my 89 xj's driver's side front tire leins in as if it is off camber. the other side seems fine. the jeep also leans low on that corner too. i think i may have a weak spring up front. i took the jeep to carroll's tire for an alignment, and they said that i need a camber kit and ball joints. i don't understand how it could be off camber on one side and not the other. i'm not even sure if there is a camber kit for a straight axle. i could not even find a camber kit online for this jeep. please advise.
Those Dana 30's are known for bending the knuckles when they're abused. I just took one out of mine that was like that. If your balljoints & unit bearing check out as good, I'll bet money the knuckle is bent.
Edit: XJ's use shims behind the lower control arm frameside end to adjust caster. But like was said, camber isn't adjustable in the traditional sense. A "camber kit" is just an offset balljoint that will allow them to adjust the camber back out to original. Not the ideal way to fix the problem, but it does work.
thanks guys. i'll jack it up and wiggle the tire. if it's not loose, i'll throw my spare d30 in. if it is loose, i'll replace the ball joint. i appreciate the input.
i finally got it up in the air on sunday to change the front springs and inspect the axle. The front was a little lower than the front, so i pulled the 3" lift springs and 1" spacer and installed some 4.5" lift springs to level it out. i tried to shake the tire and it was pretty sturdy. I think my driver's knuckle is bent. I have a spare d30, but i think that one is bent too because the guy who i bought it from said it wore out one of his front tires too.
what is the best thing to do? should I just replace the knuckle? is there anything I can do to keep the knuckle from bending again?
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