i dont think its sopose to look like this???

[B!ngTheBarber]

so i have noticed i have really bad positive camber on my drivers front wheel and when i hit ice my truck gets a little crazy... so after getting under it i notice this

so today i replaced it with this

truck handles wayyyyyyyyyy better now!!! buttt i still have positive camber on the front drivers wheel... its pretty noticeable... what could it be? bad ball joints? i thought changing the rod out would fix it but did not.

 

[thatK30guy]

Jack up the front end but leave the tires on. Grab a tire at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions. Shake it. If nothing moves, the ball joints are ok. If they move, wiggle, etc., you've got either loose lug nuts or loose ball joints. Pray its the ball joints.

 

[trustyrusty]

Damn, someone really got hung up on something.
Either that or someone doesn't know where to hook up the recovery cable.
Either way, with that type of damage to the tie rod I would carefully inspect every component in the front suspension.

 

[Blue85]

That custom tie rod would be really nice when you have to pull the front diff cover.

 

[K85 Octane]

Jack up the front end but leave the tires on. Grab a tire at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions. Shake it. If nothing moves, the ball joints are ok. If they move, wiggle, etc., you've got either loose lug nuts or loose ball joints. Pray its the ball joints.

yep, give him the possible bad new too
if it's not ball joints, it's axle tubes and if it's not bad or no longer moving, then it will need a spacer on the spindle nuts.

 

[nvrenuf]

i thought changing the rod out would fix it but did not.

The tie rod will not effect camber, only the toe setting. Camber is how the tire stands vertically; straight up, leaning in or leaning out. Bad ball joints, bent housing, bad/loose bearings, etc can all effect camber. If everything is good then the only way to adjust it is a shim between the knuckle and spindle or a threaded eccentric on the upper ball joint stud.

 

[trustyrusty]

The tie rod will not effect camber, only the toe setting. Camber is how the tire stands vertically; straight up, leaning in or leaning out. Bad ball joints, bent housing, bad/loose bearings, etc can all effect camber. If everything is good then the only way to adjust it is a shim between the knuckle and spindle or a threaded eccentric on the upper ball joint stud.

Ok, little hijacking on my part.....
What is the "preferred" method of adjusting camber and what are the downfalls of either design? Does the method depend on the type of axle you are running?
I have a noticeable positive camber on my passenger side causing outside tire wear. I am running a stock 10bolt in a 91.
I am dreading either method as #1 my underside has 20years of rust, and #2 I dread having to reinstall that big a$$ spring in my auto hubs.
If I decide to have it done for me would most alignment shops have the shims or eccentrics to perform the adjustment, or am I better off taking it to dealer to have done.(then again they would probably try to talk me into a new truck)

 

[Muddytazz]

Very rarely have I ever heard where someone has had to shim the knuckle with an eccentric to get it back on these rigs. If it were me...I'd change out the upper and lower ball joints, check your bearings (since you'll be removing them anyways and replace if needed).

If by odd chance it is your axle tube, well......start searching for a new axle is the easiest method.

 

[tRustyK5]

Usually the tubes being bent gives you a negative camber issue. I'd think some camber shims at the spindle would be a big help. Definitely check the ball joints first though. Again, bad ball joints tend to give you a negative camber issue, if any camber at all. If I were going to guess I'd say your truck has a camber shim already and the last person to re-assemble the front put it back in upside down.

Rene

 

[72blazerguy]

If I were going to guess I'd say your truck has a camber shim already and the last person to re-assemble the front put it back in upside down.

Rene

x2 on that. I didn't pay attention to the shim on dis-assembly, re-assembled with the camber shim wrong. Tire looked like it was going to fall off when I got it back together. Took it back apart, flipped the shim over and tire looked right.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Ok, little hijacking on my part.....
What is the "preferred" method of adjusting camber and what are the downfalls of either design? Does the method depend on the type of axle you are running?
I have a noticeable positive camber on my passenger side causing outside tire wear. I am running a stock 10bolt in a 91.
I am dreading either method as #1 my underside has 20years of rust, and #2 I dread having to reinstall that big a$$ spring in my auto hubs.
If I decide to have it done for me would most alignment shops have the shims or eccentrics to perform the adjustment, or am I better off taking it to dealer to have done.(then again they would probably try to talk me into a new truck)

Are you sure the alignment is causing the tire wear?

The caster in the alignment will cause the tires to lean out/in when you turn the tires and it can cause the tires to wear heavily on the outside of the tread. Basically if you have to turn 180 deg to park every day you will heavily wear the outside of the right front passenger tire and the inside of the driver side tire.

 

[trustyrusty]

Usually the tubes being bent gives you a negative camber issue. I'd think some camber shims at the spindle would be a big help. Definitely check the ball joints first though. Again, bad ball joints tend to give you a negative camber issue, if any camber at all. If I were going to guess I'd say your truck has a camber shim already and the last person to re-assemble the front put it back in upside down.

That is very possible as I was the nimrod who last put the hubs together. I tore them apart about a year & a half ago to replace bearings and clean/lube everything up. I don't recall a shim ring in there but then again I am on morphine daily so anything is possible.
Everything is "tight" in the front end, no play whatsoever. I have done several bearing repack/replacement's in my life and know 100% that it is o.k. Ball joints are sound and produce no "play", and like you said that would introduce negative camber.
So I guess I will have to tear that damn thing down and check for a shim.

Are you sure the alignment is causing the tire wear?

The caster in the alignment will cause the tires to lean out/in when you turn the tires and it can cause the tires to wear heavily on the outside of the tread. Basically if you have to turn 180 deg to park every day you will heavily wear the outside of the right front passenger tire and the inside of the driver side tire.

I doubt the caster is off as the truck as it has no lift and the springs are sitting nicely on the factory perches with no shims. Also I do not do any aggressive turning(180's) or high speed plowing into corners.
My toe is "close" to 0, maybe a little outward if anything so that would cause inside tire wear if anything. The camber is definitely off(positive) on the passenger side. So much so that I can see it without use of a gauge.

 

[blaznjon]

Stock Blazers suburbans come with positive camber the factory spec is + 1.5*

 

[trustyrusty]

Stock Blazers suburbans come with positive camber the factory spec is + 1.5*

Yea, If it's not raining tomorrow I will go measure the angle on both sides.
Is 1.5* the actual spec. or an "in spec." number?
Just looking at the p.side compared to the d. side I would say it's probably closer to 3* at the moment, but will verify.

 

[blaznjon]

thats the factory spec out of the 1988 factory service manual.