Caster/Camber issue. | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Caster/Camber issue.

Nadams01

Well-Known Member
Joined
October 29, 2019
Messages
135
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83
City, State
Castle rock, Colorado
Year, Model & Trim Level
1991 explorer eddie bauer
Hello, First of all I understand this topic is over saturated with repetitive question but after reading through the forum my question was not answered. Im lucky enough to be working at a shop where I have access to lifts and a very nice alignment rack. I have adjustable bushings for caster and camber and after rebuilding my steering linkage I went to perform an alignment. Toe was easy, but adjusting camber and caster was a bit of a trip. The bushings only have a certain range of adjustment they can perform, for both camber and caster and are performed together. Right now my measurements are: Camber: -.3. Caster: 7.0 driver and for passenger Camber: -.6 Caster: 5.6. Here is where the issue lies, first of all camber is massively out of spec, that can be corrected with either rotating the bushing or replacing the bushing all together. Second issue is the caster, in CO our roads are slanted to the right for drainage, so during our alignments we slant the caster .5 to 1 degree towards the left to correct for it. Here is where it gets interesting and it lies within the measurements.
Driver side:
Camber minimum: -.03. Caster @ 7
Camber maximum: -2.1 @ caster 6.5
Caster maximum: 8.6
Caster minimum: 6.5.

Passenger Side:
Camber minimum:-.04 @ caster 6.7
Camber maximum: - 2.3 @ caster 4.9
Caster minimum. 4.7
Caster Maximum: 6.8

1st, these measurements were taking with the axle up in the air, and differ from the measurements and adjustments made with the front end resting on the ground. I jacked up the axle by the I beams, not the frame. We can see with getting the camber as close as we could to factory which is 0 ( most important due to camber being a wear angle) the caster is a 1.4 degree split towards the right causing the vehicle to pull right. On top of the 1.4 degree split we already have we want a .5 to 1 degree split to get the vehicle to drive straight. If we completely ignore camber and focus on caster, our minimum on driver side is 6.5, and our maximum on the passenger side is 6.8, not even close to get a straight driving vehicle with 2 degrease of camber. My question is, will replacing the bushing help my caster split? or do i have an issue somewhere else. here is an interesting picture on alldata I found. I will be remeasuring tomorrow.

Caster Variation chart.gif
 



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What size bushing are in there right now? You can get bushing that dual eccentrics in them.
 






What size bushing are in there right now? You can get bushing that dual eccentrics in them.
If I'm correct, you measure them by the range of travel from min to max for camber. So they would be 2 degrees.
 






So you rebuilt the steering linkage and now it doesn’t want to align? Or was it off before the rebuilding also?
Did you do any other work, like suspension lift? That would throw off the caster/camber numbers. Just the steering linkage shouldn’t.
 






So you rebuilt the steering linkage and now it doesn’t want to align? Or was it off before the rebuilding also?
Did you do any other work, like suspension lift? That would throw off the caster/camber numbers. Just the steering linkage shouldn’t.
I'm not sure about before my linkage how it was but I only replaced linkage. I am going to do a JD 3inch lift kit soon. If its gonna change my caster and camber so much that its worth waiting then I will do that. Il be doing the steering stabilizer and dropped pitman arm aswell.
 






more caster will help you drive straighter. 6 degrees (angled toward the cab) is a good number in my opinion, ive never seen anyone want 1 degree of caster lol that provides a very loose and sloppy steering wheel.
also, you said these measurements are taken with the vehicle jacked up? all measurements should be taken with the vehicle on the ground
 






more caster will help you drive straighter. 6 degrees (angled toward the cab) is a good number in my opinion, ive never seen anyone want 1 degree of caster lol that provides a very loose and sloppy steering wheel.
also, you said these measurements are taken with the vehicle jacked up? all measurements should be taken with the vehicle on the ground
I checked it both ways. Normally on our alignment rack caster is not a live angle so it doesn't change immediately like toe does. Measurements were the same but regardless if I maxed out caster I would be running a lot of negative camber 2.3 on each side I believe.
 
























Perfect! that was what conclusion I was coming too with my master tech as well. You don't think the caster split is a sign of suspension damage?
Not really anything is possible with worn parts and a 30 year old Explorer get that lift kit on and go from there. Biggest problems with alignments is finding someone that actually understands what they are doing we have young technicians that can run a alignment machine but don't really have any ideas on the effects toe, caster, and camber can have on a vehicle and it will only be getting worse in the future!
 






Not really anything is possible with worn parts and a 30 year old Explorer get that lift kit on and go from there. Biggest problems with alignments is finding someone that actually understands what they are doing we have young technicians that can run a alignment machine but don't really have any ideas on the effects toe, caster, and camber can have on a vehicle and it will only be getting worse in the future!
Yup, you cant just look at green or red you got to understand how each adjustment effects driving. Ironically Iracing has taught me a lot about alignments by building setups!
 






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