52's and caster angle

[WJACKSON11X]

Anybody had problems with the caster angle after doing 52 swap? I have mine in the forward most position with the rear hangers moved, 7.5" shackles and a zero rate. Just curious if anyone has had any problems with the front pinion and DW. In the process of doing crossover on my 10 bolt, so havent been able to test drive it yet. Anybody having to use pinion shims?

 

[cybrfire]

With that long of a shackle your definitely gona have pinion angle issues and caster issues IMO.

 

[1979jimmy350]

i have 52's and longer shackles, i have not had to use any shims yet, I do have the alignment sheet somewhere showing my Castor angle, i know it was not to bad at all. I have driven my truck on the highway for extended periods of time and i have had no issue, and i have not had any vibration problems with my front drive shaft

 

[WJACKSON11X]

Thanks for the replys fellas. I am hoping everything will be just fine, but you never know. I just didn't want to do all that work then find out I needed shims, But hey thats part of this wonderful hobby

 

[xtrmjoe]

I have a 4* shim with 2" 52's and 7.25 shackles, drives fine.
Check your caster and adajust if necessary I wanted 5*, after not liking 6(to much) or 4 (to little).

 

[MTBLAZER89]

I have the 7.25 shackles and the 52's up front. Not sure what my castor angle is. I can throw an angle finder on it tonight and find out what my angle is, Where do I measure it from?

My truck seems to drive and steer ok. It feels loose, but I think thats more from the 52's and 56's with long shackles.

 

[WJACKSON11X]

To measure , put angle finder on top of your knuckle this should give you your caster angle if I remember correctly. I do drive on the street occasionally and didnt want any problems with Death Wobble.

 

[protechk5]

any more people have any input?

 

[cegusman]

I have a 4* shim in mine with stock 52"s. Drives nice and strait down the road and no DW.

 

[dremu]

Depends on the front mount as well as the rear. Mine are home-made, vaguely like Kert DIY4X's B52's, so the front mount is lower than the stock mount. The pushes the front of the spring down, i.e. closer to level ... and I still ended up having to use a shim to get mine in line. (I don't remember how long the shackles are on the back side of the spring, but yeah, a longer shackle will push the rear of the spring down, increasing the angle.)

The only way to tell in your specific case is gonna be to measure it...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34214

-- A

 

[mnstrburbon]

any pic of how or where you guy's are putting the angle finder i tried but did not seem to come up with a really good flat surface. And the truck needs to be on level ground also.

 

[dremu]

any pic of how or where you guy's are putting the angle finder i tried but did not seem to come up with a really good flat surface. And the truck needs to be on level ground also.

Well, I put the angle finder on the ground, waited forever for it to stabilize, and took the difference between that and the other reading to determine the final angle. I'm fortunate that my sideyard is paved, and whilst it's not level, it's at least straight.

IIRC on my 10b the flat-top of knuckle is level, i.e. is perpendicular to the axis through the knuckle's C, which is what you want. There wasn't a LOT of surface I could stick the finder on, as the arms were in the way, but I was able to find enough room for the magnet to hold it there.

-- A