I searched here but i really couldnt find what i needed.

After doing the PreKey mod on my truck and taking it to the alignment shop, the guy said that my camber was a bit off but still ok.

Now, me being an **** retentive *****, i have a tendancy to dwell on things when they arent 'right' IIRC, he said that i was about 0.5 degrees positive on one side, and around 1.0 positive on the other side. Walking away from the truck today, one wheel looked slightly positive, but it might just be my nature catching up to me and making me believe it was a problem.

Now, i dont know truck suspension at all, but when dealing with old cars i always equate positve camber as bad. So im asking, should i get a camber kit and get realigned? or is this not worth worrying about?

What are the stock alingment specs for these trucks? Ill do it if it should be done as i kinda want to go to bigger tires when money frees up (stupid furlough days....) but i dont want to kill my current tires either.

 

did he suggest a kit?

 

he was kind of borderline about it. I just dont like things out of spec though. What are the reccomended specs for this truck anyway? If its out of range, ill get it done. If its borderline... i still probably will but i dont know where this thing is supposed to sit.

 

ive heard under 1 degree postive isnt bad at all. if it was more than that id be worried. if it ever goes negative, then youll really want camber eccentrics lol

 

All vehicles come with factory tolerances. It could be well within those tolerances depending on what ford specified for your truck. I'll look for the specs, but that doesn't sound too bad.

 

I couldn't find specs for 09 so I did it for an 08 which should be about the same.

Each side is 0 degrees plus or minus 0.7 degrees. Total/Split is 0 degrees plus or minus 0.75 degrees.

I would get the alignment kit because it could save you more money in tires in the long run.

 

pre key mod = t-bar

 

ya, I realized that after re-reading the op and edited my post with the specs.

 

no worries!

and if you want to lift it higher or put larger tires on youll already have the kit. and put it on yourself its easy

 

Thanks guys, ill go tomorrow and see how much they want to put it on. If its too much ill do it myself. Ive read what they said in other threads and it looks easy. However, im a painter, not a mechanic lol. ill let them do it if its cheap enough.

Oh yeah, because im PreKeyed, should i go with 06 and earlier alignment specs if they are different?

 

if can remove a nut from a bolt, tap the bolt out with a hammer, put new bolt in and instal new nut on new bolt....you can do it. you might have to jack up the vehicle, but if you do one at a time on each side i dont think you need too....

 

I was thinking about this a while back while doing Marie's PreKey mod.....I wonder if 08+ UCA stock cams are different than '07 and older??? If so, sounds like an easy swap to PreCam mod it too. Time to do some part number searching tomorrow while I'm at the dealer.

 

Pre Key and Pre cam. Sounds makes sense. In THEORY... poppng those on wouldnt even need an alignment afterwards right?


Yeah i can do it, but i dont like getting greasy. Id rather do this (me at work doing a demo)

YouTube - Waterborne basecoat application

 

Alignment would be suggested to check for camber. But them stock bolts are like...non adjustable due to the 'cam washer' things welded to 'em. So IDK. I'm about to take mine out(FINALLY) so I can FINALLY align this beast after being lifted for almost 50k. lol.

 

sorry to hijack..but where do you get the alignment cams?

Thanks

 

From other threads it seems that Rock Auto, Summit and a bunch of other places have them. I dont have a link but they look like a large bolt, a nut, two washers, and a couple of large offset washers. Pretty simple stuff.

 

Napa sells them too

 

I guess im gonna try Napa on the way home. It looks like the alignment shops want to charge around $325 to install the kit and align the truck. Thats too much IMO for something even my dumb *** can do.

The original guy that checked the alignment said he could do it for like $200 too though... hmm... being cheap or being lazy.



EDIT - Just ordered one from the local NAPA. It will be in tomorrow morning. Lets see what happens.

 

lol i told you! they try to overcharge for a simple bolt change

 

Dude...$40 order from SummitRacing and BAM! You've got awesome perfect Ingalls brand cambolts. Look up a 99 F150...same bolts work on a ranger. +/- 3 degrees I believe.

 

Ok, i thought id update this thread. I had the kit installed a week and change ago by a friend for free. (had to work on his Chevelle a few hours in exchange lol) I had it aligned by the closest shop to his place and drove it home. The shop that aligned it got the camber right, but they got the toe off so the truck was pulling right.

I took it to a better place for alignment (they did our cars when i worked at the body shop) and they did it for $20! I got my printout too and its all in spec. Goes like it should now, and now i can drive with confidence that im not gonna kill my tires any quicker than a stocker.