AnnDee4444
Well-Known Member
Thought about this some more. If caster shims at the ball joints were to become a product, the most you could get would be approximately 2-2.5 degrees additional caster. The top shim would need to account for both caster & camber, while the bottom could just be for caster only.
When looking at driveshaft angles, lowering the caster 2.5 degrees would be like lowering the ride height about 1.5".
edit: submitted a product request for camber shims to SPC. If anyone else wants to help:https://www.spcalignment.com/corporate/contact-us
SPC replied: ball joints aren't possible, and caster shims would do nothing due to their location in the hub... not the C like I was thinking earlierOf course ball joints are also an option. These are for the JK: https://www.spcalignment.com/component/content/article?id=373#:~:text=Rear Replacement Part-,Pin Joints,Ball Joint Press for removal and installation of these pin joints.,-23510 - Cam
Yeah, nice idea, but caster can’t be changed with sleeves. Please see the attachment. It is of a JL front axle with the knuckle removed. I picked this one because it was the best image from this report to show why caster cannot be changed with the sleeves. The upper ball joint is pressed into the top of the axle C and the lower ball joint is pressed into the bottom of the C. Those are the pivot points in the front axle which determine caster (and SAI, etc). The sleeves change camber in the positive direction by pushing the top of the knuckle out. Makes sense. But if we offset the hole in the sleeve forward or backward, we are rocking the knuckle around but we have NOT changed caster a bit. You have to change a pivot point to change caster. The sleeves won’t do that. The previous 2 generations of Wrangler allowed us to use an offset upper ball joint to change the caster. Jeep did not leave enough room to do that here. The 82375 cam bolts (and any adjustable front control arms) change camber by rocking the whole axle which also affects pinion angle. At this time, there’s no way to separate caster change from pinion angle change without reorienting the axle Cs. Plus, cam bolts (and adjustable arms) can only provide the same caster change on both sides; no individual caster change is available.
Sorry to rain on your parade, but caster change just isn’t that easy!
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