beastpath Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Took the truck for an alignment today after getting it running etc. Techs said they couldn't do it as it required 2.5 INCHES of shims between the A-arm and frame. That is a whole lot of shims. Does that even seem possible that it would require that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Took the truck for an alignment today after getting it running etc. Techs said they couldn't do it as it required 2.5 INCHES of shims between the A-arm and frame. That is a whole lot of shims. Does that even seem possible that it would require that? seems likes a lot . mine took 3/4 " and I thought that was alot ! is something bent causing such a miss alignment ? maybe you need to try a different tech. go to nissan dealer , costs more but they know the vehicle and should be able to do it or at least tell you what's going on . Good Luck ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 that sure doesn't sound right, beastp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastpath Posted October 20, 2009 Author Share Posted October 20, 2009 nope, nothing bent. and it aligned just fine before. the shop did seem to have a problem converting from standard to metric....the only thing I can think of is that they read 2.5cm as 2.5 inches. Maybe I will try Nissan, even though I don't really like the dealership at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 maybe don't crank it so high, the factory spec says not to exceed .375". I chose to relax my t-bars to keep the ammount of shims required within that range (or close to it @ least) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastpath Posted October 20, 2009 Author Share Posted October 20, 2009 maybe don't crank it so high, the factory spec says not to exceed .375". I chose to relax my t-bars to keep the ammount of shims required within that range (or close to it @ least) ok so lowering the tbars will push the top camber "out" correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 ok so lowering the tbars will push the top camber "out" correct? Correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkorahil Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 The techs probably ment you were off by 2.5 degrees not inches. They dont know how to read their own machine! If you were off 2.5 inches you would be shredding tires every month and it would mean you have bent a control arm and it would be noticable damage! Shims are not a fun process, it can take several hours to get it right, its very nerve racking, and they simply dont want to mess with it. Furthermore they will not have the shims on hand to do the job as they tend to be specific to each vehicle and passenger vehicles made after the mid 90's do not need them so the demand is low. Any tech under the age of 30 probably doenst know how to do it anyways, or even know what you are talking about. The shims come in sizes ranging from 0.5 to 4mm. Furthermore, if you are thinking or doing a lift on the truck, or replacing the contol arms or ball joints in the near future, dont worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msavides Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I agree. I purchased a lifetime alignment package from firestone. They have the computerized alignment rack and most of the younger generations just do what the machine tells them. The first time i took it in it was not right I brought it back to them and it still was not correct. The third time I went in and talked to the manager. I expected the whole we can't put that many shims in speech. I was ready to tell them That i put in longer bolts and could fit more shims and if they did not want to put that many shims in to let me know how many and where to put them and i would put them in myself. The guy (old guy) said he would do the alignment himself and see what he could do for me. When I went to pick it up he said it was all done and showed me the print out of the alignment. It was only slightly off the numbers and it drove perfectly. I only got it done correctly cause they knew I would keep bringing it back until it was right and they were not going to get any more money out of me. Which reminds me I need to bring it in since it has been almost 2 years since the alignment. Need to make sure everything is still good. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I got lucky and when I brought mine in it was an older guy who did it. He even informed me that someone had shoved universal GM shims in there. Fortunately since my suspension is stock height they were able to get it within specs and fix the other idiot's mistakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Yep, when I pulled off my stock UCAs, ther were several of the slip in shims and a few washers of various thicknesses. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastpath Posted October 21, 2009 Author Share Posted October 21, 2009 Yep, when I pulled off my stock UCAs, ther were several of the slip in shims and a few washers of various thicknesses. B yeah the last place i took it to used all kinds of shims. They also told me that I needed to change back to stock UCA's because the ones I had were "not as strong".... In regards to the alignment, I have decided to replace the Rancho UCAs with the Rough Country UCAs I have. The Rancho's were designed for only a 2" lift so I'm pretty sure thats why they are giving me problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Just a thought, which spec were they trying to bring in with all that shimming? I'm certain it's not camber, is it the steering axis (SAI)?? I just had mine aligned and everything seems about right other than that, it's almost double the values. I talked to the a tech about it and his response was that the after market arms do that. It sort of makes sense. Here, look at this... http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastpath Posted October 21, 2009 Author Share Posted October 21, 2009 Just a thought, which spec were they trying to bring in with all that shimming? I'm certain it's not camber, is it the steering axis (SAI)?? I just had mine aligned and everything seems about right other than that, it's almost double the values. I talked to the a tech about it and his response was that the after market arms do that. It sort of makes sense. Here, look at this... http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm B Its the camber that needs adjusting. The wheels look like this / \ . For now I'm going to relax the torsion bars and drop it down a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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