Home brew alignment theory

[Squatch]

Hey @Squatch how much lift are you running?

Your truck still riding good set at the same caster settings as Dwilly posted?

All I have is the 2 inch spacer level, and that caster setting has been working very well for me.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Ok so I tackled my 1” front lift today

here is the starting “caster” angle on the top of the ball joint. I put caster in parenthesis because this is not necessarily a perfect caster angle measurement but it does give me an idea of the axles spatial orientation underneath the rig. I zeroed the angle finder on the garage floor



here is the changes I made to compensate for the 1” lift. The factory caster alignment was the same on both sides and it was indicated by the yellow mark. I moved the setting to the silver mark.



here is the after measurement of the angle on top of the ball joint. Sorry for the pic, the spring is in the way of getting the camera closer. Within 1/10° I’ll call that good for now.



And here is the truck with 1” front 0” rear lift on 35”s

 

[Power247]

Ok so I tackled my 1” front lift today

here is the starting “caster” angle on the top of the ball joint. I put caster in parenthesis because this is not necessarily a perfect caster angle measurement but it does give me an idea of the axles spatial orientation underneath the rig. I zeroed the angle finder on the garage floor

View attachment 14700

here is the changes I made to compensate for the 1” lift. The factory caster alignment was the same on both sides and it was indicated by the yellow mark. I moved the setting to the silver mark.

View attachment 14703

here is the after measurement of the angle on top of the ball joint. Sorry for the pic, the spring is in the way of getting the camera closer. Within 1/10° I’ll call that good for now.

View attachment 14704

And here is the truck with 1” front 0” rear lift on 35”s

View attachment 14705
View attachment 14706

Looks good! Is there any noticable axle shift with the one inch lift?

Greg
2019 | RAM 2500 | CCSB | 6.4 HEMI
2016 | Heartland Pioneer | DS310

 

[whitexc]

Looks good! Is there any noticable axle shift with the one inch lift?

Greg
2019 | RAM 2500 | CCSB | 6.4 HEMI
2016 | Heartland Pioneer | DS310

This is exactly what I was wondering?

Also, if it's in another thread my apologies but what did you use to get 1"? How involved?

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Looks good! Is there any noticable axle shift with the one inch lift?

Greg
2019 | RAM 2500 | CCSB | 6.4 HEMI
2016 | Heartland Pioneer | DS310

This is exactly what I was wondering?

Also, if it's in another thread my apologies but what did you use to get 1"? How involved?

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

I can’t see it with my naked eye, but by my trig calculations it should be 1/4”. I think my eye is pretty calibrated so maybe it’s even less than 1/4”

I bought the traxada 1” spacer

how involved? I removed the swaybar links and the shock bottom bolts and the brake line bracket, dropped the axle down and the coil springs fell out.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Seems like the best place to share this stuff

I made a jig for my car so I can make quick toe adjustments with repeatable results at home

I stumbled across this little “tool” and I will probably buy it to use on my solid axle rigs.

DIY Toe Alignment Tool

TMR Customs stocks the tools to get your off-road project finished! Check out the DIY Toe Alignment tool and save the cost of an alignment after a rough off-road use!

www.tmrcustoms.com

 

[Toyotaguy]

Traxda 605030 Front Leveling Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ER1M7J0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_0F2D6DRVRZK32P90SH8X

Is this the spacer kit you used?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Traxda 605030 Front Leveling Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ER1M7J0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_0F2D6DRVRZK32P90SH8X

Is this the spacer kit you used?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If your question was directed at me, no. I have their 1” spacer, no shock extensions since I run Fox 2.0 IFP

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

View attachment 33955

They have some great stuff i always stop in their shop when im in the area as they are 3hrs away from me. And they are great to shoot the **** with

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

They have some great stuff i always stop in their shop when im in the area as they are 3hrs away from me. And they are great to shoot the **** with

I want their machete flat stock and bar bender but I don’t need it right now lol

 

[jetrinka]

The front ends on these trucks are so freaking frustrating. I swear on my life the steering wheel position changes day to day driving the EXACT same roads in the EXACT same conditions. Sometimes I swear the steering centerline is off to the right a bit and then the next day I swear its off to the left. Verified SO MANY TIMES nothing is moving in the drag link assembly. Ugh I hate it!!! Wrong truck for OCD.....

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

The front ends on these trucks are so freaking frustrating. I swear on my life the steering wheel position changes day to day driving the EXACT same roads in the EXACT same conditions. Sometimes I swear the steering centerline is off to the right a bit and then the next day I swear its off to the left. Verified SO MANY TIMES nothing is moving in the drag link assembly. Ugh I hate it!!! Wrong truck for OCD.....

The beauty of solid axle and large tires lol

 

[jetrinka]

The beauty of solid axle and large tires lol

Lemme guess. Yours does the same thing?

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

The front ends on these trucks are so freaking frustrating. I swear on my life the steering wheel position changes day to day driving the EXACT same roads in the EXACT same conditions. Sometimes I swear the steering centerline is off to the right a bit and then the next day I swear its off to the left. Verified SO MANY TIMES nothing is moving in the drag link assembly. Ugh I hate it!!! Wrong truck for OCD.....

It’s a cleaver, not a scalpel.

 

[jetrinka]

It’s a cleaver, not a scalpel.

Dude I am starting to believe its certainly not a scalpel and likely not even a cleaver. Its more of a square edged shovel with no handle attempting brain surgery....

Whats funny is I came from an 01 Cummins which certainly wandered too but seemed consistent in the steering wheel angle department. The rear coil spring setup allows the rear to move back and forth under the truck just like the front as it goes through its travel arc just making things worse! Didn't have that problem on the old Cummins.

*Sigh* I need to relax. I'm gonna go have a stiff drink and try to stop hating this stupid "problem" so much...

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Dude I am starting to believe its certainly not a scalpel and likely not even a cleaver. Its more of a square edged shovel with no handle attempting brain surgery....

Whats funny is I came from an 01 Cummins which certainly wandered too but seemed consistent in the steering wheel angle department. The rear coil spring setup allows the rear to move back and forth under the truck just like the front as it goes through its travel arc just making things worse! Didn't have that problem on the old Cummins.

*Sigh* I need to relax. I'm gonna go have a stiff drink and try to stop hating this stupid "problem" so much...

How much caster and toe are you running?

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Lemme guess. Yours does the same thing?

Not this one but some other trucks and jeeps i have had… and the rear track bar keeps things pretty well inline and you dont get much movement side to side i think 4” of travel up and down translates in to 1” sideways movement you get more movement in the tires hitting bumps than that…

 

[jetrinka]

How much caster and toe are you running?

Toe is zero and caster if I remember right was even just above 5 degrees each side. Its not pulling at all - just following crown but its hard to find true center with the drag link is all.

I know you said in another thread your truck drove like garbage on Thuren's specs

Honestly just ignore me lol. I am attempting to fix problems that don't actually exist

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

I know you said in another thread your truck drove like garbage on Thuren's specs

That wasnt me, must’ve been somebody else. I’ve never had my truck on an alignment rack and my truck never rode bad.

My truck rides great with the alignment I did in this thread, fox 2.0s and no front sway bar.