1994 SC 4x4 + SuperLift 2" Leveling Kit = +10degrees camber??

[RockyMTNCanuck]

I'm sure this has been covered in detail in other threads, but I haven't quite come across the same situation in reading through them, so here goes:

Swapped in a brand new 1"-2" 'leveling' kit from SuperLift, complete with the recommended shocks, and went from -1 1/2* on passenger front tire to almost +10 degrees! Driver side is a little less extreme, about +8*.

Now, I know the front springs were worn out from 300000kms of dodgy roads,
and the last alignment I had was maxed out on the bushings to get it as good as it was (and it was still scrubbing up the insides of my tires), but is it
normal to swing it out that far out of spec with only 2" of lift at the most? How could anyone possibly put in a 4" or 8" lift on these trucks without laying
the tires over so far the bead blows out?!

And more importantly, how can I restore it to vertical without cutting the
springs down to factory height? I have it in for an alignment this morning, but if I understand correctly, the NAPA bushings I have in there are
only good for 4*, so at best I'm still sitting at +6* camber...

As far as I can tell, everything is seated properly, nothing bent or out of position. No weird clunks or grinding noises at slow speeds, and I don't want
to push it harder until the alignement is done. The u-joints are a little noisier than before but I assume due to the new angles being put on them, so really not sure what to think of it at this point. It's definately taller, as I went from about 1.5" tire clearance to at least 4", but it's undriveable as it is currently, and I don't think 4* of correction will make that big a difference. Anyone has ideas, I'm all ears!

Thanks in advance,

Damon Kreutz

1994 4.0L Ranger SuperCab aka 'The Jolly Ranger'

 

[rickcdewitt]

get some of the cheap adjustable axle pivot drops for 1-2" of lift.should help it get into range

 

[RockyMTNCanuck]

Is that something the local parts houses would carry? The Superlift stuff took almost
two months to show up at my door, and I'm not getting any younger...

 

[rickcdewitt]

Is that something the local parts houses would carry? The Superlift stuff took almost
two months to show up at my door, and I'm not getting any younger...

i saw them in a few of the 4x4 mags.i'm a little hazy on the brands but it shoulden't be too hard too find.are you talking about customs for the 2 month wait?

 

[RockyMTNCanuck]

Customs was a week, initial order went missing, second order was delayed as they only items they had in stock for the kit were the stickers and shock boots...was a long process but at least it showed up finally. The installation wasn't too bad actually, first time I've ever swapped out coil springs so it was educational. If it's still twitchy after the alignment I may have to swap back to the stockers until any other parts shows up and try it all again.

 

[rickcdewitt]

O.K. got ya covered.tuff country alignment brackets part# WC476942B in the JC WHITNEY catalog.their canadian order # is 1-800-553-1872 american# 800-529-4486
for 1.5-2.5" lifts with camber eccentrics to give additional camber adjustment.

 

[RockyMTNCanuck]

Hey, that's crazy enough it just might work! Thanks Rick...

 

[rickcdewitt]

the brackets are dropped to level the beams plus more adjustabilityfor the amount of money spent it might be better to go with a 4" kit though

 

[RockyMTNCanuck]

I initially wanted to level out the front end and replace some worn out parts in one
shot - so a 4" will make it that much worse I would think. The way it's sitting now, the
front is actually taller than the rear, which came as a suprise. Now that I think of it,
isn't there some way to back off the TTB to lower the front back down? I vaguely recall someone cranking up the beams to gain some lift, so backing off might drop it half an
inch might...can't recall the details thou. I'm an electronics tech, not a mechanic.

 

[samsonitesamsonite]

you can crank T-bars in the newer trucks for lift but thats with a different suspension, unfortunatley unless you use different springs you can't lower it back down.

 

[4x4junkie]

Something is very wrong if your camber changed by a total of 11.5°.

It sounds to me like someone sent you 4" (or maybe even 5.5") lift coils, not 2" ones...

 

[rickcdewitt]

good call.next i guess measure the spring height with the suspension loaded and subtract 10.5 from it.that is the approximate lift height of the new springs.

 

[rickcdewitt]

or just jump it until it settles a bit

 

[metalmacguyver]

you could make a bullet proof hood out of 1/2" steel plate. that should level it out.

 

[RockyMTNCanuck]

All fine suggestions, each having a moment or two of glory before ulimately wrecking on the jagged rocks of feasability! I liked the steel plate hood, that shows some promise.

I don't know how they did it, but alignment shop managed to pull everything in again and
get it straight. Couldn't get it quite vertical, the camber came back at +0.5* each side
and that was as far in as it would go, but I think Junkie might be onto something with the wrong parts theory. The tire to fender clearance went from 1-1/2" / 6" (Front and Rear) to 7" / 6", so it came up a good 5 inches in front. I would guess I was sent 4" springs, but the shocks haven't hit limit in the test runs I've made so who knows?

All said, it's in, looks really sharp, and ride quality has improved immensely. Combined with the 1-piece shaft conversion I put in last month, the old beast is really starting to come around now. Next phase, brake and bearing upgrades with D44 knuckles! That may take awhile to figure out - I better butter up the wife now so I'll have a car to run for new tools half way into it!