Aligning driver side tire

[6.2]

After a recent wheeling adventure my driver side tire is majorly inward at the top. No pics yet. Keep forgetting and it's dark now. As well as t steering wheel is pointed right when going straight.

But it's pretty bad. Passenger side is fine.

Is there an easy way to fix this in my driveway? Anything that can loosen or go out of spec after wheeling? Or am I gonna have to have a shop do it.

 

[bigmark303]

Sounds like a camber issue. Pretty normal for it to come out of alignment on those IFS front ends if you clip something with the wheel/tire. Could be caused by a few things. Ball joints, spindle, upper control arm, camber/caster bolts.

Jack it up and check the ball joints for play. If they check out good move to the spindle and make sure its not bent or damaged. If thats good now look at the upper control arm and make sure it too is not bent/damaged. If all checks out up to this point check the bolts that hold the upper control arm to the frame. Those two bolts adjust caster/camber and if damaged wont align. If they appear undamaged you can go ahead and adjust them to bring the tire back out and straight.

If nothing is damaged and it just needs a little tweaking you can most certainly adjust it yourself as its pretty easy. Its just turning the bolts and you can see the spindle and rotor moving so you know when its close. Put the tire back on and back up 20ft then drive forward again so the tire settles. Take a look and see where you are at. You may have to tweak it a few times but its easy. The only issue is the caster which returns your tires straight when you let go of the wheel may never be perfect if you do it yourself but it does not affect tire wear. Its just a slight pull in one direction youll notice.

After the front end looks good and straight (if needed, you may not have to) center the steering wheel and then you can adjust tie rods to bring the tires back straight with the steering wheel.

If any of those parts are damaged dont attemp adjusting it yourself until they are replaced because they will never hold the alignment after you do it. If you wheel hard or just use your truck in rough terrain learning how to do a self alignment of camber and toe is a must. Otherwise you spend a lot having it aligned every time you bump it out of spec so you dont chew up tires.

 

[6.2]

Yeah. It's got a lot of negative camber.

I'll look through all that. Wouldn't be surprised if something's bent the way I treat my truck lol

I got a ton of rough terrain driving. Living where I do it's impossible to avoid sometimes. Not to mention its also fun lmao.

I just wanna get it close enough so it doesn't kill my tire more than it has. I'm getting new ones soon, but I don't have a spare so I dot want it to wear down and blow.

Thanks for the tips. Will check out the areas you suggested.

 

[bigmark303]

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Alignment.html

Read through that link. Its the TTB suspension and not the IFS as you have but if you can understand it its the same concept of how things work. Instead of having the caster/camber bushing on top of the upper ball joint like the TTB has you have two caster/camber bolts that attach the upper control arm to the frame. Its the exact same concept being bushing or bolt. You turn them and they adjust very simple.

Once you are familiar with setting camber and toe youll be able to adjust the caster if the slight pull bothers you. Its all very simple if you understand how each part interacts with each other.

 

[6.2]

Thanks bro. So rangers have adjustable camber bolts from factory? I know some trucks/cars you gotta buy those aftermarket.

 

[bigmark303]

they all have adjustment to some degree. All the factory ones are are the ones that were needed to get a proper alignment. Every truck is different so there is no standard factory caster/camber bolt. Its pretty much whatever it took to get the truck aligned.

If all your other parts check out and those bolts are not damaged you should be able to bring the wheel back into spec by adjusting them. Even the ones labled as fixed degree are offset to a certain degree. And while not adjustable from one degree to the next they can be spun 180 degrees from the fixed + degree to that same degree in -. yours may have just loosened up and spun a bit.

Youll see just what im talking about when you get in there to check it all.

 

[6.2]

Aight cool thanks.

Hopefully I have time to get in there tonight.

 

[6.2]

Checked everything out. From what I can see its all good. Ball joints seem fine, nothing looks bent, but then again I didn't compare sides.


Forgot to mention. And this may throw it off but I'm not sure. My shock on that side is just loose in the upper mount. Blew it apart a while back. And it came out if its socket. Beer did get it tightened with a washer. Would that cause it? I wouldn't think so but maybe

^ still like that, well, I compressed it and put it back in the hole. Just never put a new bushing or washer or whatever it is.

Here's a pic if the tire.

That is jacked up a little bit. Tires still on the ground by maybe 1" worth of jack

 

[bigmark303]

Even if you removed the shock the truck would maybe droop a tiny bit, but nothing to bring that tire so far out of alignment. Shocks dont hold any weight of the vehicle.

If nothing is loose/broken and looks alright, spin those caster/camber bolts and see how far you can bring the top of the tire back out. You are out a good 2 degrees to be chewing up that tire that fast.

 

[6.2]

Yeah. Figured the shock wouldn't do it.

Tried getting a wrench on the bolts but god damn there's not a lot of room lol. Gotta find a socket the right size and a wrench that will fit