beastpath Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 I switched out the Rancho UCA's to RC UCA's to see if I could get anymore lift from them. Turns out with the RC's on there I have about 1.5" of space in between the bupstop and arm (2" if you dont count the low profile bushing I have on). I want to crank the t-bars up a bit more but I already have a bunch of shims on there and the last place I took it for an alignment told me I cant get any more in there - however, when I had the AC UCA's on there I had the truck cranked up to .5" above the bumpstop and a different garage was able to align it just fine (I'm pretty certain they put a couple more shims in there than I have now too). I'm also having a problem adjusting my toe in, which is confusing because I didn't think this would be affected by a lift. Likewise when I had the AC lift arms on the toe-in was set just fine. Could there be any problems that are affecting the alignment? For example, if the hole from the strut arm bushings is worn would this affect toe in? Would a sloppy steering system affect alignment also? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 (edited) when your camber goes negitive(top inward from lifting) your toe goes out becuase the top center of the knuckle leans in but the TRE pushes the point foward of that outward. The nissan spec says that if more than 3/8" of shims are required the vehicle should be lowered untill alignment can be acheived with 3/8" or less. this keeps enought threads in your frame with the stock bolts 3/8-1/2" of shims I recomend getting 60mm bolts. less than 3/8 use 55mm bolts or it will bottom out (stock is 50mm +3mm pilot tip) I strongly reccomend keeping to the 3/8 or less rule. besides whats wrong with a little more downtravel to soak up the dips and yes slopply steering makes alignment difficlut because they may get a diffearnt reading each time they put it on the rack. the same applies to balljoints and in extreme cases strut rod bushings. Edited January 24, 2010 by MY1PATH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastpath Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 when your camber goes negitive(top inward from lifting) your toe goes out becuase the top center of the knuckle leans in but the TRE pushes the point foward of that outward. The nissan spec says that if more than 3/8" of shims are required the vehicle should be lowered untill alignment can be acheived with 3/8" or less. this keeps enought threads in your frame with the stock bolts 3/8-1/2" of shims I recomend getting 60mm bolts. less than 3/8 use 55mm bolts or it will bottom out (stock is 50mm +3mm pilot tip) I strongly reccomend keeping to the 3/8 or less rule. besides whats wrong with a little more downtravel to soak up the dips and yes slopply steering makes alignment difficlut because they may get a diffearnt reading each time they put it on the rack. the same applies to balljoints and in extreme cases strut rod bushings. ok. What would change over time to increase the amount of alignment shims? I mean most of you guys can get 2.5 - 3" of lift within the shim limit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 I'm sure many people are actually beyond the 3/8" limit. The Calmini puts me about 2.5" & right @ the limit. Then I had BJ spacers made using .25" total thickness right now but I might go up to .375" if I do a diff drop and that gave me a little more. Warning BJ spacers of 1" and 1/2" have done some serious damge to stock uca's. I can't recall any incidents with aftermarket UCA's but it is possible especially if it sees allot of trail. BJ spacers also increase Maximum drop which is hard on CV's That said, the Calmini UCA's are pretty beefy so I don't have much concern running a spacer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastpath Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 Well at least I'm not the only one with shim problems then. yeah, im not interested in the BJ spacers. I'll have to go out and actually measure the shims. Is it dangerous to have 1/2" of shims in there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 Is it dangerous to have 1/2" of shims in there? I think it is! I think flex and compress more @ that thickness which would allow the bolt to back out and then they all flip upside down and fall out.....I use vayring thicknesses of hardened washers. If you have dumpped your shims you will feel a bump every time you step on the brake, thats the UCA spindle sliding up and down the bolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastpath Posted January 25, 2010 Author Share Posted January 25, 2010 (edited) I think it is! I think flex and compress more @ that thickness which would allow the bolt to back out and then they all flip upside down and fall out.....I use vayring thicknesses of hardened washers. If you have dumpped your shims you will feel a bump every time you step on the brake, thats the UCA spindle sliding up and down the bolt. makes sense. arent we supposed to use locktight on the bolts though? so, hardened washers is the way to go it seems - could I possibly get away with 1/2" if I used the washers and a longer bolt? Edited January 25, 2010 by beastpath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted January 25, 2010 Share Posted January 25, 2010 (edited) Don't hold me liable if you do it and its hard to find hardened washers in varying thickness so you may have to use a single standard washer to match the EXACT thickness of the existing shims. Locktite won't hurt as long as its not permenant locking. the key is your 80 ftlbs of torqe and having enough threads engaged to sustain that torque. Edited January 25, 2010 by MY1PATH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 I switched out the Rancho UCA's Are you selling them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastpath Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 Are you selling them? not yet lol. if i truly cant get any more lift without compromising the shim amount too much then I'll probably put them back on. They are super sturdy. I measured the shims today on each side when I was doing the oil today: on the passenger side both UCA bolts have about 1/4" of shims - so there is a little room to play there. On the drivers side the rear UCA bolt has less than 1/4" of shims and the front UCA has 3/8". The last alignment shop also extended the drivrs side tie rod a whole lot, whereas the passengers side has a lot left to give. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MY1PATH Posted January 31, 2010 Share Posted January 31, 2010 how's your strut rod bushings? its not uncommon for front to back to be 1/8 differan but tierod extension too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastpath Posted January 31, 2010 Author Share Posted January 31, 2010 how's your strut rod bushings? its not uncommon for front to back to be 1/8 differan but tierod extension too... The bushings are new energy suspension ones, but the metal was worn some and probably needs to be re-welded with a bearing race or something. I dont know how to weld though. I think the tie rods could be adjusted to where they both have room to play with on both sides - i mean, the garage that did the adjustment right before my last one didnt overextend either (and it was cranked up a lot more then). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 They probably set your wheel straight, then adjusted the side that was off, or adjusted the one side in and the other side out to make it so the wheel was straight when in toes spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastpath Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 (edited) They probably set your wheel straight, then adjusted the side that was off, or adjusted the one side in and the other side out to make it so the wheel was straight when in toes spec. you mean they couldnt be bothered to do a proper job of it edit: these are also the guys who wanted to put 6cm of shims on the UCA's Edited February 1, 2010 by beastpath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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