Camber bushing confusion, looking for clarity.

[rangerbum]

I finally finished my D35/8.8 swap from an explorer into my BII. The explorer was all original and saggy, the BII lifted around 4".

I took it to a locally owned shop this morning(guy supposedly with a lot of Ttb experience) to get an alignment. He took a look and said I need drop brackets because using camber bushings more than 1.5º causes the axleshafts to bind. I didn't feel like arguing so I just went to a less local shop.

At the bigger name shop they said that "Though they do make 3º and 4º bushings, they aren't allowed to install more than 2¼º ones because the ball joints can't handle it."

Long story short, my front end looked like \ / and that clearly doesn't work well. I'm over budget already, so can't get brackets. I Jacked it up, loosened the pinch bolts, and rotated the stock bushings to correct the camber and caster as much as possible. It drives great, is aligned
better than it was with the old axle, and the camber looks perfect. Steering return to center is weak though due to the caster.


Anyway, has anyone had issues like those mentioned above? Does anyone run the 4º successfully? I haven't heard any horror stories. Are these guys just trying to avoid "The big scary Ford alignment?"

 

[racer1044]

Im not sure if there is a max camber on 4wd models but I know with the 2wd models there is a little sticker that says do not exceed negative 2 degress on 2wd models. I assume if they make them for 4 degrees they are ok to run. But with 4 inches of lift you should need drop brackets.

 

[rangerbum]

Yeah that's what I'd like to do, and definitely will in the future. I had to move to a new place this fall so I no longer have my own shop to work in. And my budget has been very tight being that this summer I had to buy new wheels for my fiancees car(old ones bent), new tires since the old ones wore awful from the bent wheels. Then winter tires. Plus college payments, limited hours at work, and saving for our wedding.

my camber seems to be good at the degree it is at, I've tested it at different angles and it doesn't bind up, but then again I'm probably only using 2½º or so. Its the caster that is off. It needs addressed for now, then this summer I'm planning on the drop brackets.

 

[canyoncritter]

I know I can max out my caster setting with the adjustable bushings I have. the knuckle will rub against the beam housing. 20 dollar cheap ones from pep boys...

 

[rangerbum]

Thank you, that's the type of specific known issues that I'm trying to track down. I'd love to keep the ttb, and utilize the design to keep the higher ground clearance in the center. I figure if I need to use drop brackets and have the beams practically level I might as well sas.

Really considering finding a bare D35 Ttb housing and attempting to cut, turn, and extend the beams. Its a dedicated wheeler, so why not?

 

[canyoncritter]

http://www.northstarmfg.com/product/44-5094.html heres the ones the I was using.

about 3 inches of lift is about the most you can go, using all stock mounting points. Front drive shaft and the radius arm cross member start touching after much more