Wheel camber off after lift

[Polish Power]

Does anyone else have this issue with their front wheels? I get an alignment and it feels good for about a week, but then after that I can tell its out again. You can see the camber is off just by looking at it from the front. Guy at Firestone said they always have trouble getting the camber right on lifted trucks, so I wanted to see if anybody else has this issue, or a solution to it.

 

[brian2sun]

Take it to a 4x4 shop. Discount Tire did the same thing to mine and said they can't get it quite right. I found an off road guy and he got mine (w/ a 3" sus lift) aligned perfectly. I've put about 5K miles on my new tires and they're wearing totally even now. If it still won't stay aligned you may have other issues.

 

[Elton H]

i had mine done at the place i got my tires and its been fine for the last like 7k miles

 

[JeremyH]

Why is camber a problem. That setting should easily be adjusted using the cambolts...if it is changing over time, then you might need to replace the cambolts. It sounds like they are backing out for some reason...

 

[xskydivingdudex]

im still having that problem... I took it to a place to get my alignment and it was better then before the alignment but isnt nearly as good as when it was stock. Im thinking bout taking it to a different place to get it redone but waiting til i get new tires.

 

[Polish Power]

I talked to them after they got it done, and they said my cam bolts are pretty much maxed out. I'm not really sure how the cambolts work, and he didn't give me a really good description. Has anyone replaced their cam bolts to fix this problem?

 

[Stick Figure]

how much lift do you have? i would find another shop personally, unless you are REALLY lifted, they should be able to balance out the Caster/Camber relationship to get things right. Read through this thread, it should help you understand what is going on, and what needs adjusted. driveway alignment write-up - YotaTech Forums

 

[JeremyH]

I talked to them after they got it done, and they said my cam bolts are pretty much maxed out. I'm not really sure how the cambolts work, and he didn't give me a really good description. Has anyone replaced their cam bolts to fix this problem?

A cambolt basically has an oval shaped washer welded to it and the bracket has a guide that holds the washer in place. As you turn the bolt, the washer will push the bolt side to side which will adjust the setting.

Here, you can see how it works:

What he means by "maxed out" is that he cant adjust it enough to get the setting that he wants. Replacing them wont do any good. It sounds like you need adjustable lower arms....

 

[Polish Power]

how much lift do you have? i would find another shop personally, unless you are REALLY lifted, they should be able to balance out the Caster/Camber relationship to get things right. Read through this thread, it should help you understand what is going on, and what needs adjusted. driveway alignment write-up - YotaTech Forums

Thanks man, that write-up helped a lot. I'm not lifted that much, 2.5" OME lift with 285/75/16 tires. They can get it close, I saw the reading after they aligned it, but it was still 0.7deg out. I can live with that, but the problem is that it doesn't stay there, it seems to pull itself in over time and pretty soon I need an alignment again.

 

[Polish Power]

A cambolt basically has an oval shaped washer welded to it and the bracket has a guide that holds the washer in place. As you turn the bolt, the washer will push the bolt side to side which will adjust the setting.

Here, you can see how it works:


What he means by "maxed out" is that he cant adjust it enough to get the setting that he wants. Replacing them wont do any good. It sounds like you need adjustable lower arms....

Thanks, that picture helps. He mentioned it was an issue of not having enough eccentric on the washer to push that bottom arm out enough.

 

[xskydivingdudex]

ya that pic is awesome... i need to look at mine and see where the notch is bc my driver's tire has positive camber.

 

[JeremyH]

He mentioned it was an issue of not having enough eccentric on the washer to push that bottom arm out enough.

That makes sense....I guess it's time for some adjustable lower arms...

How much lift did you install???

BTW, just to clarify, that picture was something that I found on the internet....I'm not sure what vehicle it is from, but most cambolt setups look very similar.

 

[xskydivingdudex]

ok so i have a question about messing with the cambolt. So it says if u turn it then it will adjust the camber but it says MAKE SURE both bolts are adjusted to the same locational turn... well the place that did my alignment put it at the same place though one tire is almost perfectly straight and the other one has positive camber so im wondering can i still adjust the one on the driver's side? i wanna know wat the consequences are if theyre not in the exact same location.

 

[Stick Figure]

YOU CAN NOT just start cranking on the "camber" bolts they affect caster as well as camber.

To the original poster they only reasons i can think of that the truck would be able to "fall" out of alignment is:

VERY warn bushings

Something is bent and getting worse

They aren't tightening the cam bolts to proper torque specs and they are slipping.

As far as getting the last bit in spec, they should be able to play w/ the caster specs to get the camber in. It will change steering feel some, but depends how much it needs adjusted.

 

[mom]

Here, you can see how it works:

I have a problem with my front right tire wearing hugely abnormally on the outside edge, even after getting an alignment when the tires were new.

One thing I noticed was the eccentric cam setting on that same side was vastly different than your picture and from the other side of the same vehicle.

Here is the eccentric cam on the bad side:

Here is the eccentric on the good side (battery acid spilled on it at one point, years ago):

Does anything look wrong to you?

 

[T4R-DDOGG]

Anyone know the part number for the eccentric cam bolt? Mine is jacked up and need to replace.

 

[D Farms]

your bushings are probably bad, have them check the bushings tie rod ends and ball joints.

 

[kindred4x]

I had the same problem after lifting. Got a alignment then a week later i could see the camber was off on one wheel. I found that my lower control arm bushings were toast, causing the lower control arm to shift and throw the alignment off. Im not blaming the lift for the cause, the stock bushings had 160,000 miles and the lift just enhanced the original wear and tear.

 

[SOCAL_02LIMITED]

resolved?

I'm having this issue - how did you resolve it?

 

[mtbtim]

I'm having this issue - how did you resolve it?

Here's what you do. Buy yourself some Whiteline polyurethane bushings and follow the video [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] and I made replacing the LCA bushing for [MENTION=142071]sunsetrunner[/MENTION]. Depending on your luck, one or more of your Control Arm Cams could be rusted in there and no amount of pounding is going to get them out. I'd have a reciprocating saw on hand with some fresh metal blades and have a couple of the Control Arm Cams in case you need to cut a couple out. If you want to play it real safe because you live in the rust belt of the country, I'd order 4 Control Arm Cams and just return the ones you don't end up using. Each cam adjusters has three parts: 1) Control Arm Cam 2) Control Arm Plate 3) Control Arm Bolt. You should be able to reuse the Control Arm Plate and Control Arm Bolt unless your rig is seriously compromised by rust. It's the cam that gets locked into the sleeve of the bushing due to corrosion.

We got lucky on [MENTION=142071]sunsetrunner[/MENTION] truck and all the cams came out without a fight. When [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION], [MENTION=144752]MarkamisPrime[/MENTION] and I worked together to replace worn LCA bushings for a member from Colorado traveling through California over the holidays, we weren't so lucky and had to cut out both the cams on the passenger side. If a cam needs to be cut out, you have to make a cut on both sides of the bushing so it will come out of the frame.

Here's the part number for the Control Arm Cams: #4840935050
$13.30/Each from Camelback Toyota

Here's the part number for the Whiteline Poly Bushings: #W53377A

Here's a link to a company you can buy the poly bushings from:
Front Control Arm Bushings - Toyota 4Runner - W53377A

Here's the video, Enjoy the Show and Good Luck!

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