I've been looking into this and I'm not really sure on the answers I'm getting as for pointing out what needs to be replaced but here goes.

Last time I had the alignment done on my Jeep, I was informed that the front driver side tire camber was out. If you stand facing the front of my jeep, you can cleary see the passenger tire runs straight up and down. But the driver side tire tilts out at the top, and it's very noticable. I keep thinking it has something to do with ball joints but I'm not sure.

You guys have any ideas on what this might be? I was told it was negative camber, but when you look up "negative camber" it describes the top of the tire tilted in, versus out. Kinda lost here, so any help would be great before I start dumping money I don't need to.

 

You are correct, negative camber is the tire tilted inwards at the top. This is usually caused by bad upper/lower balljoints or bad wheel bearings, or both. In extreme cases it can be caused by a bent bearing carrier or even a bent axle tube.

 

I know in the lost couple of months I've had my Jeep on the rack and the axle looked fine. Nothing wrong with the pitman arms, no stripped or broken bolts. I grabbed both front wheels and tried moving them up and down, both wheel bearing are solid. I'm thinking it's the upper ball joint on this.

Easy fix but I wanted to be sure before I start spending money on parts and a few tools to fix the problem.

I was talking with my dad last night, he's a Master Mechanic, driving a truck right now, since he can't find work as a mechanic for what his pay rate would be. HE was telling me that it would take a lot of hard driving or hard knock, or pressure to bend the axle. Said that unless I'm going off roading on rocks or doing rough driving the axle shouldn't bend at all.

 

The only time I've seen this before was a ZJ that slid sideways into a curb at about 50 mph. That bent the, I call it the bearing carrier or steering knuckle. It's the part that connects to the ball joints and steering rod and holds the wheel bearing and brake caliper mount. It also destroyed the wheel rim and almost flipped the truck over. THAT is a hard knock. The lower ball joint snapped but it didn't bent the axle flange (ball joint mounting.)

The guy was speeding, drunk, and hit a puddle of water on a curve. I guess we have all been crazy at one time or another.

 

The more I look at it and think about it, it has to be the upper ball joint. I've looked at everything else under the hood and with my Jeep on a rack and everything looks fine. I keep visualising pulling everything apart in my head and the upper ball joint is the only thing left.

Pull the wheel off, then remove the caliper, caliper mount bracket and the wheel speed sensor. I've seen a video where a guy pulled the wheel bearing off, but if you remove 3 bolts from behind the spindle, the entire driver side axle shaft and wheel bearing comes out in one piece after you pry it out. All that's left is the spindle being held in by the upper and lower ball joints.

Having that upper ball joint bent sounds like it's causing the positive camber, also could be the lower one too, so I'm replacing both. I've looked at the steering components and it's none of them. Now with that positive camber it can put some added stress on the brake rotor, wheel bearing and axle shaft but as heavy as those are, it would take a lot more weigh to ruin those components. That's why I think it all points in the direction of the ball joints. If the axle shaft had a slight bend, it's ruined and the wheel and hell my entire truck would shake, same with the wheel bearing..

 

I too would suspect the steering knuckle or the balljoint carrier. I doubt your upper balljoint is bent due to the fact that it's not the load bearing balljoint. And I also doubt that the axle housing is bent primarily because it's so much shorter on the drivers side. Positive camber issues on jeeps generally aren't as easy as just throwing a couple balljoint in it

 

Normally a bad ball joint would cause negative camber. As a side note, the upper ball joint is not designed to articulate, it only spins. The lower is designed to articulate and spin.

 

Steering knuckle is attached to the frame. And ball joint carrier?? Seriously? That part doesn't exist. That's like saying the flux capacitor went out so I can't go over 60. All the suspension pieces on the 03 Grand Cherokee Laredos are extremely tough and it would take a lot of stress to destroy something that big or bend it. I've got new upper and lower ball joints.. just a matter of having the time, new brakes and rotors and a nice day off to do all of it.

 

Wow actually it does exist. The balljoint carriers are the two extensions off the axle housing into which the balljoints are pressed in. And the steering knuckle is the part that the balljoint bolts to... And it is not that hard to bend them.

 

Google "ball joint carrier" and see what you get. Absolutely nothing comes up, because it's not a part. I'm not sure if you've seen the under carriage of an 03 Grand Cherokee Laredo 4.7 with QuadraTrac, but these parts you list, do not exist on this Jeep. I've owned this thing for 5 years plus and none of these parts exist.

 

We will call it; the end of the axle housing into which the balljoints are pressed into. There is no name for it because a portion of a larger part. It's not replaceable so the if it is needed to be replaced, it would have to be the entire axle housing being replaced. Balljoint carrier is the name given to this portion of the axle housing simply as a reference. It's like trying to replace only the eyelet on the end of a sway bar...no that's just a way to inform you where on the part there is a defect. Therefore replacement of the entire part is warranted. And yes I've been under thousands of cars and trucks over the years with a steering and suspension ASE certification and with a suspension alignment procedure ASE certification.

 

I've always called it the "inner C".

 

I forgot to mention if it is this mystery part that is bent then since it's only 1° off it is then possible to use an adjustable upper balljoint. I know i said that the balljoints weren't the issue however that does not mean they aren't a solution as long as they are adjustable as opposed to the fixed angle oem or standard replacement.

 

There are off set ball joints available from www.rockauto.com.