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Alignment Instructions to Give to Your Tech (via Brutal & nismo4x)

85K views 65 replies 32 participants last post by  Kozman01 
#1 · (Edited)
User BRUTAL has gone to some trouble to provide great information on how to get your truck aligned after a lift.

Unfortunately, the information is scattered throughout the thread (and Brutal isn't exactly a wordsmith). User nismo4x put up a helpful doc on page 9 of the thread.

I've taken that, spruced it up a bit, and generated what I hope is a helpful image to clear up any confusion. You can see the doc here, or just read on.

Note: These are instructions to give your mechanic after you have already installed adjustable camber (lower control arm) bolts per the image below.

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2005+ Nissan Frontier - Alignment Notes
Special instructions for lifted vehicle Without Aftermarket Upper Control Arms

Note to Tech: If caster and camber are already set as described below, you will only be adjusting toe. Accordingly, check the camber/caster settings against those described below and then proceed to adjust the toe.

TOE: Set toe to factory spec using adjustment on steering tie rods. Set slightly more toed in than the green middle. 1/16" to 1/8" toed in is preferred.


Adjust for deflection. Once toe is set, check deflection by pushing out on inside of wheel forcing wheel to take up deflection or "play." If the toe setting on the screen shows the toe moving out beyond spec, give more toe in until the push-out results in the setting going to the middle of the spec. This may cause the "static" toe setting to shows too much "toe in" and be out of spec into the red. I am ok with this; the toe will be at spec when the vehicle is in motion.​


CASTER & CAMBER:The caster and camber settings below have already been made with adjustable camber/LCA bolts and should only be adjusted if I didn't get them lined up exactly as below.

Torque for the nuts on these adjustable bolts is 100 ft.-lbs.


Adjustable bolts at rear of lower control arms (camber): Fat side of washer, with notch, should face in toward oil pan. This gives most negative camber and may not be completely in spec on paper, but will be about as close as you can get with this setup.​
L > (OIL PAN) < R


Adjustable bolts at front of lower control arms (caster): Fat side of washer should face out away from engine. This moves the rear of front tires away from back of wheel well and gives more room without rubbing for larger-than-stock (e.g., 285/75/16) tires. This also gives most positive caster and will make the truck track straight and feel more stable at speed. This setting will be off of factory spec and I'm okay with that. If this gets adjusted to bring back to spec, the bigger tires will rub in the wheel well.​
L < (OIL PAN) > R

Note: Check to make sure passenger and drivers side bolts are precisely aligned.


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#6 ·
This is awesome. Thank you.
 
#7 ·
I dont get it
 
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#16 ·
is the information in this write up still valid at different lift amounts other than 2.5"?
What about with a t-swap?
How about db lifts?
pretty much until you get into the perfect setup which would be adjustable upper control arms that would allow you to dial in negative camber. Which would let your lifted truck stick in corners better and at a higher speed since the corner push would then give a flat contact tire patch instead of a roll over onto the outer edge with 0 to+ camber. Just like a car or those desert racer trucks that have to handle not only rough terrain and jumps, but high speed cornering too. :)
 
#18 ·
Installed my lift today and using these instructions, I came out out like so:


Not too shabby.
 
#21 ·
Update: 5+ months after lift, I just got my tires rotated and Les Schwab confirms perfectly even wear. These instructions work.
 
#22 ·
i had the rack and pinion and outer tie rods replaced. The alignment is pretty much spot on, but i bought camber bolts anyways ( just in case...replacing tires soon )

i only bought 1 set, for the camber ( didnt realize the caster bolts would be a 2nd set )

do i go off of the diagram in the 1st post ? or do i run the risk of messing up the alignment of the truck as it currently stands ?
 
#23 ·
yes it will mess up the alignment. toe is always set last as any adjustments to caster/camber changes toe
 
#24 ·
Been reading this thread and confused is this just for a 2.5 inch lift or could I use this when I put on my 3 inch lift spacer lift on?


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#25 ·
Will work for your 3" lift as well, though the bigger the spacer the more difficult it is to get within spec with stock UCAs.
 
#26 ·
So I would need to get a aftermarket uca eventually but not immediately?



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#27 ·
Depends how successful these instructions are at achieving alignment. In any event, with a 3" spacer you're likely to have so much coil bucket contact that you'll want new UCAs as soon as you can swing them.
 
#28 ·
Prg Advanced C/O kit (Sorry in advance for the long read)

So I installed my lift last week and I read this thread before hand.

My truck already had cam bolts from before so I didn't see the need in swapping them out for the SPC one's that come with the kit. HOWEVER... I tried following the DIY instructions for the cam bolts and they were too tight to bust loose even with a breaker bar. So when I took it to get the alignment I asked the tech to adjust the cam bolts as well since I lifted the truck.

So here is my question for you guys that know a lot more about alignment than I do....

I was driving home from school yesterday and I went over a speed bump without slowing down to see how smooth it'd be compared to before. When the suspension dropped I heard a loud thud. So today I took the tires off to make sure I didn't miss tightening anything. I looked at the ball joints and they were up against the coil bucket. So I popped them off ground and ground the bucket down a smidge. In doing this I noticed the cam bolts were in the exact same position as before. Does this mean they simply said "hey look I can adjust the camber all up here and eff the cam bolts" or is it possible they just didn't need to mess with them to align the truck right? Should I take it back and tell them about the ball joints?
 
#29 ·
They probably decided "Well damn, I can't adjust these stuck camber bolts so I'll save this guy some money and hassle by just adjusting his nice aftermarket UCAs instead." You will either need to break the camber bolts lose and then pay for another alignment or trim your coil bucket for clearance. The first time I took my truck for an alignment, the tech tried for an hour with both an pneumatic impact gun and a 24" breaker bar with no luck breaking them lose. I later popped them lose easily at home with an 18" breaker bar after a liberal application of this:

It is a penetrating oil similar to PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench, Kroil, etc. But it also freezes the bolt to help with cracking the rust in order to both allow better penetrating of the oil and weaken the bond of the stuck bolt. I found it at O'Reillys, but I'm sure it's available at other local parts stores. I consider it to be a miracle product, and it will always be a stable in my garage now. It proved it's worth again when it helped break the retaining screws lose on the rear rotors on my wife's Acura and the nuts on the upper rear shock mounts lose with ease.

I say give it a try and if it doesn't work, then I would get new camber bolts. You also need to make sure there is enough clearance between the coil buckets and the ball joints, otherwise they will rub and you will destroy the ball joints.,
 
#30 ·
Thanks Cstone, I don't know why I didn't think of some kind of oil on the cam bolts. I will have to try that out. The place I had do the alignment said the work comes with a 6 month warranty so after I bust the cam bolts loose and readjust them I'll just take it back and tell them they suck and need to redo the alignment lol.
 
#31 ·
So the three inch lift has been on the truck for over 4000 miles and has time to settle. My tires are evenly wearing and have been to the beach and have been two wheeling haven't heard the coil slap only when you hit a speed bump going 38mph also love how it trails on the highway.
Got to give this a thumbs up?
 
#33 ·
this is more for those running the adjustable LCA bolts. You'll need to give the tech the instructions that come with your UCA (assuming you're getting PRG (heims)) ps. the alignment tech won't be happy with you unless you're paying them to install them as well. Adjusting the heims is a long process if they're not close out of the box
 
#36 ·
I got the new tires put on and had to have a separate alignment shop put on the adjustable bolts and do the alignment. I literally printed out Brutal's instructions and said, "do this". Cost me $130 too.
 

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#37 ·
It does specifically say in the first post "Special instructions for lifted vehicle Without Aftermarket Upper Control Arms"

With UCAs you have extra adjustment (or more positive camber) that you need a good alignment shop to take care of. If you go to a franchise or some regular place to try to save $ chances are you're wasting your time.
 
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