Hey guys and girls, hope you are having a great Thanksgiving! I am looking to do a quick and dirty camber adjustment on a 1965 fury 2 with power steering. I just replaced the inner and outer tie rod ends with the sleeve and also the lower ball joints. I have quite a bit of positive camber just by looking down from the front of the vehicle you can tell there is positive camber. I just need it to be good enough to get to storage which is maybe 5 miles down the roa.d I would like to know how to adjust the camber to get it close enough just by eyeing it the cam bolts are accessible from the engine compartment. Do I need to to jack the vehicle up at the front end or can I do it with the vehicle on the ground? I have the shop manual but it does not specify for the Fury weather I need to jack the vehicle up or if I can keep it on the ground. If so do I just loosen the cam bolts? I'm totally lost with this!!
Quick and dirty camber adjustment?
- Thread starter Rooster34
- Start date
Jack the car up first, this takes most of the tension off the adjusting cams and makes it easier to move them.
Dave
Camber is not nearly as critical to tire wear as tow-in is. If you put the adjusting sleeves in about the same location on the threads as the old ones were, things should be close enough to drive a few miles, just not 50 or so. Bias-ply tires are much more critical to camber than radials, due t0 the radials' more flexible sidewalls. Not sure why what you replaced would make that much difference in the camber? Hopefully, your storage location is on a reasonably smooth and level solid floor. When there, or before if where you're at is a reasonably level concrete floor, you can get a floating needle level meter at the somewhere like Home Depot, used to measure the levelness or perpendicular-ness of studs in walls, fence post installations, and such. With the wheel covers removed, then the steering wheel enough that the wheels turn about 10 degrees from straign ahead, measure the camber, then turn them an equal amount the other direction, measure that. The difference is the camber when the wheels are straight ahead. Might have the front wheels on a large piece of cardboard, on each side, so things work more smoothly as the wheels turn, as if they were on plates that let them easily rotate (as if they were on an alignment rack).
Then, do the eccentric washer adjustments, per the FSM, to make the changes, IF the camber is enough changed to be "out of range".
BEFORE any alignment adjustments, ENSURE the front suspension ride height is where it needs to be. Bouncing the car before any checks are done and after the car is back on the ground after the adjustment tweaks.
Just some thoughts,
CBODY67
Then, do the eccentric washer adjustments, per the FSM, to make the changes, IF the camber is enough changed to be "out of range".
BEFORE any alignment adjustments, ENSURE the front suspension ride height is where it needs to be. Bouncing the car before any checks are done and after the car is back on the ground after the adjustment tweaks.
Just some thoughts,
CBODY67
saylor
Senior Member
ok stop this is bad advice. you dont set the front end with the car up. you set it like you drive it.
saylor
Senior Member
go get 4 cheap $.94 linoleum tiles from lowesdepot. go get a digital level from harborchinarfreight. get a 2x4 bigger than your rim but smaller than your tire. get a bungee cord. get a tape measure. get a flat LEVEL surface you can park on.
block your rear tire.
take those tiles and put 2 and 2 on top of each other. Put bearing grease in between them like peanut butter on a sammich.
lift up your car enough to slip those tile sammiches under each front wheel. set the car down on those tiles.
strap the level to the 2x4 to your wheel with the bungee. maybe two bungee.
make sure you blocked your back wheel.
set your stuff.
im not going to go into the how to of alignment. just how to do it on the cheap ^^ in your driveway. its good experience to read and understand all the 3 settings.
be sure and jostle your front end.
try not to die -
- saylor
block your rear tire.
take those tiles and put 2 and 2 on top of each other. Put bearing grease in between them like peanut butter on a sammich.
lift up your car enough to slip those tile sammiches under each front wheel. set the car down on those tiles.
strap the level to the 2x4 to your wheel with the bungee. maybe two bungee.
make sure you blocked your back wheel.
set your stuff.
im not going to go into the how to of alignment. just how to do it on the cheap ^^ in your driveway. its good experience to read and understand all the 3 settings.
be sure and jostle your front end.
try not to die -
- saylor
If you replaced the lower ball joints, but did not touch the upper control arm adjustment or bushings, the camber should not be off that much.
BUT! If you replaced the tie rod ends and sleeves, then it's quite probable that the toe in is out.
Are you sure you aren't meaning "toe in" rather than "camber"?
Toe in can be set with a tape measure. Turn the sleeves on the tie rods to adjust.
To know the difference, look down at your feet. Turn your feet so your big toes point towards each other... That's toe in. Turn them out and it's toe out.
Now look at your legs. Push your knees out like you are bowlegged, now bring them back like you are knock kneed. That's camber.
Caster would be if your heels were high and leaned you forward or your toes were stepping on a board and it leaned you backward.
Ok, so yes I replaced both of the lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rod ends and the sleeves. I have a shop so I have a nice level concrete floor. I have already set the correct ride height. Per the manual the camber and caster should be set next and toe is the last adjustment to be made. I tried to set the new tie rods and sleeves at the same adjustment as the old ones to get it close to what the toe in was. Hopefully I can get this done this weekend!
This is great! And yes I know what all that is but how you described each of these is awesome!
You can check and set your camber with just a large framing square, tape measure, and the right wrenches. Leave the car on the ground and slide the square up against the tire (centered on the hub). If the top of the tire leans away from the square, your working with negative camber. This method will not be "perfect", but it will get you close enough. I think it was about an 1/8th inch leaning in got me .5-1 degree negative camber, which is what I like.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
Need to roll back and forth to settle suspension. The linoleum tiles work good for jacking up and down allowing it to settle.
If you still need adjustment. Rule of thumb is back can all the way inboard, front all the way outboard, then roll front one inboard to bring you over to just past vertical with top of tire leaning inward slightly (jack under lower control arm as far out as possible) repeat on other side then tape measure the toe, you want a wee bit of toe in to make driving smooth and tight in a rear steer car.
That's a quicky.
If you still need adjustment. Rule of thumb is back can all the way inboard, front all the way outboard, then roll front one inboard to bring you over to just past vertical with top of tire leaning inward slightly (jack under lower control arm as far out as possible) repeat on other side then tape measure the toe, you want a wee bit of toe in to make driving smooth and tight in a rear steer car.
That's a quicky.
Thank all of you for your input!!
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