FenderBender
Member
Hi all,
I recently put in a Fusion 4x4 front axle. In the process, I messed up a bunch of my control arm lengths. The front axle had a different ratio than the rear, so I got it drivable (without the front driveshaft, obviously) and took it to a local 4x4 shop for a regear. I got in a rush to finish assembling and installing the front axle before the appointment, so the control arm lengths got changed to whatever made it convenient to install the suspension. Drove like crap, but I wasn't going far. When I got to the shop, I also had them weld the rear tubes to the pumpkin and perform an alignment. I figured they work on modified off road vehicles all the time and would check things that a more typical alignment shop might not realize to check on a Wrangler (control arm lengths, track bar, etc.). Boy was I wrong!
I knew the control arm lengths were messed up when I took it there, so I'm not blaming the shop for setting them poorly. I am blaming the shop for not checking them or correcting them. The alignment was only marginally better than when I took it in. I suspect they only adjusted the toe and centered the steering wheel. I could feel the passenger tire go up speed bumps before the driver tire. I didn't feel safe driving it over 45 mph.
Later, in my garage with only a measuring tape, angle finder, and a floor jack, I found that the passenger front lower control arm was 0.5" longer than the driver's side. The caster was a whopping 0 degrees (with an aftermarket axle with extra caster correction). The track bar was left in a less-than-optimal mounting location (which I put there mistakenly in my exhaustion the night before).
I got the control arms as good as I could, put the track bar in a better spot (more parallel to the drag link) in my garage. Immediately it felt better, but not great. Still felt flighty, especially over 55 mph.
I then took it to a Goodyear and they did a reasonable job. It's better, but still feels like it wants to wander at speed. They gave me a readout of before/after measurements. The toe was corrected, camber looks good (I have new ball joints, housing, shafts, and unit bearings so it better be good haha).
The caster is 2.99* driver and 2.85* passenger. I want to make this better, but I'm at the shortest length on my upper control arms. I supposed I could extend the lowers. I set them to about 23 1/8" (synergy suggests 23 1/4", so maybe I have some slack there).
I also noticed that the camber on the passenger rear is -0.5* (driver is -0.09*). Is this concerning? Could the welder at the first shop have warped the tube by welding at the pumpkin? Would I notice this while driving?
The thrust is 0.07*. Would this be noticeable while driving? This would be adjusted by making sure the control arms are symmetric driver/passenger, right? In other words, make sure the front and rear axles are parallel to each other and perpendicular to forward motion.
Side note, how much should I expect an alignment cover? Was I being unreasonable expecting the control arms to be addressed? The track bar probably wouldn't be addressed, I'll own that one.
Thanks for reading the long post and for any feedback!
I recently put in a Fusion 4x4 front axle. In the process, I messed up a bunch of my control arm lengths. The front axle had a different ratio than the rear, so I got it drivable (without the front driveshaft, obviously) and took it to a local 4x4 shop for a regear. I got in a rush to finish assembling and installing the front axle before the appointment, so the control arm lengths got changed to whatever made it convenient to install the suspension. Drove like crap, but I wasn't going far. When I got to the shop, I also had them weld the rear tubes to the pumpkin and perform an alignment. I figured they work on modified off road vehicles all the time and would check things that a more typical alignment shop might not realize to check on a Wrangler (control arm lengths, track bar, etc.). Boy was I wrong!
I knew the control arm lengths were messed up when I took it there, so I'm not blaming the shop for setting them poorly. I am blaming the shop for not checking them or correcting them. The alignment was only marginally better than when I took it in. I suspect they only adjusted the toe and centered the steering wheel. I could feel the passenger tire go up speed bumps before the driver tire. I didn't feel safe driving it over 45 mph.
Later, in my garage with only a measuring tape, angle finder, and a floor jack, I found that the passenger front lower control arm was 0.5" longer than the driver's side. The caster was a whopping 0 degrees (with an aftermarket axle with extra caster correction). The track bar was left in a less-than-optimal mounting location (which I put there mistakenly in my exhaustion the night before).
I got the control arms as good as I could, put the track bar in a better spot (more parallel to the drag link) in my garage. Immediately it felt better, but not great. Still felt flighty, especially over 55 mph.
I then took it to a Goodyear and they did a reasonable job. It's better, but still feels like it wants to wander at speed. They gave me a readout of before/after measurements. The toe was corrected, camber looks good (I have new ball joints, housing, shafts, and unit bearings so it better be good haha).
The caster is 2.99* driver and 2.85* passenger. I want to make this better, but I'm at the shortest length on my upper control arms. I supposed I could extend the lowers. I set them to about 23 1/8" (synergy suggests 23 1/4", so maybe I have some slack there).
I also noticed that the camber on the passenger rear is -0.5* (driver is -0.09*). Is this concerning? Could the welder at the first shop have warped the tube by welding at the pumpkin? Would I notice this while driving?
The thrust is 0.07*. Would this be noticeable while driving? This would be adjusted by making sure the control arms are symmetric driver/passenger, right? In other words, make sure the front and rear axles are parallel to each other and perpendicular to forward motion.
Side note, how much should I expect an alignment cover? Was I being unreasonable expecting the control arms to be addressed? The track bar probably wouldn't be addressed, I'll own that one.
Thanks for reading the long post and for any feedback!
