Had the alignment checked on my '97. It's on stock/original springs with 30mm coil spacers on all 4 corners. Drives pretty well but I'm still curious if those that know more about these measurements see anything of interest in them.
Any thoughts on alignment report? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter jpoole
- Start date
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COYS
SILVER Star
You really need a set of delta arms man. Get that caster back to stock specs. Only will you know then that drives “well” is a relative statement. Gl
Even though you're on stock springs, your spacers are killing your caster. You need plates or arms.
Also check your wheel bearings and trunnion bearings. They may cause poor readings as well.
Also check your wheel bearings and trunnion bearings. They may cause poor readings as well.
Get your caster reading in the positive, the rear thrust could also be corrected to avoid dog tracking. Check your rear bushings or maybe get some adjustable rear suspension links.
- Thread starter
- #5
Thanks for the input, all appreciated.
Just replaced the trunions and wheel bearings and carefully set the preload on each so I'm confident they are good. All suspension bushings changed in the last year or so, and also good to go. Finally getting all of that squared away along with most weight changing modifications in place was the reason for getting these numbers.
I've been working to get caught up on the baselining and modifications and then am leaning towards new springs with around 2" or less lift from stock. The final changes of weight relevance pending for the truck are a set of sliders that should be on the truck by late Summer and then going up a tire size to 285s in a year or so when the current set wear enough.
I'm going to start looking into caster correction options now though as it would be nice to take care of that if I can, of course it is probably most prudent to wait until all mods are in place so that I know what I really need in terms of final caster correction. I'm surprised that the 30mm spacers are hurting the caster numbers so much but maybe I was on the edge before?
I'm also interested in learning more about the rear thrust, I'm guessing that the spacers plus the roughly 5 psi min pressure in the rear air bags may be kicking the rear up a bit more than is ideal. I may pull the spacers out of the back for now, if I can determine that's what's going on there.
I'm also curious how the height of the rear impacts caster up front. Does raising/lowering the rear of one of these have a relevant impact on front end caster angles? Will have to read more...
Just replaced the trunions and wheel bearings and carefully set the preload on each so I'm confident they are good. All suspension bushings changed in the last year or so, and also good to go. Finally getting all of that squared away along with most weight changing modifications in place was the reason for getting these numbers.
I've been working to get caught up on the baselining and modifications and then am leaning towards new springs with around 2" or less lift from stock. The final changes of weight relevance pending for the truck are a set of sliders that should be on the truck by late Summer and then going up a tire size to 285s in a year or so when the current set wear enough.
I'm going to start looking into caster correction options now though as it would be nice to take care of that if I can, of course it is probably most prudent to wait until all mods are in place so that I know what I really need in terms of final caster correction. I'm surprised that the 30mm spacers are hurting the caster numbers so much but maybe I was on the edge before?
I'm also interested in learning more about the rear thrust, I'm guessing that the spacers plus the roughly 5 psi min pressure in the rear air bags may be kicking the rear up a bit more than is ideal. I may pull the spacers out of the back for now, if I can determine that's what's going on there.
I'm also curious how the height of the rear impacts caster up front. Does raising/lowering the rear of one of these have a relevant impact on front end caster angles? Will have to read more...
So minimum caster is 2* and one side is .7* and the other is .8*. So you need to add about 2* of correction. I’d go with offset trunion bearings.
surfpig
The Anti-Tech
Take out the front spacers. Then get it checked again. That's all you need to do.
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surfpig
The Anti-Tech
Or, just remove the front spacers.
It costs zero dollars. Try that out first.
But that's just me.
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surfpig
The Anti-Tech
So, maybe just remove the spacers.
surfpig
The Anti-Tech
This isn’t difficult.
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- Thread starter
- #11
Spent 6 hours driving the 80 today. Interestingly in the middle of that drive time I also spent 2 hours driving a newish Tacoma, which I think was a decent comparison point. In case it's interesting I think that the 80 is a smoother, less truckish ride overall but pretty similar in many ways. The tacoma felt lighter and more powerful and it's brakes are noticeably more powerful/firm. As regards caster, the taco did track better which was most noticeable at interstate speeds. After the comparison I was more motivated to sort out the caster on the 80.
I agree that removing the spacers is likely the best next step. I installed them under the assumption that my '97 had likely sagged around an inch in it's 20+ years of life and that the spacers would put it back at stock height but it appears that I must be running over stock height. I'll have to revisit the flare to hub measurements... My goal to date with my 80 has been to restore it to stock performance before I modified it so that I could get a feel for how it's "supposed" to perform.
Truth is though, I like the height of the truck where it sits now and I've also been considering going a touch higher in the next year or two with new springs in part because of all of the reports of improved ride quality on the forum with new springs. I know it will be hard to predict exactly where a new set of springs will end up height wise but that leads me to consider keeping the spacers and adding some caster correction plates. It looks like the plates are all good for about 5 degrees of caster which would put my truck close to 6 degrees. Is that a problematically high number? If it is I'll just pull the spacers for now and hold off on plates/arms until I put in springs and can use the extra caster. If 5 degrees has no real downsides I may go that route and enjoy extra tracking and headroom for a little more height in the future.
Any thoughts on running just under 6 degrees of caster, assuming my understanding of where the plates would put things is correct?
I agree that removing the spacers is likely the best next step. I installed them under the assumption that my '97 had likely sagged around an inch in it's 20+ years of life and that the spacers would put it back at stock height but it appears that I must be running over stock height. I'll have to revisit the flare to hub measurements... My goal to date with my 80 has been to restore it to stock performance before I modified it so that I could get a feel for how it's "supposed" to perform.
Truth is though, I like the height of the truck where it sits now and I've also been considering going a touch higher in the next year or two with new springs in part because of all of the reports of improved ride quality on the forum with new springs. I know it will be hard to predict exactly where a new set of springs will end up height wise but that leads me to consider keeping the spacers and adding some caster correction plates. It looks like the plates are all good for about 5 degrees of caster which would put my truck close to 6 degrees. Is that a problematically high number? If it is I'll just pull the spacers for now and hold off on plates/arms until I put in springs and can use the extra caster. If 5 degrees has no real downsides I may go that route and enjoy extra tracking and headroom for a little more height in the future.
Any thoughts on running just under 6 degrees of caster, assuming my understanding of where the plates would put things is correct?
6* of Caster is a lot for a solid axle, if you can get it to 2* should be good.
- Thread starter
- #13
Thanks @vipergrhd Helps push me to just pull the spacers and roll on for now.
