did i screw up?!?!?!?!?!

ct.russ · 11-07-2009, 01:59 PM

i got a 96 2 door rag top 4x4 . i put in a 2 inch spring spacer lift kit .. this put the alignment way out .. i installed new struts .. the alignment shop said that camber adjustment bolts were not available for this model and to "hog " the upper hole in and the bottom hole out .. well the strut hole was just about 1/2 inch so i bored it out to 5/8 top and bottom .. i figured this gave me 1/4 inch top and 1/4 inch bottom adjustment for a total of 1/2 inch .. one it doest seem like enough adjustment . two when i dropped it down off the jack the strut slid... bolts did not grip hard enough .. no air tools but i put a lot of ass into tighten them ????? i have grade 8 7/8 flat washers front and back that i figured id weld to the strut after alignment to help keep it ..could this be going against me in the grip im wanting ??? just afraid if comin down off a jack will through it out of alignment what throwing it into a corner is goin to do ... thanks for any input and help

ack · 11-07-2009, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ct.russ

i got a 96 2 door rag top 4x4 . i put in a 2 inch spring spacer lift kit .. this put the alignment way out .. i installed new struts .. the alignment shop said that camber adjustment bolts were not available for this model and to "hog " the upper hole in and the bottom hole out .. well the strut hole was just about 1/2 inch so i bored it out to 5/8 top and bottom .. i figured this gave me 1/4 inch top and 1/4 inch bottom adjustment for a total of 1/2 inch .. one it doest seem like enough adjustment . two when i dropped it down off the jack the strut slid... bolts did not grip hard enough .. no air tools but i put a lot of ass into tighten them ????? i have grade 8 7/8 flat washers front and back that i figured id weld to the strut after alignment to help keep it ..could this be going against me in the grip im wanting ??? just afraid if comin down off a jack will through it out of alignment what throwing it into a corner is goin to do ... thanks for any input and help

Yes. You did. You listened to a mechanic.

...well, some times they don't know diddly or squat from personal experience. Other times they are concerned about NOT getting their pants sued off after giving advice that causes harm to persons or property. So make these mods at your own risk!

Many out there do "hog out" the holes - I assume with success as I have never done this mod. I think that you just need to tighten them down using a torque wrench or by slapping a piece of pipe over the socket handle and giving it a big grunt of a tightening.

Do a search for camber bolt at Ack's FAQ (see link in my signature) for several articles describing exactly what you just did in more detail.

There actually are bolts - called camber bolts - out there that will adjust the camber on a TracKick. Here is a installation video for camber bolts by Specialty Products:

http://www.iapdirect.com/pictures/EZCam1.wmv

I bet you can git-er-done with the mod that you made!

I hope that this helps!

ct.russ · 11-07-2009, 04:32 PM

ok well that helps and the fact i played with it a little more .. i got down on her pretty dam good maybe another 1/4 turn at most .. cycled my jack a few times and things look better ... made some figure 8,s things still look good .. i was familiar with the hog method my self so figured i couldnt be too far off base with this .. it goes up on the rack mon so well see i agree it wasnt the best way .. just want to be safe .. others will argue safe went out when lift came in .. so who knows .. ive seen worse

fuzzy1 · 11-07-2009, 04:41 PM

Yeah, I've heard of ppl doing this as well, but using a dremmel & elongating the holes. Also read of ppl welding the washers in place once the camber is correct, to keep the bolts from slipping.

obradleyo · 11-07-2009, 05:02 PM

Hey I had to hog out the pass side in addition the the camber bolts. there like 20 a set all over the web... but all shops ive have gone to can get the camber bolts they just wanted like 40 for them

ct.russ · 11-07-2009, 06:11 PM

yea i was gonna weld the washers .. gonna look into the bolts i just took his word for it .. dont think i can use the bolts at this point though.. as ive opened the holes in the strut .. thanks a bunch guys

mongoosevrx · 11-08-2009, 09:51 PM

How did the lift kit intall go? I did one this weekend, and I'll need to adjust the camber too, I bought a set (2) of the camber bolts part # 5.81250K made by eibach from summit racing equipment. I'm not totaly happy with the rear shock lower mount. The new shock (for a crown vic) uses a slightly larger bolt than stock on the tracker, so I'm gonna get a new bolt and fit it with a sleeve to size it up.