Camber heading towards out of spec.

[mschlott]

Just got back from Firestone. My front left camber is at -.6 degrees. A year ago it was at -.3 degrees. Spec is between -.8 degrees and .3 degrees.

Is there something I should be looking at?

Also my caster was at 6.6 degrees on both sides last year. I can't remember, but I might have dialed the LCA's in a thread or two after that.

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[mwilk012]

Ball joints.

 

[Roky]

Just got back from Firestone. My front left camber is at -.6 degrees. A year ago it was at -.3 degrees. Spec is between -.8 degrees and .3 degrees.

Is there something I should be looking at?

Also my caster was at 6.6 degrees on both sides last year. I can't remember, but I might have dialed the LCA's in a thread or two after that.

Make sure your ball joints are torqued, and check them for wear. Although that doesn’t always reveal anything.

 

[mschlott]

The ball joints aren't showing signs of wear yet, but that makes sense. I checked torque on them yesterday before taking it to Firestone. Is there a trick to putting a torque wrench on the upper ball joint without removing the axle? I ended up just pulling really hard on a combination wrench.

 

[mwilk012]

The ball joints aren't showing signs of wear yet, but that makes sense. I checked torque on them yesterday before taking it to Firestone. Is there a trick to putting a torque wrench on the upper ball joint without removing the axle? I ended up just pulling really hard on a combination wrench.

How did you check them?

 

[jessedacri]

Any chance you had a hard hit with the front end on trail or otherwise? May seem crazy but check your axle tube where it goes into the FAD housing on both ends as well as where it goes into the differential housing and make sure all the spot welds are intact and there's no sign of a bend/the tube shifting at all. I bent my stock Rubicon axle on a hard hit earlier this year and gave myself some bad camber before I ultimately had to replace the axle.

And ball joints - they don't really show wear with the shovel under the tire test, but if you're wheeling the Jeep often and have over 20k on it I would be willing to bet the stock plastic ball joint inserts are closer to shot than you'd think. A buddy of mine has gone through two sets and he's got like 35k on the rig. Lots of wheeling though.

Other than all that, could just be variance in Firestone's measurements or an inaccurate read. Can you visually see any camber angle when you look straight on at the Jeep?

 

[mschlott]

How did you check them?

Just looking for movement when rocking the wheel.

 

[mwilk012]

Just looking for movement when rocking the wheel.

That won’t do. Gotta jack up under the axle and push up on the tire with a pry bar.

 

[GATORB8]

Is there a trick to putting a torque wrench on the upper ball joint without removing the axle? I ended up just pulling really hard on a combination wrench.

Crowfoot.

 

[mschlott]

Any chance you had a hard hit with the front end on trail or otherwise? May seem crazy but check your axle tube where it goes into the FAD housing on both ends as well as where it goes into the differential housing and make sure all the spot welds are intact and there's no sign of a bend/the tube shifting at all. I bent my stock Rubicon axle on a hard hit earlier this year and gave myself some bad camber before I ultimately had to replace the axle.

And ball joints - they don't really show wear with the shovel under the tire test, but if you're wheeling the Jeep often and have over 20k on it I would be willing to bet the stock plastic ball joint inserts are closer to shot than you'd think. A buddy of mine has gone through two sets and he's got like 35k on the rig. Lots of wheeling though.

Other than all that, could just be variance in Firestone's measurements or an inaccurate read. Can you visually see any camber angle when you look straight on at the Jeep?

I don't remember hitting anything on the axle particularly hard, but have definitely drug the tie rod and diff multiple times. I only have 9K miles and I try to take it pretty easy when I wheel and don't go that often. No high revs or "excessive" tire spinning.

I don't doubt that I'm on my way to ball joint replacement. I can't see anything visually, but I would not likely notice a fraction of a degree. It sounds like "normal wear and tear" for wheeling.

 

[oceanblue2019]

Bent "C" will show up as camber as well.

 

[Roky]

I don't remember hitting anything on the axle particularly hard, but have definitely drug the tie rod and diff multiple times. I only have 9K miles and I try to take it pretty easy when I wheel and don't go that often. No high revs or "excessive" tire spinning.

I don't doubt that I'm on my way to ball joint replacement. I can't see anything visually, but I would not likely notice a fraction of a degree. It sounds like "normal wear and tear" for wheeling.

I wouldn’t worry over it, I’ve seen worse, just keep an eye out for unusual tire wear and start saving up for ball joints.

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