alignment questions

[Dain Bramage]

ok, so i just took my truck to dynamic diesel and bear alignment to have them check my caster and all that. here is what i got:

caster (spec .8-2.3 degrees)
left 6.7
right 6.0

is seven tenths of a degree pretty significant as far as caster goes? i know that the only way to adjust it is to use shims, would i be able to compensate for that .7 degree difference using shims?

camber (spec -0.1-1.4)
left -.3
right .4

i highly doubt that camber is adjustable on my truck. right? wrong?

 

[blackcj71]

2 things What kinda truck do you have? and dont u work at a tire/wheel shop??/

 

[Dain Bramage]

86 toyota SR5 pickup, solid axle swap with an 83 front axle, knuckles rotated by the dillhole at best drivelines.

yea, i work at the goodyear in monroe, and yes, we do have an alignment rack, but it has been acting up lately, it keeps dropping corners, and the techs generally get really, really frustrated when that happens, since an alignment only pays like .5 or something, and it generally takes them over an hour to do one.

 

[TheMasterbater]

knuckles rotated by the dillhole at best drivelines.

Theres ur answer.

 

[64FJ40]

No, you won't be able to fix that 7/10 discrepancy. It's that way forever due to inaccuracy when the knuckle turn was done. It's not that much though and I wouldn't worry about it.

6 degrees of caster seems a little high, but as long as you don't have trouble keeping it in your lane, I wouldn't worry about that either. Do you ever drive eastbound into Monroe along SR2 between the fairgrounds and Denny's? For some reason, that stretch of road is where I see the biggest problems keeping it straight if there are any problems. If you don't notice any problems, 6 degrees isn't bad. Factory spec is based on 29" tires. Bigger tires (you're on 33s? 35s?) require more caster to achieve the same effect on the road.

Your camber is not 'adjustable' per se. If your trunion bearings are worn or your housing is bent, that will affect it. I have seen pictures of offset (sort of eccentric) trunion bearing races that were removed from a used axle, but have no idea where they came from and have never heard of anyone that sells such a beast. I'm not an expert on alignments, but I don't think those camber numbers are bad at all for a wheeler.

 

[TMFabrication]

I'd say close enough for a DD/wheeler. Ideally, I'd rather see the slightly higher caster (.5 to .8) on the right side and the camber at 0 to .5 on both wheels, but being a straight axle toy, it is what it is. It won't cause you any problems the way it is now and is close enough it isn't worth the work to change it just a little.

 

[Dain Bramage]

so you guys wouldnt bother shimming it to get the caster to within spec? i could do 4 degree shims, and that would get it pretty close.

 

[64FJ40]

so you guys wouldnt bother shimming it to get the caster to within spec? i could do 4 degree shims, and that would get it pretty close.

You don't want it to be factory spec with bigger tires. I'd leave it unless you're having problems.