by Acker Dackerly
Although the Camber of the Tracker/Sidekick is said to be unadjustable, there is a company that provides a part that allows Camber adjustment.
SPECIALTY PRODUCTS COMPANY 4045 Specialty Place Longmont, CO 80503-0923 800-772-2103
First, a word about camber...
Camber is the relationship between the plane of a wheel relative to that of the surface of the pavement. Ideally, camber should be set so that the wheel should sit exactly perpendicular to the surface under normal load with the wheel (in this case, a front wheel) is pointing straight ahead.
When a vehicle's suspension is lifted, the front wheels of most independent suspension vehicles (in our case the Track/Kick) tend away from perpendicular so that the top of the wheel is farther outboard than the bottom of the wheel. This results in increased wear on the outer edge of the tread.
Specialty Products sells a bolt that allows the adjustment of the camber by the use of a cam-like bolt that replaces the upper bolt on the strut mount. The idea is to change the relationship between the spindle and point where it mounts to the strut causing a change in camber.
This is described in an excellent drawing in the catalog page for the part. To get to the page, do the following:
Go to Specialty Products Light Truck/SUV Parts Select Light Truck/SUV Select the vehicle make (Suzuki) Select the model (Side Kick 4X4) Select the year (in this example, 1986-1996) Click on the "Submit" button
A new page will appear listing available parts for adjusting alignments. Select the part number in the "Front Camber" box (81250)
Poof! You have reached Nirvana!
Most auto parts stores can special-order this or other brands of cam adjustment bolts.
One final note: When you change the geometry of the front suspension to the point where you need to install camber adjusting bolts, you will need to check and adjust the tierods for possible toe in/out problems.