87Chief Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I had an alignment done on my truck the other day, mind you I put some WJ lower control arms on, the mechanic said the caster can't go anymore negative because you can't fit shims in.. I looked on the screen and the caster said 2.5 degrees positive.. What could I do to make it right? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I had an alignment done on my truck the other day, mind you I put some WJ lower control arms on, the mechanic said the caster can't go anymore negative because you can't fit shims in.. I looked on the screen and the caster said 2.5 degrees positive.. What could I do to make it right? Thanks Why? You can insert almost 3/8" of shim thickness behind the LCA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainman Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Any pics of where the shims go? I want to see this/learn. I had my control arms off doing repairs and i didnt see anything adjustable at all. Just bolt holes. Thats why i thought they made adjustable LCA's. But if there is a way to adjust caster on our trucks that would make sense. :popcorn: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbyluvv Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Something tells me you're missing the alignment shoes. There should be 2 nuts on the back of each lower control arm pocket. You loosen these nuts and insert the shims between the LCA pocket and the shoe. If the nuts are not there then the shoe is missing. If they are you need a alignment shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Here you can see the alignment shoes (#5), adjustment nuts (#11) and shims (#10). You can get the shims at the dealer in .95mm and 4.00mm thickness. All I needed was one 4mm shim on each side to correct caster after the lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sinkrun Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 :popcorn: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 You don't want caster to go negative. You want caster to be 6.5-7.5 degrees POSITIVE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainman Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Thanks hornbrod. :) Now i get to crawl around under there tonight and stare at all that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Chief Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share Posted August 12, 2012 Ok, so the degrees for caster would 6.5-7.5... not 0 degrees correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Right. +7* is what you are shooting for. But if you're running a lift say over 3" and have 4WD, you might have to go to a bit less caster to compromise (maybe 4*) because it makes the front diff operating angle higher and can cause vibes. Course, with 2WD I don't have to worry about that. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Chief Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share Posted August 12, 2012 It is 4wd but with only 2" lift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Should be no worries then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Chief Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Ok, went back again.. He showed me when he moved the Lower Control arm all the way forward, the nuts almost all the way out, it only went up to 3.4 degrees.. I do have the WJ lower control arms on.. Should I be looking for adjustable lower control arms? Thanks everyone so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Two questions: 1) Approximately how far do the studs the nuts screw on to extend back from the rear of the control arm (a pic would help), and 2) What size tires do you have on? I noticed there were two part numbers for the clevis (adj. shoe) and I think it's because of the stud length. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Chief Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 I will pictures asap.. I run 265/75r15 tires (31x10.5) and I think I understand with the adjustment shoe.. That's the part the lower control arm actually bolts to correct? That could be the shorter of the two? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I will pictures asap.. I run 265/75r15 tires (31x10.5) and I think I understand with the adjustment shoe.. That's the part the lower control arm actually bolts to correct? That could be the shorter of the two? The adjustment clevis (part #5 in the diagram provided above) has a round hole in it, but the frame pocket has a horizontally elongated hole in it as well. The rear control arm bolt goes through both the frame pocket walls and the clevis. The real strength comes from the frame pocket, which is much heavier steel than the arms of the clevis. That just provides the adjustment, then the bolt is socked down, clamping the walls of the frame pocket against the steel sleeve in the bushing. It's really the frame pocket that holds the control arm in the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Chief Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 well i went to the dealer here.. And they said they don't have 2 part numbers for the adjust clevis (#5) only one.. Should I just get some 4mm shims and throw those in? It would make probably make it better.. right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 well i went to the dealer here.. And they said they don't have 2 part numbers for the adjust clevis (#5) only one.. Should I just get some 4mm shims and throw those in? It would make probably make it better.. right? They are correct, there is only one p/n for the clevis. But there are two p/n's for the shims, one is thick, and one is thin. All I needed was ONE 4mm SHIM (the thick one) on each side, in addition to the shims that were already there, to correct caster to specs. Where are your pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Chief Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 Ah yes. So sorry I will get them tomorrow night after work. Sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Chief Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 Here are the pictures.. Remember they were both 2.5-2.6 degrees.. Here is one of just the front end/driveshaft.. Sorry if they areblurry, they were with my phone.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Looks like there are no shims on the left side and 3-4 on the right. Normally there's an equal number on both sides. Did your alignment guy install or remove and shims trying to correct the caster using his machine to check during the process? Anyhow, stick a 4mm shim on each side, looks like there's room enough. It can only make it better. Do you have an angle finder? It's real easy to check the caster yourself if you do. http://gojeep.willyshotrod.com/HowtoAlignment.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Chief Posted August 25, 2012 Author Share Posted August 25, 2012 My fiance's dad might have one that I could barrow. I will go pick one up Monday afternoon. No the mechanic did not remove or install any shims.. just adjusted toe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 ...the mechanic said the caster can't go anymore negative because you can't fit shims in.. Sort of looks like the mechanic lied to you, doesn't it? My guess is he didn't have shims that fit MJs, didn't know where to get them or didn't want to be bothered, so it was easier to tell you it couldn't be done. Nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Chief Posted August 26, 2012 Author Share Posted August 26, 2012 Funny thing is that he said it couldn't go anymore negative, so I came on here and you guys said it needed to be 7 degrees POSITIVE, so.. took it back and put it on the rack and he said forward is not postive, I said, yes, yes it is.. He said ok look, he moved the control arm forward, it went from 2.5 degrees POSITIVE to 3 degrees POSITVE. I said and that's not going positive? He said well it has to go back to zero and then make it's way back up... :huh???: I said whatever dude, and told him to back it out. Funny thing, he's the mechanic where I work. I'm only the tire tech so I can't touch my own car in the shop.. Next thing I'm going to do is take it to my old college and talk to the instructor and see if he will let me do my OWN alignment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 I don't think I would let that guy do ANYTHING to my truck ever again. What an idiot! Does he not understand that if you keep going positive, it will never get back to zero??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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