in the same way as the driver side but it hasn't budged. I actually did get it to -0.5 camber but toe was sitting at like -2.19

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Tue Jan 22, 2019 11:34 am

If by "position" you mean the how the rotation of the coil was during assembly, I would think not. If you mean in regards to the change of coil spring height, then yes, definitely. The R51 Pathfinder's independent rear is not the ideal setup for suspension lifts. Frontiers/Xterras are a much better vehicle for doing suspension lifts because of the straight axle rear. Anything more than 1.5" of lift seems to make alignments a real pain on these Pathfinders.

TooTallMike
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:32 am
Location: Jblm, Washington

Postby TooTallMike » Tue Jan 22, 2019 10:24 pm

Thanks for the reply! And yeah this one side is giving me problems. The thing that's weird is that the driver side rear is fine and has even more room for adjustment. Im stumped on the rear passenger side. Only idea I have left is to get it on a jackstand and lift up the whole rear from the hub and losen the upper control arm bolts and hopefully that weight will push the camber back. Any other ideas?

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Wed Jan 23, 2019 1:11 pm

Only thing I can think of is that perhaps the eccentric inner sleeve of the bushing turned while tightening it down?

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Code Pathfinder
Posts: 209
Joined: Thu May 18, 2017 6:54 am
Location: Minnesota

Alignment

Postby Code Pathfinder » Wed Jan 23, 2019 10:59 pm

I recently lifted my truck as well

Its weird the offset bushings didnt fix the alignment in the rear for you.

For my lift I simply went with strut spacers in the front and coil spring spacers in the rear. My college's automotive program was kind enough to install the kit and do the alignment.

The techs at my college said they had troubles with the front and rear alignment. The front cam bolts on mine are seized completely but my rear bolts are not.

TooTallMike
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:32 am
Location: Jblm, Washington

Postby TooTallMike » Thu Jan 24, 2019 8:18 am

The front on mine is just fine and never had issues once the cam bolts were installed. But the rear passenger is Killin me! Smj I don't know how it would turn without the bolts being shanked. I've turned those things so many times and nothing changes. I even went as far as taking off the driver side UCA to compare it to the passenger side. I lined it up and put it on and still out on camber +1.5. I think the last thing I'll try is lifting it by the hub with the wheel off and loosen up the UCA bolts and hopefully that'll push the sleeve into it's farthest position. May go under and start measuring too. Just don't know what's going on.

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Code Pathfinder
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Location: Minnesota

Postby Code Pathfinder » Thu Jan 24, 2019 9:45 am

Basically, the alignment of these vechicles can be dumbed-down to this:

Do we love lifting our pathfinders- Absolutley :D

Does lifting your pathfinder cause alignment issues- Yes

Is the alignment system poorly designed on the pathfinders- yes

Do alignment bolts seize up on vehicles- Yes, especially if you live in a region where road salt is common.

Can you bring your pathfinder back to stock alignment after lift- yes but be prepared to spend money. The front is easier than the rear to bring back to stock. The front is simply camber bolts and after market upper control arms (if applicable). The rear requires the bushings and new camber bolts as well.

Can new alignment parts still cause alignment issues- Not usually but it can happen from time to time.

To sum it up: the alignment problems suck after you lift your pathfinder but can be fixed if you spend the money.

TooTallMike
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:32 am
Location: Jblm, Washington

Postby TooTallMike » Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:42 pm

I'm tracking all that.

My front is good to go.

The rear has the UCA eccentric bushings installed

Rear driver side is good to go.

Rear passenger side is out +1.5 on camber.

Bushings are installed the same way.

No other bushings or bolts are seized.

I'm trying to find out why just the rear passenger side is not going into spec.

I'm willing to spend money to fix it, however I don't want to to throw parts at it or waste money without knowing for sure.

TooTallMike
Posts: 68
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:32 am
Location: Jblm, Washington

Postby TooTallMike » Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:08 pm

Here's a theory. Been thinking about it and can someone either let me know if it adds up or I'm completely off. Thanks in advance.

Rear passenger side can go as low as -.5 camber but toe is -2.1.

Can I in theory adjust the left side of the UCA eccentric bushing to push the UCA out further to make it toe in as much as possible while making camber more positive?

I then would be able to crank the camber down as much as possible from the regular adjustment points while it pushes the toe out and hopefully be in a sweet spot to get that one side in spec..

Anyone have insight? And if I've completely confused you I'm sorry, I can try to elaborate lol


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