OK, installed Jeff's spacers. Still waiting on rear Doetsch for rear end; found out I have to grind a bit off the flange at the lower mount, and the brake line hits it a bit. No biggie. Kind of tight in lower bracket, but it'll work.

My problem is the front and the OEM struts. The camber is way off, of course. These struts, behind the two lower bolts, have a U-shaped piece of metal between the holes where the spindle bolts insert. Most struts I've seen have one U-shaped piece that wraps the outside of the shock body and then has holes. To set camber you have to grind/drill slots. But because of this extra U shaped piece that fits on the other side of the shock body, inside the first U-shaped flange, you can't push the knuckle very far in, even with slots. Only a few MM. I need more; a seat of the pants camber measurement puts me at about 1.5 deg positive (and eyeballing to the rear wheel confirms). This is with 30.5" wheels on 1" spacers; I thought the extra extension, etc might settle it just a bit more.

So...options? I could drill/grind the bottom bolt hole to slot it, but that means removing metal and making that outer part thinner...not what I wanna do I think. I can't really grind that U piece; it's pretty thing and I might hit the body. And grinding the knuckle doesn't seem good either.

So...what about KYB struts? they don't seem to have that objectionable U piece, so I could extend the slots. Bit stiffer I suppose.

Or is 1.5 deg positive camber anything to worry about? I looked at a 4x4 truck and it seemed to have a bit of positive camber as well. But trucks usually have a wider front than rear. This vehicle is not a daily driver (99 Tracker); it has aggressive tires and is set up for towing to offroad areas.

I am used to maximizing negative camber on the track and autox. But I also remember sand buggies based on VWs that had tons of positive camber. So do tractors. It makes it easier to turn, but is pushy and at extremes feels like turning a front motorcycle wheel too much. But under compression it is also more neutral (which is why the lift put it out to positive, duh).

It also seems, since I'm talking myself into leaving the positive camber, that maybe I should add a bit of toe in, since that discourages turning. Or maybe I'm just overthinking all of this....

Rob

I got a set of NAPA sensatracs and slotted them, they are not that bad cost wise and perform well.

I can't remember what brand my struts are, I just got whatever was cheap. Took the truck to a good local alignment shop and had them slot the struts. Also had them tack on washers to make sure I wouldn't loose the alignment.

I know there are a lot of shops that would not do this kind of alignment. I made sure I went to a place where I could reason with guys. Explain to them that I understand the complexity and the risk associated with slotting the struts.

Over a year later and no problems at all. 

i got the same lift as you i think (1.5 front and 2" rear?) and dint need to slot the holes or even use camber bolts. at the alignment table we loosen both lower strut bolts and push on the lower strut toward the engine and hit the top of the spindle with a hammer t'ill it got strait,then we just tighten the two bolts again and my toe was still good.every truck is different as some has oem parts and some got aftermarkets,in my case i was lucky and dint need to spend more on part and labor than needed.just make sure to clean the rust between the strut and spindle as you wont get enough play. i am sure over the 1.5" spacers in jeff kit will need slotting or use camber bolts.but some 1.5" spacers can get away with it.

  at the alignment table we loosen both lower strut bolts and push on the lower strut toward the engine and hit the top of the spindle with a hammer t'ill it got strait,then we just tighten the two bolts again and my toe was still good.

I bet ya a hundred$$$ that the only thing that "gave t'ill it got strait " during hitting your spindle was the strut itself bending.

i meant tapping on the strut sorry, im french and english is my 2nd language. we just tapped it in place with a hammer so it get into place. 

 the strut shaft is a solid piece of rod and the cassing is built to hold up high pressure of the oil, and the way the lower bracket is positioned wille on the truck you wont bend that with a 6-8 oz hammer. if so you will have issues driving on the road hitting pot holes!!

The 99 2.0 Tracker has a strut brace. You could mess with that and camber plates, etc to achieve the same effect, although changing that geometry might produce some strangeness. The whole idea is that the brace stiffens the tops of the struts; it almost acts like a giant arched spring. Which might be a reason my wheels go more positive than some others.

The factory camber spec is -1 to +1 degrees, and I'm so close I think I'll just live with the +1.5ish I have now. Since I have a wider stance by a bit margin, it will actually help turning at extremes. Some more tire wear on the insides, but that's easily managed. I'm not gonna be rallying the thing so being twitchy in corners isn't that much of a factor.

i have keeped on that strut brace as well. alot of people takes it off but i rather keep it as it keeps the frame a bit tighter, but i did removed the sway bar on the bottom, that made alot of difference off road (not recommended if you like to drive fast!!)

i meant tapping on the strut sorry, im french and english is my 2nd language. we just tapped it in place with a hammer so it get into place. 

LOL,,,no problems, tapping is allowed,,,LOL  I was picturing a 3pound sledge hammer with a good hard hit, LOL

Quote from: diftoyota on May 09, 2012, 07:26:11 AM

i meant tapping on the strut sorry, im french and english is my 2nd language. we just tapped it in place with a hammer so it get into place. 

LOL,,,no problems, tapping is allowed,,,LOL  I was picturing a 3pound sledge hammer with a good hard hit, LOL

that could do it lol