Can I adjust Camber myself?

drewglenn04 · #1 06-14-2010, 10:16 AM

Cranked t-bars. Went for alignment and they said i needed lower ball joins and a upper control arm. How can I adjust my negative camber till I get the money to do everything? Dont wanna chew my tires up anymore.
Thanks

Scottg · #2 06-14-2010, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Camber
Camber is easy to check with an angle finder and a straight edge. Camber is the measurement of tire lean in degrees. If the top of the tire tilts inward, the vehicle has negative camber; outward lean is positive camber. Most new vehicles have slightly negative camber to improve stability and handling. Two indicators of camber problems are the vehicle pulling to one side (the one with more of a positive camber or possibly less air in the tire) and uneven tire wear across the tread. Camber is easy to check with an angle finder and a straight edge, ideally one that's the same length as the wheel diameter so the tire sidewall bulge doesn't interfere with the straight edge. Many front-wheel-drive cars don't have camber adjustments, and out-of-spec camber here often indicates bent or worn parts. On vehicles that have adjustable camber, the job can involve adding shims between the control arms and frame and turning cam bolts. Many people prefer to let an alignment shop make these adjustments, particularly if their car has independent rear suspension.

http://www.extremehowto.com/xh/artic...ticle_id=60130

your upper arm has camber/caster adjusters, basically, if you have too much negative camber, you need to loosen both and pull the upper control arm out. However, if you dont do it evenly it will mess with your caster. Also toe will need to be adjusted depending on home much it is out.

Beater · #3 06-30-2010, 09:09 PM

What you need is the replacement upper control arm bolts that allow for adjustment. Once you remove one you will see how the alignment is preset. At least on my 98 coil spring version.

Rafe · #4 03-07-2012, 02:14 PM

I wonder if this will help my issues as well...

Truck sits like / = \ in the parking lot, causing heavy inside toe wear.

I've heard it could be Balljoints or Upper control arm. I'll be getting new shocks and tires in anticipation of leaving Corpus Christi, TX to Portland, OR pulling a trailer. Wanted to get this fixed before roasting another set of tires.

Truck is a FX4 Level II with 116k miles on it. TIA!

RoberticusMaximus · #5 03-07-2012, 02:23 PM

exactly what Scottg and Beater said above^^^

i just adjusted my camber from extreme / = \ to almost strait (left a bit of negative angle) while doing control arm replacement.

if you get in there and are able to adjust the camber bolts, then you will probly need to adjust the Toe-in by loosening the jamb connecting the inner and outer tie rods and setting the angle to whatever the standard spec is. i can give you details if you need to save money.

Rafe · #6 03-07-2012, 02:56 PM

Well, thing is I took it into a shop to have it done. They told me that I'm out of room to tighten/loosen the settings. Told me I'd likely need a new upper control arm. Is that my only way of fixing it?

edit:

Also would it be safer to have a shop do it? I'm stuck in apartments at the momment and this truck is my daily driver. Apartment won't let me work on anything without having someone come give me 'the talk' about working on vehicles. They asked me to quit the installation of a fog light not too long ago... /rolleyes

RoberticusMaximus · #7 03-07-2012, 03:10 PM

well, now that i re-read the thread, sounds like you have so much slack in the b-joints that you should get them replaced pretty quickly (if the upper ball joints are not replaceable then you need the whole upper control arm assembly). and it takes more than one parking spot to do it.

yes it would be safer for a shop to do it, as in the truck can't fall on you that way. i was talking on another thread about prices for replacing the b-joints and control arms. your looking at 500 to 800 bucks for both lower and both control arms (or upper b-joints) parts and labor and alignment. i could be off on that in your area.

edit: oh you better look in under there to see if your upper conrol arm is like mine - i just remembered your is a 4WD w t-bars. mines a 2wd with coils. might need somebody else to chime in for confirmation.

Rafe · #8 03-08-2012, 06:43 AM

Found the sheet I received from the mechanic who did my last alignment. He suggested new tie-rods and right control arm. I'm going to replace it all...

BTW. Anyone replaced a heater core yet? Mine went out a couple years ago and living in Texas I never had a need to replace it. Now going to Portland it has shot up quite a bit on my list of priorities. Curious what everyone else was paying to have it changed at a shop or if it was worth the hassle of DIY. I've heard time and time again that you have to pull the whole dash up to the firewall in order to get to it, but not sure if that is the same on all vehicles. Done it once on a Chevy 1500, never again.