Gen 2.5 alignment issues - Caster

[red97rum]

I found this document on one of the Aussie boards, not sure if it is directly for a Gen 2 (sure looks like), but most of what's in there looks like it applies.

 

[plh]

I found this document on one of the Aussie boards, not sure if it is directly for a Gen 2 (sure looks like), but most of what's in there looks like it applies.

This is from the FSM. If you don't have it, it can be downloaded from mitsubishilinks.com Looks like you are "almost" in for caster Only issue is the 0.05 out difference side to side from this spec.

 

[red97rum]

This is from the FSM. If you don't have it, it can be downloaded from mitsubishilinks.com Looks like you are "almost" in for caster Only issue is the 0.05 out difference side to side from this spec.

Got it thanks, will download that! I know it's not too far out at only 0.05, my thoughts are if a add 1mm or maybe 2mm to the front of the control arm it'll get the Caster within the side to side spec and hopefully not be too much that it pushes camber out too positive.

 

['round n' back again]

I have fought this same battle for 2 years.
I upgrade my gen 1 to gen 2 front arms.
double yoke shims are mandatory, washers a pain and the thickness is never right. if I remember , they don't fit around the bolt without making a flat spot for them

mind is still not right. any really good alignment shop will send u away. they cannot stand the idea of their hard work and liability on some bodies cobbled together mess.
there are any number of reasons things do not line up close enough for a good shop to dial.
this fall I am, I promise, finally going to address my suspension again.
my first stop is AZ, for a new lift kit.(one of my excuses for not fixing this earlier).
there are just so many possibilities ....spring sag, release tension and reapply tension, on old rods, nothing will be the same.
it's a mystery.
Shims are no simple task to get right.
measuring for shim is an art, and requires special constructed jigs.
I believe I have found a guy who is really capable to dial, but of course not till after I put the lift in....
my buggy pulls, scuffs tires, rides like a haywagon and groans like a woman in labor.
she is unhappy with her condition, but she is a trooper, sorry she is a montero. bad choice of words there.
I will get this right.I owe it to her.
I hope u do too.

one thing we collectively should work on,and again I'm guilty of sloth, is designing an UCA, that will accept a king shock pass through.
add a LCA stabilizer rod, going back to the anchor for the torsion rod, weld in a hoop, to anchor the king on top...
it's not an impossible idea, in fact it's not even difficult engineering.
the UCA IS THREADED AND adjustable. the parts screw together.
racers do this all of the time why can't we?

 

[red97rum]

I have fought this same battle for 2 years.
I upgrade my gen 1 to gen 2 front arms.
double yoke shims are mandatory, washers a pain and the thickness is never right. if I remember , they don't fit around the bolt without making a flat spot for them

mind is still not right. any really good alignment shop will send u away. they cannot stand the idea of their hard work and liability on some bodies cobbled together mess.
there are any number of reasons things do not line up close enough for a good shop to dial.
this fall I am, I promise, finally going to address my suspension again.
my first stop is AZ, for a new lift kit.(one of my excuses for not fixing this earlier).
there are just so many possibilities ....spring sag, release tension and reapply tension, on old rods, nothing will be the same.
it's a mystery.
Shims are no simple task to get right.
measuring for shim is an art, and requires special constructed jigs.
I believe I have found a guy who is really capable to dial, but of course not till after I put the lift in....
my buggy pulls, scuffs tires, rides like a haywagon and groans like a woman in labor.
she is unhappy with her condition, but she is a trooper, sorry she is a montero. bad choice of words there.
I will get this right.I owe it to her.
I hope u do too.

one thing we collectively should work on,and again I'm guilty of sloth, is designing an UCA, that will accept a king shock pass through.
add a LCA stabilizer rod, going back to the anchor for the torsion rod, weld in a hoop, to anchor the king on top...
it's not an impossible idea, in fact it's not even difficult engineering.
the UCA IS THREADED AND adjustable. the parts screw together.
racers do this all of the time why can't we?

That sounds great, I really hope you can figure something out. I dug into mine a little bit this weekend and found a few things that were janky as hell.

1. Passenger side had no shims, no big deal though as the camber is still within spec, albeit towards the upper limit of the positive spectrum.
2. Passenger upper ball joint was hosed.. I was surprised with only 9k miles and moderate wheeling. But this was my fault as I should have done more research before using POS Mevotech ball joints. The OEM units have 198k miles on them were still nice and tight, so I reinstalled those on both sides in the interim. I just bought a set of OEM lowers and plan on getting some new OEM uppers very soon. Screw all this aftermarket, **************** ball joints, never again.
3. UCA bushings are pretty trashed on both sides, so I also ordered a set of Siberian units to refresh them.
4. Drivers side had 3mm worth of single shims on the rear of the upper arm, which explains why the driver side had .55° more positive caster and a touch of less positive camber.
5. Front bolt for driver UCA had the wrong size lock washer, was spread out completely flat by the nut and was definitely not as tight as it should have been.

I bought some hardened M12 washers of different thicknesses and I'm going to try and get things lined up as best as I can. So far I added about 2mm to the rear of the passenger arm and 1mm to the front - this is an attempt to add a little more positive caster as well and bring the camber a little closer to zero. For the drivers side, I added washers that equaled the same thickness of the single shims to the rear bolt and added 1mm to the front bolt - this was an attempt to very slightly lessen the positive caster and also very slightly bring the camber closer to zero. Initial impressions is the truck drives better! There is still a very slight bias to the right, but it's an improvement! I'm going to see if I can't get a little more positive caster on the passenger side while keeping the camber in spec. Since I have the stupid lifetime alignment at Firestone and I know the manager personally, I plan on taking it back to have everything measured on their machine and I'll just keep on making adjustments until I get it into a "good enough" spec.

 

['round n' back again]

all u can do.
it's a circular,mess, changing one spec changes another and around u go.
one important spec, spring height , if not in factory dpec, u will never get the others to fall in line.
that was my problem.
I need new springs to gain the proper ride height side to side, b4 the other specs fall into line

 

['round n' back again]

as for smacked ball joints, likely the truck has been out of spec a long time, previous get by alignments, got by. replacing with poor quality joints will expose weak alignment work, because of fast wear.

the triple 5 products from Japan are an alternate to the OEM, stuff.

 

[red97rum]

Well I was able to get the truck within spec and it is good enough for me, at least for now, and it drives nice and straight again! I replaced the upper ball joints on both sides with OEM units that were in good condition and I used washers to re-shim the UCAs about 4 different times until I got it to where I'm satisfied with it. I'll have to readjust everything after I put in the new OEM lower joints and the siberian poly bushings, but it's really not all that hard to do, so I don't mind. I definitely used that lifetime alignment lol.

How it sits now:
Camber: L=.30° R=.25°
Caster: L=3.15° R=3.20°
Toe: L=.06° R=.10°

 

['round n' back again]

good news there