Short story...

Yesterday...I installed my 2-inch coil spring spacer front leveling kit, complete with the dual-axis adjustable camber bushings to aid in alignment.

Fast forward to today.... The alignment shop can't get the wheel any closer than a positive 2.7° camber setting while the spec calls for 0.62°. You can easily see the tilt. The problem is that the knuckle is at the point of making contact with the c-frame body, so even though the adjustable bushing has more room for improvement, the physical limitations prevent that from happening.

Question... can I simply grind off about 3/32 from BOTH the exterior surface of the knuckle AND the interior corresponding curvature of the c-frame? Will grinding off that small amount of material create a mechanical compromise that could result in failure?

Context... I do not tow, the truck is 2WD and stays on the highway, and both sides are in the same position.

I've contacted Fat Bob's (kit supplier), and they have thus far stated that a few customers needed the dual-axis adjustable bushing to prevent this situation, but they do not know of anyone who has not been able to resolve it with that, and I already have that solution in place to no avail.

Thanks for your input.

 

Pete, yes you can grind 3/32 off both surfaces. I had to do the same thing to mine to get it to align correctly. I also used the dual axis camber bushings and my alignment shop absolutely HATED them (They said since they had not used them before it took twice as long to align it, a learning curve thing I guess). But get out your angle grinder and grind away. I talked to a reputable 4x shop near me that has done several leveling kit installs on F-250/350's and they told me it is hit and miss on having to grind some material off.

 

Thanks for the confirmation, Costa. The shop I'm using is quite experienced with teh dual-axis bushings. Their default position when doing ball joints on Superduty trucks is to go ahead and try to get the owner to swap over to them because of how much more adjustment you have with them.

Now I get to borrow an angle grinder and go to town. The only thing I worry about now is getting the ball joints back out without using the pickle fork so that I don't damage the seal on the lower joint.

 

Oh me and the alignment shop both agreed with the more precise adjustment, my truck was the first one that they used the bushings on and there was a learning curve having to turn two nuts instead of just one. I did not use a pickle fork to get the knuckle off I used the gentle force method and a BFH! I hope yours come out easily also, I removed the entire knuckle and carried it over to my bench grinder to work on it (Warning it is a heavy ****) and used the angle grinder to work on the truck. Only took me about 1 hour or so to do both sides. Good luck and have fun!!

 

OK... I finally got around to dropping the knuckles off and doing my grinding. I'll have to snap some pictures later and will do so to show the before and after. I used a newly purchased angle air-grinder from Harbor Freight ($20) with some diamond wheels (Harbor Freight for $10), and had to do both knuckles twice.

After the first removal-grind-reinstall effort, I felt like there still was not quite enough clearance so I re-touched them again. On the first effort, I did NO grinding on the C-frame, and only did some slight rounding on the outside upper radius of the top knuckles. The second time, I did a little more gradual rounding down the outside of those same top knuckles, but also rounded the rear vertical corner of the pinch bolt housing on the C-frame beside the pich bolt head, and also removed some of the "proud" amterial on the inner surface of the C-frame which faces the top knuckle surface. I then made my rough adjustments, re-installed the wheels, dropped the truck, and had to remove and readjust the camber bushing once more before driving it back to the alignment shop.

At the shop, the service manager had NO problems at all getting the alignment in very quickly. I test drove on the higway and some rough & curvy roads, and everything is tight and the trucks rides really nice. There is aonly a sublt feeling of something being different while driving, but it is not wandering or overly tight.. feels snug and secure and the handling is no different.

The biggest thing I have to get used to now is stepping off the step bar when getting out of the truck... I have a few more inches to step down than before, and the frist time I almost fell on my face. After getting in and out several times now, though, it's not that much of an issue at all and I'll probably not even notice the difference after another week or so.

In the end, I probably only remove about 1/8" while beveling/rounding the top knuckle, and only about 1/16"-3/32" on the small region of the inside face on the C-frame.

I am well pleased.

 

Sweet! So when you do my truck, it should be a breeze!!

I'm sure I'll be well pleased too!!

Good job buddy. Can't wait for the pictures....and the final product!

Stewart

 

I'm glad that you got it all set Pete. Looking forward to the pics. I have no idea what the 2WD version looks like so it will be a learning experiance for me.

 

Well... don't be too upset with me. I did not take pictures of the entire install process, but you'll at least be able to see the final installation pics. I was simply cramped for time, and chose to not take the extra time right now to interrupt the process of ball joints and spring spacers for pics.

... I know... I should be ashamed of myself. But I'm really not... hehe... I just had to minimize time to help keep all the family activities on track and also be able to get it all done between rain events.

Most people will never have to do what I went through, but there are a few of us fortunate souls who are endowed with these kinds of opportunities. Never a dull moment.

 

Glad you got it done Pete, sounds like you had to remove the same amount of material as I did. Dont feel too bad I didnt take pics either.

Just the thought of having to pull the knuckles and grind.... grrrrrrr

 

This thread is worthless without pictures!

 

I actually have now done it enough to not even mind the task any more. Let me see... from memory...

- spray lower ball joint nut, camber bushing, pinch bolt, and tie-rod end with the best penetrating fluid you can find
- remove cotter pin and castle nut on tie rod end
- flip castle nut over and partially reinstall, then whop it 2 good licks with a 2lb sledge, remove nut, and zip-tie tie rod end out of the way
- turn wheel away from vehicle and use 8mm sockets to remove the ABS sensor and cable holder (two nuts)
- turn wheel back in opposite direction
- get the 1/2-inch drive ratchet and 13/16" socket and cheater pipe and remove the two caliper bracket bolts
- set caliper on frame rail
- use a 15mm box-end wrench and medium size crescent wrench to loosen pinch bolt for top ball joint (I also use a large cold chisel to slightly pry the pinch clamp bracket apart just to help break any corrosion on the upper ball joint taper) - no need to remove the bolt; just loosen it.
- remove the cotter pin from the bottom ball joint castle nut
- use a large 1-1/8" box-end wrench to loosen the castle nut; remove the nut by hand (if you can)
- using either a very large crescent wrench or very large adjustable pliers, work the camber bushing back and forth to remove it completely (note position of bushing notches, perhaps even scratching a mark) - this eliminates the restraint on the top joint and makes removing the knuckle easier
- flip the castle nut over and reinstall most of the way onto the ball joint stud (leave a smidgen of nut higher than the top of the stud to prevent any flaring from the next steps)
- use a large cold chisel and 2lb sledge to hammer to pound the bottom joint stud, alternating from side to side of the frame, and the joint will break loose, drop down, and the castle nut will prevent the knuckle from falling on your foot
- remove castle nut and set knuckle on the ground
- using your excellent penetrating oil, spray down the ball joint studs and the tapered sockets where they are installed, wipe them down clean, spray them one more time, and wipe off excess... this will dramatically help your situation if you have to remove them again for something like "grinding" for proper clearance
- do your work (grinding, ball joint replacement, etc.) and reverse the steps

The last one I did, the complete removal, grinding, and re installation process ran about 45 minutes (and that includes wheel R&R and camber bushing adjustments)

I've done it all enough now so that the mating surfaces on the joints and the c-frame are all well-lubed with a high quality penetrating oil and the R&R is quite easy.

 

Perfect instructions Pete. Thats exactly how I did mine except it took me about 2.5 hours, I must have taken 1 more beverage break.

 

Well, whatever pictures you have, please post them!!

Stewart

 

Its weird they couldn't get it to spec without grinding.

Mine was close, but its at max tolerance:





Before:



After: ( Alignment and new 285's )




I'll still be watching for your improved design to hit the shelves Pete, I may be one of the 1st customers.. LOL

 

I'm betting you'll be second.

Stewart