Suspension Tech General discussion of suspension for the Ford Ranger.

My front end has gone to the crapper!

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Old 01-26-2010
03_EDGE's Avatar
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From: Wayne, WV
My front end has gone to the crapper!

ok awhile back i cranked my torsion bars to level my ranger. I didnt worry about an alignment right away bc the tires that were on it were shot and i would be getting new ones soon. by the way, after cranking the bars, my truck pulled to the right fairly hard. I then bought a set of 15x10 wheels with 31x1050 hercules tera tracs on them. i took my truck to a local tire shop and had them do an alignment. after my truck being back there for about 15 minutes, the guy came into the waiting room and told me what was up. he said i needed a camber kit on the right front to ge the front end aligned. why it didnt need one on both sides im not sure. so $100 later, my truck is out with an alignment and a tire rotation. driving home, i noticed that it seemed to pull every so slightly to the left now, but even worse there is a terrible vibration. its the worst from about 35-45 mph and from 60 on up. the tires were already mounted and had a couple hundred hours on them. I never noticed any excess vibration before the rotation.

Sorry for the long read. basically my questions are:

Why did my truck need a camber bolt kit? and why only on one side?

Do my tires just need to be balanced?

Sorry guys if anything i said doesnt make much sense. Im more of a dirtbike rider/mechanic and I dont know much about the mechanics of a vehicle beyond changing my oil and other small things. I will appreciate any help you all can give me bc my truck is a bit annoying to drive right now with the vibrations. please be patient with me!
 
  #2  
Old 01-26-2010
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From: Earth, Milky Way Galaxy
Camber kit should have gone on both sides. Usually they come with a bolt for both sides. I cranked my bars and added the kit right away and never had alignment issues.
 
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Old 01-26-2010
03_EDGE's Avatar
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From: Wayne, WV
Originally Posted by whippersnapper02
Camber kit should have gone on both sides. Usually they come with a bolt for both sides. I cranked my bars and added the kit right away and never had alignment issues.
Thats kind of what I thought. Just makes sense that way.

I forgot to mention that I took it for an alignment to two different other places before this one and I dont think they even looked at it because they should have told me the same thing. Why cant garages be more reliable? I wish I was able to do everything myself!
 
  #4  
Old 01-26-2010
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From: Hillsboro, Oregon
The extra noise is probably because you neglected to align it sooner. The tires probably started to wear oddly, and now you are feeling the effects of it. Rotate the tires and see the vibrations change or move.
 
  #5  
Old 01-26-2010
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From: Ottawa, Ontario
And you should have 4 caster/camber bolts installed as each UCL has 2 bolt locations. Before I swapped to MOOG BJ's, UCL's, and a proper MOOG caster/camber kit, I had alignment problems similar to what you stated regarding pulling to one side hard. If you BJ's are shot and your torsion bars are crap, you'll never get a good proper alignment. This will also cause real bad tire wear. Sounds like you need to drop some cash to get your front end back up to par. Might want to check your tires too. If the insides are too far shot, you'll more then likely need new ones for a proper alignment, or just swap the backs to the front (if they are not shot).
 
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Old 01-26-2010
03_EDGE's Avatar
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From: Wayne, WV
Originally Posted by brianjwilson
The extra noise is probably because you neglected to align it sooner. The tires probably started to wear oddly, and now you are feeling the effects of it. Rotate the tires and see the vibrations change or move.
I admit I waited a little too long for the alignment, but being a full time student means time and more importantly cash flow is more than a little short. but the thing is, I didnt feel the vibrations until AFTER i got my tires rotated which was right after they did the alignment.
 
  #7  
Old 01-26-2010
03_EDGE's Avatar
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From: Wayne, WV
Originally Posted by Rolldogg
And you should have 4 caster/camber bolts installed as each UCL has 2 bolt locations. Before I swapped to MOOG BJ's, UCL's, and a proper MOOG caster/camber kit, I had alignment problems similar to what you stated regarding pulling to one side hard. If you BJ's are shot and your torsion bars are crap, you'll never get a good proper alignment. This will also cause real bad tire wear. Sounds like you need to drop some cash to get your front end back up to par. Might want to check your tires too. If the insides are too far shot, you'll more then likely need new ones for a proper alignment, or just swap the backs to the front (if they are not shot).
Sounds expensive. can all that be put on at home and then take it in for the alignment? Im almost positive I can install of that as long as there are no special tools required.

Also, what would cause my torsion bars to be crap?
 
  #8  
Old 01-26-2010
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Originally Posted by 03_EDGE
Sounds expensive. can all that be put on at home and then take it in for the alignment? Im almost positive I can install of that as long as there are no special tools required.

Also, what would cause my torsion bars to be crap?
I had two windows open.....I was reading about another member with sagging tbars...LOL

You can do all that in your garage.
 
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