1985 Straight Axle Front Alignment (1 Viewer)

[Straight 1985]

Hi Guys,

I've got a 1985 short bed standard cab 4x4 pickup. Does anyone know how to fix positive camber on the straight axle front suspension? Both the driver and passenger tires have positive camber which is causing the tires to wear along the outer edges. My steering wheel is also slightly off center, if straightened, the vehicle will drift to the passenger side.

In a few weeks I'll be pulling the engine out to rebuild it and I would like to fix this at the same time but I'm not sure where to start. I've been under it, and most of the rubber is cracked/worn for the steering/suspension connections but when looking at rebuild solutions, they are for the axle itself (which I did earlier this year).

Thanks

 

[Sam Stewart]

Hi Guys,

I've got a 1985 short bed standard cab 4x4 pickup. Does anyone know how to fix positive camber on the straight axle front suspension? Both the driver and passenger tires have positive camber which is causing the tires to wear along the outer edges. My steering wheel is also slightly off center, if straightened, the vehicle will drift to the passenger side.

In a few weeks I'll be pulling the engine out to rebuild it and I would like to fix this at the same time but I'm not sure where to start. I've been under it, and most of the rubber is cracked/worn for the steering/suspension connections but when looking at rebuild solutions, they are for the axle itself (which I did earlier this year).

Thanks

If it's like all the other solid axles, which I'm sure it is, there are shims that go over the knuckle bearings. It's a major pain to adjust and very time consuming. Can be done though.

Sent from another Galaxy

 

[hiluxjeremy]

Seeing as you mention your steering doing some wonky things, the tire wear you are seeing might also be caused by a toe in situation. You could measure the width to a definite point on the front of your tires and compare with the same spot on the rear of the tires for a rough idea. Best done with somebody to hold the other end of the tape. Any more than about an 1/8" toe in could be a problem. Sounds like something is a bit tweaked to me. As long a straight edge as you can get on your tie rod in a couple spots could show you some craziness.

 

[Adam R]

I run about 3/16 - 1/4 toe on my rigs with no problems. As you drive down the road, that 1/8 toe probably gets turned into 0" of toe due to the forward resistance from the road. Just a thought.Adam

 

[Straight 1985]

Thank you for all the advice. I have had the truck for about two years now and the front end generally rides really hard, but what would be a cause of making the camber worse (as I think it has gotten)? I've also noticed that the front end seems...clunky, lately. It never feels good when the bumpers hit the frame, but it feels like there's an extra clunk in there sometimes.

I had a BMW for a little while and the front end went bad on me. Hit the brakes and the wheels stopped but the chassis rolled forward and the steering got sloppy and drifted. The front end of the truck reminds of that but it still feels solid. The steering hasn't gotten loose or sloppy, no vibrations and no noises. I've grabbed just about anything I could under there and pulled on it or shook it to see if it was loose. Although looking worn, everything is solid.

I will definitely check the toe-alignment, there is plenty of flat steel around my fathers shop where I'll be working and have it on a lift. I just put new shocks on the front today, the ones I pulled off were in very sad shape.

 

[missouriman]

https://forum.ih8mud.com/79-95-toyo...ld-toyota-solid-axle-rock-crawler-thread.html

 

[x factor]

Were the tires touching the ground when you checked for play in the steering? If so, you could still have a bad part and just not been able to tell. Have a friend grab the tire front/ back and top/ bottom and try moving while it is on jack stands and you watch for ANY play at any connection.

Unless you have had an alignment shop tell you that it is camber, I would lean toward the toe being off.

 

[Straight 1985]

I had in for an alignment but they couldn't do it because the setup on the front end didn't match their computer. Something about the computer saying it has two tie rods and my truck only has one.

And I know it is the camber because the top of the tires are visibly further apart than the bottoms. And the tire is wearing on the outside shoulder.

Missouriman: I looked over that article and unless I missed something, I didn't really see how it applied. My truck is stock and I'm just trying to solve a problem rather than upgrade.

 

[Jetboy]

If what your're describing is the case, I suspect you've got a bent axle tube. The design is not intended to have any adjustment of camber. The only adjustment that it was engineered for is toe. The axle "should" not ever need caster or camber adjustment unless damaged.

I would find a new front axle or bare axle housing. I've thrown away a front axle housing myself. I actually put one on here for a while and nobody wanted it so I ended up recycling it. Should be $50 or less. IMO that's a better option than trying to shim a bent axle into spec.

 

[Straight 1985]

Is there anyway to test if it is bent or not? Or is it a, "try and see"? Unfortunately, that sounds like the best fit for what would produce my problem.

I'm sneaking this post in at work (so I haven't looked online yet), but is there a reliable place to get the axle or axle housing that would hopefully not come with some sort of issue?

 

[Jetboy]

From my less than scientific diagnostics, if the camber is visibly out of spec and everything else seems normal, the probability is high that the housing is bent. There are ways to measure, but it's not something that you can always see easily, especially if the bend is out at the outer bell. OTOH it's pretty rare for the tire to tilt top outward from a bend. I'm not entirely sure how you'd manage to bend it that way other than jumping and landing on a rock in the middle of the axle - but then the damage would be obvious if you hit that hard.

Are both sides equally off in camber?

I'm not sure where you're located, but I'd look on craigslist or local classifieds for one. Or find a local offroad club and ask around the toyota guys. This landcruiser forum is another good source. Lots of cruiser guys pick them up for a disc brake swap and the axle housing is something left over.

 

[KLF]

First, I think you should try a new alignment shop that knows what they are doing. Have them confirm what you suspect, but honestly if it's as bad as you say, you can confirm it yourself with a 24" level (that you trust). I would cut a 2x4 scrap that just fits inside the lip of the rim, then park the truck in a spot that is very level. Put the board at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions on the rim, put the level on the board in the "plumb" direction, and see if the face of the wheel is truly vertical. If it's off, make a note of how far off on the bubble, then go over to the other side, see if it slants out the opposite direction. Not very precise but it will tell if your vision is true.

Caster can be corrected with tapered shims on the spring perches, not difficult. Camber is trickier, but it can also be fixed, as long as you are sure the axle housing is not bent. There are off-set bearings you can get for the knuckles that you can fix bad camber. The shims on the knuckles are only there to set the preload on the knuckle bearings, and to also get the Birfield/axle shaft centered in the spindle, they will not fix bad caster or camber.

When was the last time you were into the knuckles? It may just be that you have a busted knuckle bearing.

Checking the housing to see if it's bent is also possible, but the best test is when you attempt to pull the axle shafts out. If they slide right out and back in, then it should be fine.

 

[Straight 1985]

We were in the knuckles just a few months ago. Had to replace the inner/outer axle seals. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish the job myself and left my father to wait for the parts and reassemble the drivers side and then take apart/reassemble the passenger side. I have no worries that it wasn't done correctly as he is a better mechanic than I am.

He never said he had any problems, but I will call and ask him if he remembers anything odd about it. I do remember pulling the drivers side axle out and it came out without any trouble or rubbing awkwardly on the housing.

I will take a picture of the front end and see if the camber is visible, and the tire wear on both front tires and get'm up here.


Thank you all again for the insights, they will be very helpful when i start working on the truck, hopefully next week.

 

[4bangr]

bringing back an old thread...
i just installed a new(to me) housing. I see I have horrible positive camber - \ /
been reading up on it, and was thinking that if I'm using rear springs on the front, and have moved the spring perch forward, beyond center, moving up towards the front spring mount. I'm not talking about more than an inch or so, but enough to cause positive camber? I don't see that my pinion angle is any different than normal.

the housing i removed, the end was bent up and back towards about 2 o'clock, and i knew because i could barely get a birfield in or out. So, when i put this axle in, i was noticing that it was nice and straight; so i don't think it's a bent housing issue.

I have some wedges, and i just can't see that adding 3-4 degrees would roll the housing enough to make a difference, but logically, that is probably the thing to try.

 

[ntsqd]

You can not affect camber with wedges. On the toyota axle camber is a function of housing straightness and knuckle machining, there is no adjustment for it. When you did your reading were they talking about ideal camber for a live axle or for an independent suspension because those ideals are totally different.

 

[Jonathan_Ferguson]

Do you mean Caster?