Front end problems after Hotchkis TVS...
09-24-2007, 10:12 PM
#21
thanks for the comments guys...keep 'em coming...
remember that each alignment guy said that they had my alignment set as far in the direction that it needed to go as they could get it...whatever that was...I don't remember now...positive camber I would guess...
spoke with a guy tonight that runs a local performance shop...did alignments at a dealership for 11 years prior...
he said that everyone has probably been setting to factory specs and THAT is the most likely culprit...that factory specs are way off for my set-up...
he's in the middle of merging with another performance shop into an all new mega-shop and won't have the equipment set-up to look at my truck for another month...
guess I'm gonna give the old school guy a shot at it Wednesday...got my fingers crossed...
remember that each alignment guy said that they had my alignment set as far in the direction that it needed to go as they could get it...whatever that was...I don't remember now...positive camber I would guess...
spoke with a guy tonight that runs a local performance shop...did alignments at a dealership for 11 years prior...
he said that everyone has probably been setting to factory specs and THAT is the most likely culprit...that factory specs are way off for my set-up...
he's in the middle of merging with another performance shop into an all new mega-shop and won't have the equipment set-up to look at my truck for another month...
guess I'm gonna give the old school guy a shot at it Wednesday...got my fingers crossed...
+1 for bad alignment
09-26-2007, 06:49 AM
#24
Definitely appears to be a excessive negative camber to me. I don't believe toe in would cause a scrub like that (please correct me if I'm wrong).
Here's some easy sotp testing: Does the truck seem to turn in super easy or super hard (toe symptoms)? Is it loose in the corners (lots of oversteer -- negative camber) or tight (lots of understeer -- positive camber)?
If you can get the specs printed, we can go from there. I took specs in on my last alignment, and I have a huuuge drop these days (2" spindles and 3" tbar keys) and they got them pretty close to stock SS specs.
Here's some easy sotp testing: Does the truck seem to turn in super easy or super hard (toe symptoms)? Is it loose in the corners (lots of oversteer -- negative camber) or tight (lots of understeer -- positive camber)?
If you can get the specs printed, we can go from there. I took specs in on my last alignment, and I have a huuuge drop these days (2" spindles and 3" tbar keys) and they got them pretty close to stock SS specs.
09-26-2007, 10:01 AM
#25
well...before I drove an hour to the alignment shop, I stopped by a friend's fab shop...we started talking about my alignment issues and he started schooling me on the geometrics of it all...
we looked at my truck and you can, especially with the wheels and tires on it now, see the top tilted in on each side...I showed him where the eccentrics for camber adjustment were adjusted as far as they could be...
he had me pull it in the shop and we put a straight piece of aluminum on the wheel from lip to lip and he put a digital angle reader on it and showed me that the wheels were at 89.4 degrees angle to the ground...we measured from the ground to the fender well, then jacked up the truck until the meter read 90 degrees, then remeasured from floor to fender...
we had to raise my truck 7/8" to get it to 90 degrees...
we're thinking that the extra weight of the ProCharger and large FMIC has some play on the truck sitting lower than most Hotchkis 2/4 setups as well as being an Ext. Cab...which sorta makes since due to the uneven-ness of the bad wear on the tires...the driver's side was to the belts already and the passenger wasn't showing at all(see pics)...not only is my lard *** sitting on that side, but so is the Procharger...
so...we're thinking that a pair of polyurethane coil spring spacers will raise it enough to get back to 90 degrees and actually give me back some adjustability with the eccentrics...
looking at the Daystar KG09100BK 1.25" spacers...$74.95 @ Summit...
we looked at my truck and you can, especially with the wheels and tires on it now, see the top tilted in on each side...I showed him where the eccentrics for camber adjustment were adjusted as far as they could be...
he had me pull it in the shop and we put a straight piece of aluminum on the wheel from lip to lip and he put a digital angle reader on it and showed me that the wheels were at 89.4 degrees angle to the ground...we measured from the ground to the fender well, then jacked up the truck until the meter read 90 degrees, then remeasured from floor to fender...
we had to raise my truck 7/8" to get it to 90 degrees...
we're thinking that the extra weight of the ProCharger and large FMIC has some play on the truck sitting lower than most Hotchkis 2/4 setups as well as being an Ext. Cab...which sorta makes since due to the uneven-ness of the bad wear on the tires...the driver's side was to the belts already and the passenger wasn't showing at all(see pics)...not only is my lard *** sitting on that side, but so is the Procharger...
so...we're thinking that a pair of polyurethane coil spring spacers will raise it enough to get back to 90 degrees and actually give me back some adjustability with the eccentrics...
looking at the Daystar KG09100BK 1.25" spacers...$74.95 @ Summit...
Last edited by Superado; 09-26-2007 at 02:45 PM.
09-26-2007, 02:44 PM
#27
correction on the spacers...local vendor told me 1"...Summit website said 1.25"...box that they came in says 1.5"...so...I called Daystar and was told that they are 1.5"...doesn't look like it, but who knows?
well...as my luck usually is...by the time I got the part, it was time to go to a dentist appt. and then get ready to take the family to the fair tonight, soooo...I guess this project will proceed another day...problem is...it's hard to find 4 hours in a day to do something like this when working two jobs...
well...as my luck usually is...by the time I got the part, it was time to go to a dentist appt. and then get ready to take the family to the fair tonight, soooo...I guess this project will proceed another day...problem is...it's hard to find 4 hours in a day to do something like this when working two jobs...
10-05-2007, 11:17 PM
#28
got the spacers on tonight!
not too bad...just time consuming...
end result...spacers raised each side 1-1/8"
driver side fender before...28-13/16"...after...29-15/16"
passenger side fender before...29-1/4"...after...30-3/8"
the wheels were obviously tilted in at the top before...after spacers they look dead straight....
gonna put a week of driving on it to settle the springs into the spacers good and then have an alignment done...
not too bad...just time consuming...
end result...spacers raised each side 1-1/8"
driver side fender before...28-13/16"...after...29-15/16"
passenger side fender before...29-1/4"...after...30-3/8"
the wheels were obviously tilted in at the top before...after spacers they look dead straight....
gonna put a week of driving on it to settle the springs into the spacers good and then have an alignment done...
10-18-2007, 10:41 PM
#29
went for an alignment Monday...driver side lower ball joint (the only PITA when installing spacers) was shot...
got a new one under warranty (Moog @ O'Reilly) Tuesday...
got it installed tonight...thanks to cablebandit and the MSS...
back to the alignment shop in the morning...
got a new one under warranty (Moog @ O'Reilly) Tuesday...
got it installed tonight...thanks to cablebandit and the MSS...
back to the alignment shop in the morning...
