I just wanted to pass along some info that I spent way too much energy obtaining.

After lowering my truck 2/4 I noticed some negative camber effecting my front tire's wear. My alignment guy says he can probably align it out without the use of any special offset bushings or special control arms, but if not he would still have to charge me for the attempt.

So I opted to purchase Belltechs Front End Alignment Kit part # 4955. Which is offset control arm bushings, cam locks, and special tool. These bushings provide 1 degree of positive camber, and if you use the cam locks they provide 1 more degree. The first problem with this kit, is that you must remove the old bushings and install the new ones yourself. Easier said than done. I bent both my c clamps trying to remove one bushing, it didnt budge. The second problem with this kit is the fact that it cost around $85 shipped and does not include the labor involved in pressing out/in the bushings. Nor does it take into consideration that you probably have bad upper control arm ball joints and need to replace those while you're at it.

THE SOLUTION!!!!

Moog's Upper Control Arm RK80826
Federal-Mogul eCatalog Resource Center

Moog sells an upper control arm that includes a new ball joint and their offset bushings already pressed in. These bushings provide 2 degrees of positive camber. They dont require a visit to a machine shop to have bushings pressed in and I think you will be pretty surprised at the cost. I found them at Rock Auto for VERY reasonable price. I'm not sure if I can post a link, seeing as they are not a sponsor, but check it out. Both of the control arms cost me about the same price as the kit above, and they include the new ball joints. Win/Win. This is the perfect solution for the DIY'er guy with just hand tools.

I was surprised to not find this type of information readily available on this forum, especially since lowering your truck is so common. Hopefully someone finds this useful when attempting to correct their camber problem.



FYI: Moogs website doesnt state exactly weather the camber correction built into these bushings are positive or negative. I contacted Moogs Support Center and spoke to Chuck. He was able to pull up the blueprint on this part # and verified that the hole in the bushing sits closer to the frame of the truck (further from the balljoint than stock). Which allows for 2 degrees of positive camber correction.

 

That's pretty cool.

I hear you on not wanting to screw around with bushings. I have done them on two cars in the past. Things like a pneumatic hammer or shop press are a must. Possibly even a torch. It is worth it to just get the replacement a arm.

 

I didn't see it in your description. Did you lower the truck with spindles or shorter springs.

 

I have a press and went the easier route of new upper and lower control arms! The price difference wasn't that much.

 

I just bought the Moog Lower and Upper Control Arms from Summit when I did the 3/5 drop. Only a few bucks higher than ball joints and a lot easier to work with IMO...

 

I used a Belltech 2/4 drop kit. The one with springs up front.

 

How much better is the "problem solver" series versus the R series?

"powdered-metal gusher bearing to allow grease to penetrate bearing surfaces" appears to be the only difference