Ttb alignment?

[Clb]

I'm in need of a shop that has a clue!
Seems that the art has been lost as to getting one sorted out!
I know the front springs are sagging( like down to -+5/8" uptravel!
So if I recall these trucks (93) had right at 2" uptravel?!?
So the camber is negative , I see tire wear and a harsh ride coming!
Anyone know of a shop/individual that can get the front end sorted out?
It tracks left, not bad in the handling dept, ride is a little harsh!
Anyone gone the add a leaf route? Results?
Its got no wear in the front end, the tires were toast so I replaced them before I came home,cannot read them for wear pattern!
Any links to some research would be appreciated!
Thanx cb

 

[towcat]

I own a shop in the south bay that has an alignment rack and can handle up to a 18k/lb truck.
here's my own personal experience with d44 and d50 ifs trucks.
both ttb front axles are awful on ride quality and turning radius.
add-a-leafs only makes things worse. why?
as oem, a reverse arch spring is "supposed" to have some give in downward travel. installing a add-a-leaf corrects the ride height but removes the "give".
do yourself a "test". go find a large parking lot and go forward in a straight line. stop. now put it in reverse and back up in a straight line. if your wheels do not have any hint of toe in/toe out issues, then your axle pivot bushings are good as well as the spring bushings. if you have toe issues when you are backing up, you now have some very expensive decisions to make.
either replace the bushings and replace the springs or convert to a D60 spring and axle.
if you want to go the rebuild route, I can recommend you to drop by Betts spring in San Leandro to buy a NEW set of springs and I can do the install of the springs and bushings and do a alignment for you.
At my shop, we do know what we are doing and most customers will attest we're reasonably priced too.

 

[gandalf]

A testimonial. You will not find a more qualified shop for our trucks than Towcat's. His familiarity and expertise with these older IDIs is just a bit scarey. He has worked on my vehicles and I've been very satisfied. His prices are very fair. If you need some one to do quality work on your truck, Napa isn't very far from Santa Clara.

Email ahead of coming down here to be sure he'll be there.

 

[Ruger_556]

Whoa slow down... Worn spring bushings are more likely than sagged. These are reverse arch, normal, don't try and fix.

Between spring bushings and the inner I-beam bushings I gained an 1 1/2" in the front. Aligned perfectly afterwords.

 

[mblaney]

I recently swapped a D60 into mine (I am not necessarily recommending this to you though). When I was removing the center pivot bolts the inner bushing was spinning with the bolt - and the axle end (at the pivot) was oscillating up and down by over 1/2 inch! I recommend re-bushing everything - springs, shackle, and inner pivot. While you are at it you it might consider replacing ball joints and u-joints. I put Energy Bushings in my rebuild, XRF ball joints (greasable!) and new Bilstein shocks.

About four years ago I rebushed just my front springs with new OEM style bushings; I didn't notice any significant difference. You need to tackle the inner pivot, and make sure you do the front shackle (frame end) also.

I highly recommend the Energy bushings.

I don't know anything about towcat's shop; his avatar looks a little shifty-eyed though

 

[Clb]

I own a shop in the south bay that has an alignment rack and can handle up to a 18k/lb truck.
here's my own personal experience with d44 and d50 ifs trucks.
both ttb front axles are awful on ride quality and turning radius.
add-a-leafs only makes things worse. why?
as oem, a reverse arch spring is "supposed" to have some give in downward travel. installing a add-a-leaf corrects the ride height but removes the "give".
do yourself a "test". go find a large parking lot and go forward in a straight line. stop. now put it in reverse and back up in a straight line. if your wheels do not have any hint of toe in/toe out issues, then your axle pivot bushings are good as well as the spring bushings. if you have toe issues when you are backing up, you now have some very expensive decisions to make.
either replace the bushings and replace the springs or convert to a D60 spring and axle.
if you want to go the rebuild route, I can recommend you to drop by Betts spring in San Leandro to buy a NEW set of springs and I can do the install of the springs and bushings and do a alignment for you.
At my shop, we do know what we are doing and most customers will attest we're reasonably priced too.

Awesome! Thanx for the primer, the truck has 38k on the clock BUT' I will check it out, the new spring info is great( my first idea as to a remedy) i will get back to you!

A testimonial. You will not find a more qualified shop for our trucks than Towcat's. His familiarity and expertise with these older IDIs is just a bit scarey. He has worked on my vehicles and I've been very satisfied. His prices are very fair. If you need some one to do quality work on your truck, Napa isn't very far from Santa Clara.

Thank you sir!
Allways a good thing having first hand exp. to draw from!
Email ahead of coming down here to be sure he'll be there.

Oh yes!

Whoa slow down... Worn spring bushings are more likely than sagged. These are reverse arch, normal, don't try and fix.

Between spring bushings and the inner I-beam bushings I gained an 1 1/2" in the front. Aligned perfectly afterwords.

Thanx gunna lift it of the ground and cycle it to see whats up!
A 21 year old garage hog ( stored all year) it dont surprise me the springs sagged, but wear at 38k does!

I recently swapped a D60 into mine (I am not necessarily recommending this to you though). When I was removing the center pivot bolts the inner bushing was spinning with the bolt - and the axle end (at the pivot) was oscillating up and down by over 1/2 inch! I recommend re-bushing everything - springs, shackle, and inner pivot. While you are at it you it might consider replacing ball joints and u-joints. I put Energy Bushings in my rebuild, XRF ball joints (greasable!) and new Bilstein shocks.

About four years ago I rebushed just my front springs with new OEM style bushings; I didn't notice any significant difference. You need to tackle the inner pivot, and make sure you do the front shackle (frame end) also.

I highly recommend the Energy bushings.

I don't know anything about towcat's shop; his avatar looks a little shifty-eyed though

I'd love a sas! I was hopeful this would ride better!

Thanx all I appreciate the input!

 

[Clb]

Doing my homework!
The reverse toe check shows little change?, my curtain rod gauge wont work here!
Its neglagible' lifting the frame to hang the axle shows minor degradation of rubber as does the 18" screwdriver on the bushings.
I will pm ya later on once I get it sorted!
It seems the new spring and bushings( for added measure) will do!

 

[Clb]

Calvin????
Betts truck?
Could not pull up betts spring!
Btw the name of my jeep club is napa valley bets! Fwiw

 

[franklin2]

Doing my homework!
The reverse toe check shows little change?, my curtain rod gauge wont work here!
Its neglagible' lifting the frame to hang the axle shows minor degradation of rubber as does the 18" screwdriver on the bushings.
I will pm ya later on once I get it sorted!
It seems the new spring and bushings( for added measure) will do!

If you do take it to a good shop, they will have lots more experience in these frontends and can tell you right away if something is wrong and a alignment job is not going to do any good. A good shop will test drive it, then put it on the rack and check it all out, and then come back with a report of good news or bad news. If it's bad news, they will usually give you the option of fixing it yourself and bringing it back, and will charge you a small fee for the work they have done checking it out. Or they will give you a estimate of them doing the work and the alignment.

Some of this stuff is hard to see, like the shackle bushings that are up inside the frame.

 

[Ruger_556]

Thanx gunna lift it of the ground and cycle it to see whats up!
A 21 year old garage hog ( stored all year) it dont surprise me the springs sagged, but wear at 38k does!

Mine were junk at 75K, and the ball joints, and the tie rod ends... There's a steel sleeve in the bushing. They really don't get loose, the test is look and see if the bolt is still centered in the spring eye/bushing. Won't clunk or move really but the center of the bushing isn't in the center anymore, you lose suspension travel and alignment goes out the window.

 

[Sycostang67]

I have gone the add-a-leaf route on two TTB trucks and not noticed any decrease in ride quality. I understand the reasoning behind why it should be worse but I just don't feel it. I did also upgrade to energy suspension bushings at the same time on both trucks.