Tutorial on how to align your Ranger at home after installing a leveling kit

Jt15601

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Hey guys, I made this video tutorial on how to align your ranger at home (camber and toe) after installing a leveling kit. I understand that some people aren't comfortable without spending a couple hundred bucks on an alignment job from a professional shop, but if you are comfortable enough to do the leveling kit yourself, you will have no issues pulling this off. It's definitely more advisable IMO to do it this way rather than have a 19 y/o kid do it at whatever budget chain tire shop is near you. (Stay away from Firestone).

Here's the video:
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Pinepig

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Good vid man. I've been using the string method for years ( similar ). This will definitely help some folks out.
 

JaysOnTheEDGE

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I absolutely hate getting alignments done, they are never done right the first time and they always mess up my steering wheel angle.
 

AutobotXJ

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Great job! I already took my truck twice for an alignment because the steering wheel was crooked and it’s still not fixed. I did my own alignment on my straight axle XJ but didn’t have a clue how to do it on an independent suspension. Now I do! Thanks!
 

y2krtaf

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Nice,I use this.
Amazingly simple,accurate and repeatable.
Super handy since I have done my suspension in stages.Has saved me a bunch of money with the way I tinker,and I don’t trust anyone really,to touch my vehicles if I absolutely do not have to.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tnh-3300
 


P. A. Schilke

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Yep. I do a 4 wheel camber and toe alignment with a string setup on my Mustang every time I setup for the track and when I get back. It has saved me a few thousand dollars or more over the years.
Hi Shea,

Yep...did the same on my race car. What is missing here is Caster....Not addressed...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
 
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Jt15601

Jt15601

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i didnt need an alignment, but i watched it anyway for learning things
shut it off after the pronunciation of camber irked me.
I do have somewhat of a Pittsburgh accent even tho i haven't lived there in years. I apologize.
 
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Jt15601

Jt15601

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Hi Shea,

Yep...did the same on my race car. What is missing here is Caster....Not addressed...

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired
In hindsight, I should've been more specific in the video... Without using aftermarket control arms, you're pretty much stuck with whatever caster you already have because keeping the camber in spec while also setting the caster in spec doesn't work because of the limits of the adjustment on the factory set up, since you have to add positive camber to make any adjustments to caster. I wasn't even able to hit the spec on camber on my passenger side with camber maxed out, adjusting caster would only make it more out of spec. However, as long as you make the same adjustments to the front and rear control arm bolts it will not drastically change the current caster setting you had going into it. Caster doesn't effect tire wear nearly as much as the other settings unless you're doing like full lock donuts or something.
 
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jss81258

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Not that I really care, but the "a" in caster and camber are pronounced like "as" or "am". Well, unless you pronounce "as" like "ace" or "am" like "aim". I didn't think caster or camber pronunciation changed whether you are north or south.

Anyways, I can't remember the year models, but earlier Rangers had an adjustable for caster right side upper control arm. In later years, that was discontinued and both upper arms were fixed, but the lower control arms were always adjustable like the current Ranger. Like the current Ranger, the lower control arm adjustment was a bit limited.

I don't know if they make them for the current Ranger, but you could get lower bolts that had more cam so that there was more adjustment in them. If offered for the current Ranger, this might help to align to correct camber and caster without buying new control arms.
 
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Jt15601

Jt15601

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Not that I really care, but the "a" in caster and camber are pronounced like "as" or "am". Well, unless you pronounce "as" like "ace" or "am" like "aim". I didn't think caster or camber pronunciation changed whether you are north or south.

Thats just how everyone around where I'm from says those things. If you talk to any mechanic around Pittsburgh that's about how youre going to hear it said. Man, you guys would hate to hear me say things like "radiator" "town/down" and a lot words that end in "ower" haha.
 

jss81258

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Thats just how everyone around where I'm from says those things. If you talk to any mechanic around Pittsburgh that's about how youre going to hear it said. Man, you guys would hate to hear me say things like "radiator" "town/down" and a lot words that end in "ower" haha.
I wasn't raggin' on you or anything. Just pointing out what a lot of us are used to hearing.

I used to work with a really nice lady from Georgia. She pronounced "otter" as "udder". I had no clue what she was talking about until she said "You know, those swimmy things". We had some really interesting (confusing?) conversations.
 
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Jt15601

Jt15601

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please do a video on that LOL.

I apologize for being nitpicky on pronunciation.

If you watch some of my other videos on my channel you might catch some more of the stupid ways that I talk. Some of the videos are just for fun and not full on tutorials.
 

dtech

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If you watch some of my other videos on my channel you might catch some more of the stupid ways that I talk. Some of the videos are just for fun and not full on tutorials.
I lived in Pittsburgh in the 90s for 4 yrs, when I 1st ordered a sandwich at a restaurant and requested whole wheat bread I was told "Pittsburgh is a white bread town" . So I learned to eat white bread, pierogies but couldn't bring myself to drink Iron City beer.
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