castor angle on 2wd to 4wd conversion

[original balzer]

I have almost converted my 2wd to 4wd but I need someone else to verify that my spring perch on my axle should be level for proper steering. Am I correct on this? It looks to be the case on the stock pickup sitting next to it. I just dont want to screw up my steering by doing it wrong. Looks like I will need about 8" shackles on the rear of the front springs to make the spring perch level with the ground.

If im wrong can someone point me in the right direction? I guess it could be fixed later with degree shims but I would rather set it corectly to begin with.

Balzer

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

With the spring perches level (as it would have sat stock) GM axles generally have ~6 deg of caster.

The more caster you have the harder it is to steer and the more the truck will want to steer straight ahead (i.e. 0 caster is the easiest to steer but won't stay centered well).

 

[oldtoyboyd]

Alignment spec on my 91 V3500 is 8 degrees
Daniel