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blu4door
Dodge Dakota
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3/24/2003
23:24:30
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 Subject: alignment question?
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Ok, this question is for anyone who has cranked their torsion bars to get their trucks front end higher. 1.How far did you lift the front end? 2.After the lift, Can you now get the truck back into alignment or is it off? 3.How bad is it off? (in terms of tire wear)
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ian
Dodge Dakota
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3/25/2003
00:14:34
|  RE: alignment question?
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i cranked mine up 2" and had to have it aligned. it actually feels better now than before.
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blu4door
Dodge Dakota
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3/25/2003
00:27:00
| RE: alignment question?
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So your not wearing tires faster than normal? I ask because I have to get my truck inspected anyway so I was going to level the truck out as best as I can and get it aligned while Im there. But if Im going to be wearing tires then I will probably leave it alone. oh, thanks for your help.
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97_blk_dak
GenIII
 
3/26/2003
04:17:19
| RE: alignment question?
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I raised mine just enough to level out the truck. It ended up raising about 1.5". I had the wheels aligned the next day, and they told me it was almost perfect. The ride will be a little stiffer, depending on how high you raise them, and it will put a little more strain on your front end components, but I haven't noticed any increased tire wear. If you do raise them, I would recommend getting an alignment done just to be on the safe side.
1997 5.2L V8 4X4 CC
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blu4door
Dodge Dakota
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3/26/2003
12:09:40
| RE: alignment question?
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Thats what I was looking for. Thanks for the info guys. I have to get it inspected so I figured I would do it now and get it aligned while I'm there. Thanks again.
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kyle
Dodge Dakota
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6/11/2003
13:51:41
| RE: alignment question?
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my front end sags and looks so stupid. i spent
$3,000 on a camburg lift and dont know how
to bring up the front end a few inches. i think it
has somthing to do with the torsion bar.
please reply im the laugh of the town thank
you.
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v8lum
Dodge Dakota
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6/11/2003
14:23:04
| RE: alignment question?
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hey kyle, your 4x4 right? look about half way down your truck and youll see the two torsion bars heading to the front of the truck, where they attach the the truck (in the middle) their will be a bolt for each torsion bar, tightten that bolt until your truck dosnt sag anymore. Jack the truck up and it will be easier cause theres less stress on the front end.
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Tracy
Dodge Dakota
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6/11/2003
22:46:02
| RE: alignment question?
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kyle ... I could send you a pic if you need to know where and what to look for. Let me know. The only bad part about jacking up the front end is not knowing when the truck is level or if you have cranked too far. Although it was harder to crank at first, I thought it was easier to get it level not having it jacked up ... my $0.02. A good penetrating oil will go a long way in making this task easier. What year of truck do you have? My 2000 took a 15/16" socket, but that might be different on the older models.
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SaharaScott
Dodge Dakota
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6/12/2003
20:29:53
| RE: alignment question?
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Hey all-
Tracy it's good to hear from ya. Have you had the chance to put you lift on yet? Any pics? I just finally put mine on this past weekend. I hope to have pics available soon but I am waiting on my new tires and rims.
Kyle if your truck is newer (99 and up) then v8lum and Tracy both are correct. I just turned my t-bars up this past weekend. I only had to raise the front end up 3/4" to make it level. Truck does ride just a little stiffer up from but not that bad. Also my tires were setting like this \--/ instead of like this |--| after I turned up the t-bars. I just had it in yesterday for an alignment and the chamber and toe were off. I would like to think the chamber was because of the t-bars and the toe because my alignment was off in the first place. But after it was aligned the truck handles like a dream.
Later
2001 Patriot Blue SLT Quad Cab 4x4, 4.7 V-8, K&N air filter, new Moog upper ball joints, powerslot rotors, hawk pads and a 3" PA body lift.
Soon to have 33x12.5x15 Good Year MT/Rs and 15x8 Center Line HellCats.
Pics will be available soon at http://www.dakota01.com
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Tracy
Dodge Dakota
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6/12/2003
23:11:38
| RE: alignment question?
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Hey Scott ... I've had the lift on since Memorial Day. I did it by myself in about 12 hours, what a task! I do have some pics, but they are before I put on the 33" BFG ATs. You can see them by going to the link below. Will have some new pics soon, if it ever stops raining here. Probably wait until my stainless nerf bars come in to take the new pics. They should be delivered on Monday. My tires look like this \--/ also after cranking the torsion bars.
Right now, I'm having a hard time finding someone to can do an alignment on my truck. It's difficult to explain, but my new wheels do not have an outside "lip" on them and the new BFGs do have a "lip" on the inside part of the tire to keep from ruining the rim if you get a flat. This combination is making it impossible for anyone to mount the hardware necessary to do an alignment. I've been to 3 places with no luck so far. The company that invented the alignment machine is located here in St. Louis and they said that they should not have a problem aligning it. They actually teach classes and the students do free alignments ... only problem is that the next class is not until August. Guess I'll just keep looking. Anyone have any ideas??
Here is a factory pic of the wheels that I have:
~Tracy
'00 4x4 SLT QC 4.7 Auto 3.55LSD
3" Body Lift, BFG AT 33x12.5x15 on AE 15x8 149's, Cranked Torsion Bars, Gibson Dual Rear Catback, Stainless K&N Clone Intake, Relocated IAT, Powerslots Rotors & Hawk Pads
My Dak Pics
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SaharaScott
Dodge Dakota
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6/13/2003
13:12:34
| RE: alignment question?
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Tracy
Nice looking truck. I would assume that it looks a heck of a lot better with the 33's on it.
As for the alignment I thought they took the tires/rims off your truck and aligned all the steering/suspension components? So why would it matter what type of rims you have on the truck? I still have my stock 16" rims and the alignment wasn't a problem. Strange...
Let me know what happens just as an FYI for me and everyone else here.
Later
scott@dakota01.com
2001 Patriot Blue SLT Quad Cab 4x4, 4.7 V-8, K&N air filter, new Moog upper ball joints, Powerslot rotors, Hawk pads, and a 3" PA body lift.
Soon to have 33x12.5x15 Good Year MT/Rs and 15x8 Center Line HellCats.
Pics will be available soon at http://www.dakota01.com
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Tracy
Dodge Dakota
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6/13/2003
14:04:53
| RE: alignment question?
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It looks a ton better with the 33's. Only had to do some minor trimming to the valance and the front part of the plastic fender well shield.
I'm positive that they do not take off the wheels and tires for an alignment. In fact, I even suggested putting the 31's back on and do the alignment. They said that would work, but it would still be off when they put the 33's back on. I just talked to a place that thinks they might be able to do it, so I'm gonna run by there on Monday and check it out. God, I hope they can ... what a headache.
Let me know when you post your pics!
~Tracy
'00 4x4 SLT QC 4.7 Auto 3.55LSD
3" Body Lift, BFG AT 33x12.5x15 on AE 15x8 149's, Cranked Torsion Bars, Gibson Dual Rear Catback, Stainless K&N Clone Intake, Relocated IAT, Powerslots Rotors & Hawk Pads
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Anthony
Dodge Dakota
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6/13/2003
20:34:55
| RE: alignment question?
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How did you guys get the trucks right and left tire level when cracking the bars?? Where did you measure from?? Do you measure the distance from the frame rail to the ground on both sides?
Thanks,
Anthony
www.geocities.com/dak2nv/
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SaharaScott
Dodge Dakota
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6/13/2003
20:54:08
| RE: alignment question?
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Anthony
What I did was first measure the back tire/wheel well from the center of the rim to the lowest point on the rear fender (vertically above the tire). It was about 25". I then checked the other back tire/wheel well and the measurement was exactly the same. So I proceeded to crank the t-bars up. I first started on the passenger side and cranked the t-bar bolt 2 full turns (your truck may take more or less to level out). I was still to low by about a 3/4 of an inch. So I cranked them another 1.5 turns and that leveled the truck out on that side. I then proceeded to do the drivers side by cranking the bars up 3.5 full turns. The truck rides level from front to back and side to side.
Hopefully these instructions make sense.
Later
scott@dakota01.com
2001 Patriot Blue SLT Quad Cab 4x4, 4.7 V-8, K&N air filter, new Moog upper ball joints, Powerslot rotors, Hawk pads and a 3" PA body lift.
Soon to have 33x12.5x15 Good Year MT/Rs and 15x8 Center Line HellCats.
Pics will be available soon at http://www.dakota01.com
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Anthony
Dodge Dakota
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6/13/2003
21:30:55
| RE: alignment question?
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I already did crank the bars up about a month ago not level, the front sits about 1" lower than the back. But I want an accurate measurement so that the truck sits level from left to right.
Measuring from the center of the wheel to the fender is good if you don't have fender flares, which I find gives an inaccurate measurement.
The way I took the measurements was from under the truck. I measured the same spot on the frame rail on both left and right side near the front tires. Once both sides had the same distance from the frame rail to the ground after cranking the bars, I left it at that.
The only thing I was wondering the way I took the measurement was it proper?? Of course I made sure that the tires had equal amount of air in them too.
Thanks again,
Anthony
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Tracy
Dodge Dakota
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6/14/2003
08:55:31
| RE: alignment question?
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Anthony ... that is the way that I did it also, but I cranked mine enough so that the truck was level, 1.5"+/-. I actually measured in 2 different places. I started by taking the first measurement on the frame at the bracket where the stock jack goes when changing a tire, right behind the front wheel ... it was 11" on both sides after cranking. The second measurement I took was at the front part of the frame right behind the front bumper ... it was 22 something". I figured that part of the frame was where the angle would be the greatest. I don't think that it makes a lot of difference where you measure as long as you measure in the exact same spot on both sides, but I would recommend measuring in a couple of different places. Hope that helps.
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Anthony
Dodge Dakota
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6/14/2003
15:14:06
| RE: alignment question?
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Thanks Tracy,
I took the measurement from the same location you did. Where the jack goes on the frame rail. I did some adjustments this morning to the bars, now I'm sitting at 11.75" from the ground. The back is sitting about .5"-.75" higher than the front.
Now I'm a happy camper!!
Thanks,
Anthony
www.geocities.com/dak2nv/
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