Suspension DIY alignment of j tech

jazzeddie1234

Well-Known Member
May 19, 2016
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Mandurah
I noticed a bit of feathering on one wheel of my tandem set and read on the forum about the cost to align. I found a single youtube video of a similar setup so decided to give it a go.
The idea is to lay a straight edge across the sidewall of the tyre (avoiding any bumps and lettering) and measure each end to the chassis. It took several tries to get a reliable reading as the straight edge moves, the ruler slips and needs to be square. I found the tyre about 5mm out so climbed underneath, loosened the inner bolt and adjusted the cam.
When I was happy with the measurement (+- 1mm each side) I used a laser alignment tool to see how accurate the straight edge method is...turns out it is pretty good!
I didn't use the laser first because it doesn't tell me if the set is pointing straight ahead...only that the the 2 wheels are pointing in the same direction.
I'm on the road with 2500kms to Perth so will report back on my endeavours.
BTW: my j tech only has toe adjustment which is surprising as my cheap Chinese camper had both toe and camber. I guess it was another small cost saving on their part.
 

Drover

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2013
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QLD
Thats the way to do it, it also means by doing it yourself you get to know your van better..............Well done.

The newer Jayco set up actually does have both adjustments now, probably a lot of complaints....................be interesting to hear your follow up, may need an extra touch up but thats nothing...................I used to do my old Nissan's front end and a few other vehicles in a similar way.
 
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jazzeddie1234

Well-Known Member
May 19, 2016
606
729
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Mandurah
I rechecked it in Perth and did one more adjustment on the wheel I hadn't touched and all seems fine after 1500kms. Ended up going into bunnings to by a 1 metre steel craft rule (for a grand total of $4.50) as the 30cm one is awkward to hold and read.
I also found you need to hold the ruler graduations vertical and ensure the ruler is square to the chassis in that plane and then move the rule horizontally to get the smallest reading against the straight edge, otherwise a second measure gets a different result...
 
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Crusty181

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Feb 7, 2010
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Mentone, VIC
The J Tec suspension is pretty rough. Each of my 4 axles sit at varying angles, and an inspection in the local dealers yard shows 8 out of 10 were the same, some much worse than mine. I watched my dealer do an "alignment" to rectify the bent axles ... ha, good luck with that.

They used a sheet of square ply a little bigger than the tyre, with a square section cut out of the bottom of the ply to allow for the bulge at the bottom of the tyre
 

Bluey

Well-Known Member
Mar 31, 2014
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Australia
The J Tec suspension is pretty rough. Each of my 4 axles sit at varying angles, and an inspection in the local dealers yard shows 8 out of 10 were the same, some much worse than mine. I watched my dealer do an "alignment" to rectify the bent axles ... ha, good luck with that.

They used a sheet of square ply a little bigger than the tyre, with a square section cut out of the bottom of the ply to allow for the bulge at the bottom of the tyre
Hopefully bridgestone are a little more high tech than that