My Jeep was involved in a bad HWY accident,

Dealership was struggling doing the alignment -
so they installed a "longer Caster bolts" (what ever that means) as the "stock bolts" where too... short!?


I know that Cam bolts are a big no no
But what a bout Caster bolts?
Are Cam Bolts and Caster bolts are the same thing? Am I screwed?
I tried Google it, can't figure this out...

Is that a normal alignment procedure? I know that after an accident the Jeep-alignment will never be the same.

*Dealership also installed a new TF 1.5 coil Spring lift, paid by my insurance.
*Jeep is still at my Dealership, so no pics yet...

 

They might be talking about cam bolts and because of the TF performance leveling kit you lost caster because the lower control arms are now "too short". That could be one interpretation of what they meant. You should call and clarify, or just ask to take a look, the dealerships answer for low caster is a cam bolt kit.

 

Well the only way to adjust camber on a JK is in the ball joints but to the best of my knowledge they are not adjustable. I know there were ball joints with a cam in it that would allow a few degrees of adjustment. I had them in a Bronco II I had lifted. But never heard of them for a JK.
As for castor, that would involve the control arms. If you don't have adjustable aftermarket ones then there isn't anyway to change it with factory arms.
I'd go and find out exactly what they are doing. If they put your boost in they may be trying to restore your factory specs on castor by doing something with your control arms or they may be slotting your mounting holes to slide the control arm forward.
Either way check it out

 

So, you are saying that any lifted Jeep need an adjustable control arm to solve the alignment issue!?

I only have the 1.5 TF coil lift...

 

Essentially yes. A set of adjustable control arms should be considered a requirement once you lift your JK, as it is the only way(other than cam bolts) to properly set the caster. A set of adjustable uppers would be all you need. If you install an aftermarket front driveshaft then you'd need adj lowers to set pinion able and uppers to set caster. Although with your leveling kit the effects of not enough caster shouldn't be very noticeable. Camber is the inward and outward lean of the tire on a left to right axis, and is only adjustable with offset ball joints.

Camber shouldn't be confused with cam bolts. The bolts are shaped like a cam(oblong/oval) to adj caster, and don't hold the setting well at all.


The fact the dealer had to use cam bolts is a good indication something got bent in the collision.

 

I have the TF 1.5" spring leveling kit, when I went in for an alignment my caster was a few tenths of a degree outside of the factory spec range, 3.3 and 3.6 degrees (spec range is 3.7 to 4.7 degrees). So far I do not have any problems with the way it drives, but if you want to dial back into spec you need adjustable arms or cam bolts. The dealership standard operating procedure to align the caster back into spec is to use cam bolts.

When they said "too short" they might have meant the lower CA's.

Like I was told before, if it's a small lift you and you are happy with the way it drives then don't worry about the caster. If you think it's "flighty" then fix it.

 

If they installed cam bolts already then don't worry about the control arms, but routinely check their tightness and orientation of the washer relative to the original orientation. Google cam bolts, there are some good descriptions out there on how they work and the pro/cons of using them.

 

Dealer told me that they are not sure if it is the collision or the lift or both...

So, I understand that Cam Bolts and Caster bolts are the same thing...

Am I screwed?
Anyway I can fix this?
How the Cam Bolts will affect my rig?

 

As you lift the jeep, the caster gets progressively lower. This causes the handling to be progressively 'flightier'. At 1.5", (2" actual height with those coils?) the caster should not be bad enough that you would have to run out and buy a set of adj ca's. It's a drive it and see what you think situation.

Cams will do the job, as they allow you to adjust the caster for a small range. (Maybe 2-3 degrees?). Since they are already installed, you can just run them until you have an issue. Or if you want to push it, make the dealership remove them, weld up the holes, and you can buy the adjustables.

 

You should be fine, but remember to check them every now and again, or just go in for a routine alignment.

The accident is the unknown variable in the this scenario.

If you would rather go with adjustable arms then you can have washers with a centered hole welded on to the bracket on the axle, effectively undoing what the dealer did.

The only reason I know this is that I did a bunch of research on this very subject a couple of weeks ago.

Then again, what your dealer meant could be completely different, just clarify with them EXACTLY what was done.

Best of luck.