Camber & Castor Off After Leveling Kit $200 to Fix?
03-08-2012, 03:34 PM
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Camber & Castor Off After Leveling Kit $200 to Fix?
Hi all hoping someone can point me in the right direction,
I Have a 2012 JKU Sport with 3000 miles. I added the leveling kit and brand new rubicon take off tires & wheels. Put the kit on, centered my wheel a tiny bit, drove great except for one thing. Since then I have had a definite track to the right, I switched my tires around, had them balanced nothing changed. I finally took it in for alignment today figuring an alignment was much cheaper than tires again. They told me that to fix the camber & castor they would have to take the knockoffs out and that this is something the dealership should do under warranty. Yeah well, the dealership says my warranty on suspension parts has been voided because of the leveling kit. Whatever it is what it is with the dealership, risk I took. My question is what are the knockoffs and is this a realistic quote from the tire shop?
Also I'm a girl who happened to go into the tire shop dressed up from work and not that that should have anything to do with it but I felt like they were talking down to me and I could not get them to explain the knockoff part in terms I understood. I may have been reading into it who knows. I also am not a complete ding dong and have read about camber, castor and toe & can't believe this kit caused this much havoc. Any info. suggestion would be awesome.
I Have a 2012 JKU Sport with 3000 miles. I added the leveling kit and brand new rubicon take off tires & wheels. Put the kit on, centered my wheel a tiny bit, drove great except for one thing. Since then I have had a definite track to the right, I switched my tires around, had them balanced nothing changed. I finally took it in for alignment today figuring an alignment was much cheaper than tires again. They told me that to fix the camber & castor they would have to take the knockoffs out and that this is something the dealership should do under warranty. Yeah well, the dealership says my warranty on suspension parts has been voided because of the leveling kit. Whatever it is what it is with the dealership, risk I took. My question is what are the knockoffs and is this a realistic quote from the tire shop?
Also I'm a girl who happened to go into the tire shop dressed up from work and not that that should have anything to do with it but I felt like they were talking down to me and I could not get them to explain the knockoff part in terms I understood. I may have been reading into it who knows. I also am not a complete ding dong and have read about camber, castor and toe & can't believe this kit caused this much havoc. Any info. suggestion would be awesome.
03-08-2012, 04:24 PM
#2
JK Super Freak
Castor can get thrown off with a lift, but it can be adjusted with adjustable lower front control arms. Should not be needed unless you lifted the Jeep 3-4 inches however.
Not sure where they are getting a bad camber reading from. Camber can't be adjusted on a stock Jeep, and it can't be thrown off (AFAIK) unless your axle housing or "C's" are somehow bent, which I doubt.
The toe-in is adjustable. Is it correct? (about 1/8" or less.)
Check to see if your ride height is identical on both sides. Measure several places: Fender to ground; bottom of "C" to ground; axle housing to bump stop. Should be the same both sides if the Jeep is sitting on level ground.
I'm new to Jeeps, but been wrenching on my own trucks for 50 years and never heard of a "knockoff" either. Neither has Google far as I can tell.
Might be time to pull on your jeans and visit a real 4WD shop. Finding people who will take your money is easy; getting what you need in exchange for your money, not so much.
Not sure where they are getting a bad camber reading from. Camber can't be adjusted on a stock Jeep, and it can't be thrown off (AFAIK) unless your axle housing or "C's" are somehow bent, which I doubt.
The toe-in is adjustable. Is it correct? (about 1/8" or less.)
Check to see if your ride height is identical on both sides. Measure several places: Fender to ground; bottom of "C" to ground; axle housing to bump stop. Should be the same both sides if the Jeep is sitting on level ground.
I'm new to Jeeps, but been wrenching on my own trucks for 50 years and never heard of a "knockoff" either. Neither has Google far as I can tell.
Might be time to pull on your jeans and visit a real 4WD shop. Finding people who will take your money is easy; getting what you need in exchange for your money, not so much.
03-08-2012, 04:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Cherryred
Hi all hoping someone can point me in the right direction,
I Have a 2012 JKU Sport with 3000 miles. I added the leveling kit and brand new rubicon take off tires & wheels. Put the kit on, centered my wheel a tiny bit, drove great except for one thing. Since then I have had a definite track to the right, I switched my tires around, had them balanced nothing changed. I finally took it in for alignment today figuring an alignment was much cheaper than tires again. They told me that to fix the camber & castor they would have to take the knockoffs out and that this is something the dealership should do under warranty. Yeah well, the dealership says my warranty on suspension parts has been voided because of the leveling kit. Whatever it is what it is with the dealership, risk I took. My question is what are the knockoffs and is this a realistic quote from the tire shop?
Also I'm a girl who happened to go into the tire shop dressed up from work and not that that should have anything to do with it but I felt like they were talking down to me and I could not get them to explain the knockoff part in terms I understood. I may have been reading into it who knows. I also am not a complete ding dong and have read about camber, castor and toe & can't believe this kit caused this much havoc. Any info. suggestion would be awesome.
I Have a 2012 JKU Sport with 3000 miles. I added the leveling kit and brand new rubicon take off tires & wheels. Put the kit on, centered my wheel a tiny bit, drove great except for one thing. Since then I have had a definite track to the right, I switched my tires around, had them balanced nothing changed. I finally took it in for alignment today figuring an alignment was much cheaper than tires again. They told me that to fix the camber & castor they would have to take the knockoffs out and that this is something the dealership should do under warranty. Yeah well, the dealership says my warranty on suspension parts has been voided because of the leveling kit. Whatever it is what it is with the dealership, risk I took. My question is what are the knockoffs and is this a realistic quote from the tire shop?
Also I'm a girl who happened to go into the tire shop dressed up from work and not that that should have anything to do with it but I felt like they were talking down to me and I could not get them to explain the knockoff part in terms I understood. I may have been reading into it who knows. I also am not a complete ding dong and have read about camber, castor and toe & can't believe this kit caused this much havoc. Any info. suggestion would be awesome.
03-08-2012, 04:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Freewill
Castor can get thrown off with a lift, but it can be adjusted with adjustable lower front control arms. Should not be needed unless you lifted the Jeep 3-4 inches however.
Not sure where they are getting a bad camber reading from. Camber can't be adjusted on a stock Jeep, and it can't be thrown off (AFAIK) unless your axle housing or "C's" are somehow bent, which I doubt.
The toe-in is adjustable. Is it correct? (about 1/8" or less.)
Check to see if your ride height is identical on both sides. Measure several places: Fender to ground; bottom of "C" to ground; axle housing to bump stop. Should be the same both sides if the Jeep is sitting on level ground.
I'm new to Jeeps, but been wrenching on my own trucks for 50 years and never heard of a "knockoff" either. Neither has Google far as I can tell.
Might be time to pull on your jeans and visit a real 4WD shop. Finding people who will take your money is easy; getting what you need in exchange for your money, not so much.
Not sure where they are getting a bad camber reading from. Camber can't be adjusted on a stock Jeep, and it can't be thrown off (AFAIK) unless your axle housing or "C's" are somehow bent, which I doubt.
The toe-in is adjustable. Is it correct? (about 1/8" or less.)
Check to see if your ride height is identical on both sides. Measure several places: Fender to ground; bottom of "C" to ground; axle housing to bump stop. Should be the same both sides if the Jeep is sitting on level ground.
I'm new to Jeeps, but been wrenching on my own trucks for 50 years and never heard of a "knockoff" either. Neither has Google far as I can tell.
Might be time to pull on your jeans and visit a real 4WD shop. Finding people who will take your money is easy; getting what you need in exchange for your money, not so much.
03-08-2012, 04:49 PM
#5
JK Super Freak
But, again, there shouldn't be any need to replace ball joints to compensate for bad camber on a new axle - and castor can be adjusted with control arms if needed.
If "knockouts" is slang for ball joints, I think you are getting bad advice.
03-08-2012, 04:52 PM
#6
I think what they are trying to tell you is that some cars and trucks have knockouts where the lower control arm bolts to the frame and then you use a camber bolt in place of the original bolt. My suggestion to you is to take it somewhere else for an alignment. Post up your location and maybe someone will be able to help you out.
03-08-2012, 04:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Rich6700
I think what they are trying to tell you is that some cars and trucks have knockouts where the lower control arm bolts to the frame and then you use a camber bolt in place of the original bolt. My suggestion to you is to take it somewhere else for an alignment. Post up your location and maybe someone will be able to help you out.
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03-08-2012, 04:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Freewill
Hmmm. The ball joints press in and out of the C brackets. Maybe that is what they mean by knockouts.
But, again, there shouldn't be any need to replace ball joints to compensate for bad camber on a new axle - and castor can be adjusted with control arms if needed.
If "knockouts" is slang for ball joints, I think you are getting bad advice.
03-09-2012, 05:30 AM
#9
Maybe this is what they were talking about?
PPM 8004-01 Jeep JK Cam Bolt Knock Out Tool
can't post the website but you can search for the tool above and the pdf file (too large to attach) will explain what it is about.
PPM 8004-01 Jeep JK Cam Bolt Knock Out Tool
can't post the website but you can search for the tool above and the pdf file (too large to attach) will explain what it is about.
Last edited by goaterguy; 03-09-2012 at 05:46 AM.
03-09-2012, 08:19 AM
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I think what they are trying to tell you is that some cars and trucks have knockouts where the lower control arm bolts to the frame and then you use a camber bolt in place of the original bolt. My suggestion to you is to take it somewhere else for an alignment. Post up your location and maybe someone will be able to help you out.