Can I get some suspension education, please?

[Jay3702]

I have a slight creek when breaking at very slow speeds on my F150
I had it aligned a month ago because I hit a big pothole . Looks like this bolt spun, and is not in the correct position. Should I just spin it so that nipple thing goes in the hole and snug it up or do I need to get it realigned?

 

[Jay3702]

Not sure if this is caster or camber, but the bolt spun and the metal tab is not in the hole. How should I fix this without throwing off the adjustment?

 

[Nukeman7]

Do not loosen or adjust that bolt assembly. That is an eccentric camber bolt/washer by design which allows the capability to adjust the camber and caster during an alignment. If you change the position of the bolt and/or offset washer, you will mess up the alignment settings. It has nothing to do with any creaking noise in your suspension. The origin of the noise is somewhere else in your suspension (e.g., bushings, shocks/struts, etc.).

 

[Jay3702]

OK, well I think I need to bring it in for an alignment then because that plate spun that metal tab thing is not in the hole

 

[JohnnyG]

OK, well I think I need to bring it in for an alignment then because that plate spun that metal tab thing is not in the hole

Yes, that's the locking plate. If that adjustment isn't locked in place like the manufacturer provided, it will go out of alignment on it's own pretty quickly. Unfortunately, the monkey that tightened it, bent the tab, so now it might have to come apart completly to get it sorted out. I'd take it back to the guy that did it and have him rectify the screw up.
Another victim of the impact wrench, no doubt.

 

[Jay3702]

Yeah, that’s unfortunate. It actually happened on vacation in Kentucky so I’m not driving eight hours back there looks like I’m stuck fixing this

 

[JohnnyG]

Yeah, that’s unfortunate. It actually happened on vacation in Kentucky so I’m not driving eight hours back there looks like I’m stuck fixing this

If you mark the eccentric to the upper control arm, you have a good chance of getting it back correctly, but that locking plate has been flipped. It needs to come out and the tab straightened.

 

[Nukeman7]

^^^^Do this like @JohnnyG suggests. Place visible index reference marks on both the eccentric cam washer and on the hex head of the bolt. Then mark the corresponding indexed position on the black frame member. Either use a punch/chisel to create the dimple marks or contrasting color paint. Then you can loosen the nut enough to rotate the rectangular locking plate 180 degrees into the correct position. Realign all three index marks and manually torque the nut to spec without allowing the bolt head/washer/locking plate to rotate.

 

[KrisZ]

Since the lock tab has been flipped 180, the alignment is likely off already, no point in marking things when you don’t know if that’s the proper position anyways. It needs to be aligned by a shop IMO.

 

[Arc]

Yeah, that’s unfortunate. It actually happened on vacation in Kentucky so I’m not driving eight hours back there looks like I’m stuck fixing this

I hit a big pothole on the interstate around Louisville Kentucky a few years back and it bent my rim I hit it so hard. There where several cars on the side of the road that also hit it.

 

[Donald]

I would bring it to an Indie shop that does alignments. Cannot assume this is the only thing that got messed up by hitting a pothole. Or was it a crater? Does the state DOT have any responsibility here?

 

[MCompact]

I hit a big pothole on the interstate around Louisville Kentucky a few years back and it bent my rim I hit it so hard. There where several cars on the side of the road that also hit it.

I live south of Louisville and I've had to have three wheels repaired on my C43. I also had to replace two tires due to impact damage.

 

[Donald]

I live south of Louisville and I've had to have three wheels repaired on my C43. I also had to replace two tires due to impact damage.

Do you have regular tire and rim or the fancy large rim section and small tire section? Forget what they called.

 

[MCompact]

19" wheel
Front: 225/40-19
Rear: 255/35-19
I had to go with the 19" wheel option to get the top speed derestricted to 155 mph.

 

[Chris142]

That needs to go back to the alignment shop so they can fix it correctly and redo the alignment.

 

[Langanobob]

I don’t think that locking plate rotated 180 degrees when you hit the pothole. It was assembled that way.

 

[Number_35]

Do you have regular tire and rim or the fancy large rim section and small tire section? Forget what they called.

Low profile?

I went from the optional 17" rims and 50-series tires to 16"/55 on our '09 Mazda5. It made a huge improvement in ride quality and suspension wear.

If 15"/60 would have cleared the calipers, I would have done that.

 

[Donald]

Low profile?

I went from the optional 17" rims and 50-series tires to 16"/55 on our '09 Mazda5. It made a huge improvement in ride quality and suspension wear.

If 15"/60 would have cleared the calipers, I would have done that.

Right - low profile.

This are known to allow the bending of rims easily when hitting a pothole.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

I would try to align what I could on my own ,regarding the clip and bolt. Get the tab back in the hole where it belongs. Then take to shop for alignment, and find the noise.

 

[Donald]

19" wheel
Front: 225/40-19
Rear: 255/35-19
I had to go with the 19" wheel option to get the top speed derestricted to 155 mph.

Is this for track or Autobahn? Who can go 155 mph in the US except on a track?