Alignment question

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not on the rug
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Alignment question

Postby not on the rug » Sat Nov 12, 2016 7:39 am

So I removed my lift and went back to factory height and found out that the rear adjustment bolts were totally seized. They tried a hammer and even a press and couldn't budge them at all. My buddy said he could cut them out, but they we'd be forced to replace the control arms.

So...is this rear camber going to destroy my tires or will I be able to get away with it and get reasonable tire life?

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labsy
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Postby labsy » Sun Nov 13, 2016 2:11 pm

Well, it seems like LEFT side is critical, which might point into some extensively worn out parts on REAR LEFT, most likely silent joints on rear arms or ball joints, maybe spring seat...or even years of having heavier load on left side, with driver....would produce left spring to be a bit lower than right one.

Indeed it's slight amount of TOE, which destroys tires the most, so it might not be critical. While CAMBER rear can create so called "thrust angle", pushing vehicle one way when accelerating, so you need to compensate slightly with steering wheel.
I think it is NOT in critical range, but enough as a warning sign to check suspension components and replace worn out parts. But I am not a mechanic, just my amateur experience.

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disallow
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Postby disallow » Sun Nov 13, 2016 8:37 pm

I think it'll be fine. Put in the airlift to help the camber and even better.

You can also do use the adjustment bolts with a good penetrating oil everyday for a few weeks and I bet they get them loose. That's what I did last time. No torches or extra effort required.

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Mon Nov 14, 2016 3:33 pm

I think you are going to wear out the left rear tire prematurely. You camber is a hair over a full degree beyond the spec limit combined with a tow that is 0.10 degree beyond the spec limit. So, the top of the tire is leaning in plus the toe is pointing the tire outward. This will lead to excessive wear of the inner side of the tire tread.

not on the rug
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Postby not on the rug » Tue Nov 22, 2016 12:59 pm

disallow wrote:I think it'll be fine. Put in the airlift to help the camber and even better.

You can also do use the adjustment bolts with a good penetrating oil everyday for a few weeks and I bet they get them loose. That's what I did last time. No torches or extra effort required.
I have had the airlift bags in for quite a while. they were deflated at the time of alignment. I would imagine that going back to 10-12 psi might correct that camber a tiny bit

not on the rug
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Postby not on the rug » Tue Nov 22, 2016 1:03 pm

smj999smj wrote:I think you are going to wear out the left rear tire prematurely. You camber is a hair over a full degree beyond the spec limit combined with a tow that is 0.10 degree beyond the spec limit. So, the top of the tire is leaning in plus the toe is pointing the tire outward. This will lead to excessive wear of the inner side of the tire tread.
i'm hoping the airlift helps out a tiny bit. also, i've seen it on cars before where they run 2 degrees negative camber to improve handling and never really had major issues with prematurely worn tires.

at this point in time, I am probably doing tires in a year anyway. I'm going to take pics of the tires every month or two and keep a close eye on the wear. if it isn't horrible and i can get 40k on a set instead of 50k, then so be it. if i'm going to tear through rear tires annually, then i'm going to have to bite the bullet and have the bolts cut out and replace whatever i need to replace.

i have 102k miles on it and i'll probably be in the market for a new vehicle when I get to around 150k anyway.


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