Bending 4WD beams?????

[sirhk100]

So, I've heard all about bending the 2WD I-Beams and it's sounding really common and I had never heard of bending a 4WD TTB system till this weekend. I was out at Glamis and some guy told me that he had East County Alignment bend his TTB beams on his Ranger to acomodate for 6" of lift. I thought he was drunk but, I just got off the phone with that alignment shop out in Santee (San Diego) and they said they've bent numerous 4WD TTB and will do it as long as it's not stamped "do not bend". Has anyone heard of this or have I just not been paying attention cause this is the 1st time I've heard of this being done. This shop is very reputable so I'm really curious as to what you guys think. They said it would cost $275 to have them bent and aligned.

'99YZ400,
'92 Ford Exploder lifted work in progress,
lifted golf cart

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[Kritter]

Stay away from that place it is a [censored] hole. When I was in teh market for bent beams, all I heard about that place was negative comments. On the phone the guy sounds cool but in actuality I heard hes a ____! The 4wd beams should not even be bent in the first place. BIttings beams are bent on his, ask him about them. I hear the guy down there tells you to put the bigger coils in and then drive it to his shop. He then jsut puts it up on the rack and heats the crap out of them until they are aligned, meanwhile your new coils have gone to crap and sagged like the esay style low rider. He doesnt warranty it and if he does he wont stand up to it.

STAY AWAY FROM THAT PLACE.


Kris

"Revenge is best served cold"

[John_Bitting]

Dont be a cheapass. Have a shop move the lower balljoint.. By bending you narrow the track width, it looks like [censored] and I have speed wobbles because of alignment problems.. DO NOT BEND THEM

[Motorider]

I am looking to move the lower ball joint, any recommendations? I live in Chula Vista, and work in Santee

thanks

[sirhk100]

Thanks for the advice, I had been planning on having the beams reworked like John but then I heard about this and thought it sounded kinda wierd cause I'd never heard of it before. I think I'll just do my ball joints, install my Radius arms if I ever get the right ones and then take it in for the alignment and wait to get the front end reworked at the same time as the coilovers go in.

'99YZ400,
'92 Ford Exploder lifted work in progress,
lifted golf cart

[SDranger]

Ya, definitly get your beams cut and turned like John said, i couln't be happier with mine. Besides the ball joint, you can also "bend" them near the pivot point like mine are. For a pic go to http://www.geocities.com/dezertrat0</A> I have about 17" of travel and have no problems.

[sirhk100]

SD,
Pinobuilt? Damn, I can't rmember that guys name but didn't he used to work out his garage in PQ? I've got some friends that are friends with him. I've heard he's got a shop out in Miramar or Mira Mesa now. How are his prices? I'm hoping after New Years probably around Feb/March time frame to have my beams worked and coilovers shoved under there. Can he do something like that? What did he charge to do your beams?

'99YZ400,
'92 Ford Exploder lifted work in progress,
lifted golf cart

[DougM]

Trust me I had EC Alignment botch up 2 TWO sets of 2WD I beams..
Kevin used to pit for Nelson &Nelson (thinks hes a racer)but bending the beams they way they do it is PURE crap. At least Autofab has a JIG to do it in and they come out correct each time(not that Im a fan of Autofab!) If you look at ALMOST all the ads for bent I-beams, Autofab sells to the companies(Fabtech, Donahoe, etc) and they sell as there own. I think Jerry@ Camburg does there own but I could be wrong?
Anyways yeah EC will tell you yo put in a HUGE coil and we'll bend it up, only thing is you have to spend once a month in there getting it to drive straight and not wear out your tires...since after there through jacking up your beams , no decent alignment shops will touch them! It also reduces your track width and everything gets pull backwards towards the rear fender edge(ouch!)

I finally took my beams off my old '88 Ranger and threw on an old set of ORD beams that were prealigned and used stock eccentrics and were set for a 4" coil, using stock radius arms.

Doug (not a fan of bent beams or EC Alignment)!

[sirhk100]

Yeah, I like how camburg pushes the lower ball joint out. I went and talked to John at Autofab and no offense to those that like him but, he seems like a jerk. I know he does excellent work but his attitude to me sucked so I won't be spending the money there. When I have teh front fab work for the coils done by a shop I'll probably have them pull the beams apart and send them into Camburg to get them reworked. $300, can't go wrong with that!! For now, I'm going to replace the ball joints, install my radius arms when I can get them and have it aligned. So, where do I get it aligned at in San Diego?

'99YZ400,
'92 Ford Exploder lifted work in progress,
lifted golf cart

[V8Ranger]

I personally have had a good experience with east county allignment, and I know two other people that have gone there and were also happy with there service. When they bent my beams, my allignment was perfect and my truck drove as straight as it ever did. I had my beams bent about 4 years ago from them so maybe things have changed there, I don't know. I liked the fact that they straightened out the existing bend in the beam before they bent it so the track width was not narrowed. I also liked how they bent the beams according to the coil that your going to use so your camber isn't off if you put on a sagged out coil. Just thought I'd let you know about my experience with east county allignment.