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[NEWB] Is alignment necessary for stock?

2K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  Beechkid 
#1 ·
Hey y'all,


I know usually when you change out the strut/shocks, you'd do alignment.

But when I was wrenching on the jeezless thing I noticed there were nothing that could be adjusted

This is stock suspension. No CC plates, no adj. shocks/struts, no fancy springs. Just replaced with non-adjustable Ford performance package shocks/struts. Kept the stock springs.

So: is alignment necessary?
 
#2 ·
More than likely not needed since you stayed stock height. as long as you put the arrows out on the strut mounts you should be fine. if you turn the arrows in (towards the engine) you can get a few degrees of camber ( + IIRC) but doing that puts undue stress on the strut mounts. only real adjustment is toe in/out via the tie rods. keep an eye on your tires for any abnormal wear. good luck
 
#4 ·
If done perfectly maybe not, but in my experience nothing is ever done perfect so in my opinion it wouldn't hurt to do an alignment I mean heck any car driven on the road can use an alignment from time to time.
 
#6 ·
If you are talking about shock replacement...no......if we are talking about the struts.....only if you changed/replaced the spring or the assembly as a whole...… if you just replaced the strut cartridge only and kept the spring assembly, then no...no alignment is necessary.
 
#8 ·
Springs sag over time which does change the geometry.. Are there alignment adjustments without CC plates?, the answer is yes there is... The two bolts at the bottom of the struts that go through the spindle will adjust camber. If needed a camber bolt kit can be used if more adjustment is needed.
 

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#9 ·
the only thing that is adjustable in the stock suspension is the toe -- unless you have reason to suspect that the tie rods might have been bent then there is no reason to think that it could have gone out of alignment


I guess some shops can get a little bit of adjustment out of the slop in the bolts, but normally they will not install camber bolts so there is not much they can do


you could have it checked but most likely they will just say "yep it's fine" or "it's out and there is nothing we can do" . . . you could call the alignment shop and ask them ahead of time to see if they will actually adjust anything (other than toe)
 
#10 ·
If a shop will not use a camber bolt kit then that would be a shop I wouldn't want to use. A reputable shop will align a vehicle with a bolt kit if it's needed. I agree that there are a lot of toe and go shops which is sad because they aren't doing any favors for anyone
 
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