Camber adjustment on passenger side 2-piece upper control arm

[lizardflats]

We've got a 1996 XLT 5.0L. I did ball joints and tie rod ends about 2 years ago. I got new tires about a year ago and the alignment was within spec. Now, I'm getting a lot of wear on the inside of the front tires and when I had my alignment checked the camber was a lot more negative than a year ago, especially the passenger side.

The tire shop that did the alignment a year ago says it needs camber adjusters and both upper control arms. I know the driver's side has an eccentric bolt because I had to fight with that replacing the one-piece control arm on that side. Does the passenger side 2-piece upper control arm normally have an eccentric camber adjuster?

It seems strange that the camber went from 0.0 degrees left and -0.4 degrees right a year ago to -1.3 degrees left and -2.2 degrees right now. Would worn upper ball joints cause that much change?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Turdle]

The factory adjusters are blocked, and do not allow enough movement. Adjusters are needed both sides. Camber could be out due to worn ball joints or bushings yes.

 

[410Fortune]

Or your torsion bars have sagged
Or tie rod ends are bad
Or wheel bearings bad/loose

You need to do a quick front end shake down test. Put jack under it and check front tires for play. Push on top of tire any loosness in the upper bj or wheel bearing will show itself. Shake tire at front and back, any looseness in tie rod ends will show itself. Put pry bar under tire and press up, any looseness in lower ball joint will be apparent.
Do not use cheap parts or you will be doing this again in short order

The torsion bar adjuster bolts can be used to raise your ride height back up and bring camber closer to spec. No alignment shops ever seem to do this. Many of them also forget to adjust all 4’tires pressures before alignment machine

96 5.0 w stock tires your fender lip should be about 31” off the ground on both sides with half tank of fuel.. adjust t bar bolts to make both sides about the same, drivers side can be 1/4” higher due to driver weight and fuel tank weight


You should install a camber correction kit on both arms… you will have to fight those drivers side bolts again! With the 5.0 there are a few things in the way but you can Unclip them from their plastic retainers makes life much easier
The Evac (fuel vapor) hard line from the fuel tank is right in your way, un clip it and it will move over enough. To install the bolts is a dance we do, if you put the uca (upper control arm) into the right position you can install the front bolt and shims first then the rear… after you do about 20 of these they get easier!

 

[fast_dave]

Just sayin'

Given the age and mileage of these rigs, you could have a number of suspension issues that add up to one larger problem.

For instance, to add to the list of problems posted by @410Fortune , the blue Teflon pads that are under the torsion bars could also be worn out.

I know that recently @donalds replaced his because they wore out

 

[lizardflats]

Or your torsion bars have sagged
Or tie rod ends are bad
Or wheel bearings bad/loose

You need to do a quick front end shake down test. Put jack under it and check front tires for play. Push on top of tire any loosness in the upper bj or wheel bearing will show itself. Shake tire at front and back, any looseness in tie rod ends will show itself. Put pry bar under tire and press up, any looseness in lower ball joint will be apparent.
Do not use cheap parts or you will be doing this again in short order

The torsion bar adjuster bolts can be used to raise your ride height back up and bring camber closer to spec. No alignment shops ever seem to do this. Many of them also forget to adjust all 4’tires pressures before alignment machine

96 5.0 w stock tires your fender lip should be about 31” off the ground on both sides with half tank of fuel.. adjust t bar bolts to make both sides about the same, drivers side can be 1/4” higher due to driver weight and fuel tank weight


You should install a camber correction kit on both arms… you will have to fight those drivers side bolts again! With the 5.0 there are a few things in the way but you can Unclip them from their plastic retainers makes life much easier
The Evac (fuel vapor) hard line from the fuel tank is right in your way, un clip it and it will move over enough. To install the bolts is a dance we do, if you put the uca (upper control arm) into the right position you can install the front bolt and shims first then the rear… after you do about 20 of these they get easier!

Thanks for the tip on checking ride height. I'll do that before getting it aligned again.

I fought the driver's side rear bolt for probably 30 minutes or more the first time I replaced the control arm. This time I'll probably do the technique I saw in the post by 2000streetrod (How to: - Replacing Camber/Caster Bolts) where he saws the rear bolt in half to make it easier to get out and then with the Moog adjuster kit it's easier to get the bolt in because the washers aren't welded to the bolt.

-Steve

 

[donalds]

.

 

[410Fortune]

You don’t have to cut any bolts lol
There is a technique to installing and removing them
With the control arm pulled all the way out at the front slot and pushed all the way in on the rear slot the rear bolt comes out easily. Then with the rear of the control arm pressed all the way in and the front pulled all the way out the front bolt comes out easily… you see where I am going with this?

Install is reverse

It’s all about positioning and getting the brake lines and Evap line out of your way

 

[lizardflats]

You don’t have to cut any bolts lol
There is a technique to installing and removing them
With the control arm pulled all the way out at the front slot and pushed all the way in on the rear slot the rear bolt comes out easily. Then with the rear of the control arm pressed all the way in and the front pulled all the way out the front bolt comes out easily… you see where I am going with this?

Install is reverse

It’s all about positioning and getting the brake lines and Evap line out of your way

I do, but it sounds like the positions are the same for the two bolts. Is one of those supposed to be all the way in at the front and all the way out at the rear?

 

[410Fortune]

I am talking about how you get the bolts in and out, by positioning the control arm.

The arm needs to be moved to its limits in order to easily slide the bolts in and out for installation

Once the bolts are in then the camber adjusters or the factory
Blocks will decide where they land and stay put

 

[Motorhogman]

Ran into this when my 2000 Sport needed alignment after I replaced the uppers. They had to order camber kits for it.

 

[fast_dave]

Worth 1,000 words - Blue Teflon Pad after 20+ years

 

[C420sailor]

I didn’t even realize there were pads up there

Although after 337,000mi, maybe mine aren’t anymore

 

[410Fortune]

Good truck to go this far!