Washer coil spacers and amount required question

[legoms013]

Heres the basic question in its simplest form:
how tall of a spacer should i use. I have enough washers for a 2" stack.

Heres the info that is required to answer that question:
My truck has zero camber as it is, and the axle pivot bolts are maxed out in the up direction (see picture). I want to set those cam bolts to their lowest position on the bracket, and then use washers to get back to someplace that is still alignable and achieving ride height lift. The cam bolts, if moved from the top most position to the lowest is exactly one inch (from center of bolt head to center of bolt head)....that means there is one inch of adjustment on the bracket; how many degrees that is, is way beyond me.

I have 1-1/2" of usable thread on the stud for the coil nut.

I know the ttb has a 1.5:1 lift ratio, but i only kno that from the current setting on the cam bolts and not with them in the extreme opposite setting.

I need someone with an engineering background or is generally just smart to maybe help me work through this problem to figure out about how many washers i should use so that 1 i can still align it and 2 get the most lift out of it. I would rather not take everything apart twice or more times to dial it in. but if i must i must....but maybe an internet discussion can eliminate this .
From what I have thought about it needs all of 1.5" of washers to make up for the massive amount of negative camber it will have when I move the cams to the lowest position and still lift the truck to a higher ride height.

Cam bolt is at bottom of both passenger and drivers side TTB brackets (tuff country made). Both are set to their highest position within their adjustment range.

Whew lots of typing. If i need to explain more or clarify please let me kno! Thanks!!!

 

[Bray D]

If you're not moving the pivot position then yes, the TTB has a 1.5:1 ratio. Since you're moving the pivot position, the ratio is no longer necessary for calculation. There's no calculation at all really, if you're moving the pivot down 1", add 1" of washers and this will move the entire beam down 1", resulting in 0 change in camber.

Wait for someone else to chime in to confirm this if you wish, there's always a possibility I'm missing something.

edit: you said you want to gain the most lift as well. Adding 1" of washers and moving the pivot down 1" will result in 1" of lift. Any additional washers used after that will add to lift, and will require the 1.5:1 ratio for calculation of actual lift (add .5" of additional washers and gain .75" of additional lift). IIRC the beam is 45" long, and the position of the spring is at 30" (that's where the 1.5:1 ratio comes from). Adding 1.5" of washer will yield 1.75" of lift after you move the pivot down. This will also add just under 1* of positive camber. Whether you can bring that back into alignment depends on the original position of your camber/caster cams. Honestly, I wouldn't be too worried about 1* though.

 

[tanbuddy]

I was thinking about this too, 1 inch of spacers and the 1 inch in the bolt will keep the camber the same, the caster will change however. That can be taken care of with the alighment in the ball joints, or ive seen rad arm bushings that have adjustments for caster, i think they were in napa

 

[Bray D]

True. Forgot to address caster. Inverse tangent [tan^(-1)] of [(additional washer thickness in inches)/(radius arm length in inches)] = approx degree of caster change. Using 1.5" of washers makes the "additional washer thickness" .5". A 20" radius arm (just guessing) will change the caster ~1.5*.

 

[4x4junkie]

Yep, what has been said above is correct.

Something else to take into account though...
It does appear in your pic that your steering linkage might already have some angle on it. Moving the axle down will further increase the amount of angle on the steering. You might want to get the Skyjacker #FA600 pitman arm for it afterward if the linkage isn't down even with the axle.

 

[legoms013]

Thanks guyys i believe i know what to do now. 1" of washers to move the pivot bolt down and overall lift about .5" of additional washer to lift after that(but still be in spec).......CORRECT me if im wrong. 1.5" total stack of washers to use all my adjustment range and lift the front end to make the centerline of the hubs 1" below the cam.

Junkie....the angle will be worse yes as it isnt ideal now but soon i plan on adding a superlift superrunner setup with a modified centerlink. The skyjacker arm is fairly pricy for what it is so for double the $$$ i might as well get equal length tie rods out of it.

 

[4x4junkie]

Sounds like an excellent plan to me

 

[legoms013]

So I put th washers in today. 1.5" stack of them to be exact. Here's how I did it....makeshift hoist, little bit redneck but the preferred method IMHO.

Up close of the washers:

Just enough thread:

Basically a 5" lift now:

Steering linkage is not happy, but I don't care . According to my angle finder (@ the hubs) there is about 1.25 degrees and 1.5 degrees of positive camber for the right and left sides (respectively):

 

[4x4junkie]

Diggin' the hoist lol. Use what you got on hand is what I say.

Looks good

Just hurry up and get that modded Superlift steering kit under there, cuz your tires won't be too happy now either.

 

[84stealthranger]

can i do this to my stock 84 ranger but not as much just to level it out in the front and still be safe?

 

[railman]

can i do this to my stock 84 ranger but not as much just to level it out in the front and still be safe?

yup...you sure can

l8r, John

 

[tanbuddy]

The only thing u dont have is the adjustable bolt on the center pivot bushings, only the trailmaster (i think) lift brackets come wiht this. U can stil lift it and use adjustable bushings in the ball joint

 

[legoms013]

tanbuddy,

tuff country is the brand on these....and i found out the adjusting slots are good for +- 2.5 degrees of camber adjustment, just for future reference. They sure helped over the SIX months it took for th stiff tuff country coils to settle....sigh should have went with skyjacker.

everytime i noticed negative camber i just went outside and made a slight adjustment. thats how eventually the cam bolt ended up maxed out at the highest setting.

 

[legoms013]

I guess toss out the modified superrunner steering system 4x4Junkie, I got a heckuva deal on an extreme drop pitman arm thru autoparts warehouse on black friday. Should be here one monday. I havent decided if ill put it on over the weekend or wait till when I do balljoints, aussie locker, c-clip eliminator, & spicer 5-760x's and do it all at once and then get it aligned then (altho that doesnt really matter i have a lifetime alignemnt deal with firestone).

The bump steer bugs me, especially cuz I drive 60 miles a day to and from school. Must really be a weird driving experience when offroad and flexed out, but i havent tested that yet.

 

[strtspdlx]

not to hijack this thread but what is there a specific id and od for the washers? and specific material washer you need to do this?