[DfntPntbll]

1st post.

How do you adjust the camber and castor?











88 s10 blazer 4.3

Depending on if you have a 4wd or 2wd truck, the control arms are mounted differently. On a 2wd, the control arms are bolted to the frame and use shims to space it away from the mounting surface to adjust camber/caster. On a 4wd, they are adjusted with eccentric cams attached to the mounting bolts. As the bolts are turned, it pushes and pulls the respective bushing in or out.

 

[S10dude]

ooh boy ......that will work out fine .............:haha:

 

[Vurrich]

Depending on if you have a 4wd or 2wd truck, the control arms are mounted differently. On a 2wd, the control arms are bolted to the frame and use shims to space it away from the mounting surface to adjust camber/caster. On a 4wd, they are adjusted with eccentric cams attached to the mounting bolts. As the bolts are turned, it pushes and pulls the respective bushing in or out.

Thanks for the reply, quick one at that.

I don't suppose mine have ever been messed with.

I suppose they may get out of adjustment through normal wear and tear?

 

[DfntPntbll]

Yes, with age and general wear and tear, the settings will change. It's from the bushings getting weak.

 

[Vurrich]

My son and I did a home alignment with string and measuring tape.
Some claim it's works but without doing castors shim or Camber then it won't be exact with this old car I'd guess.

We put new tie rods, linkage and ball joints on it and then aligned it.
When i turn hard it feels like my front tires have a negative camber stance.
And it kinda hops for a second. Going down the road the its straight but with play in the steering.. No play in the column but below that somewhere.

the play will often make the car feel likes it's floating either gently left or right and I have to correct slightly.. It just feels a bit awkward.
I don't want to pay for an alignment til I know I don't need more parts underneath it.





=======================================
88 s10 4.3 Tahoe=
============

Resurrected from the dead and saved from the graveyard. lol

New steering parts, ball joints, linkage, tie rods
Top end of engine reworked with new gaskets and valve seals.
Fuel pump replaced twice.
New brake cylinders
Shocks & tires
New Door hinges on Drivers door
New rear window supports
Faux sheep seat covers.
New AC compressor and accumulator, freon
new Jams..
Dash cover soon or may patch it up and paint it.
Sanding rust and primed the roof.
Hoping to repaint the car in the near future.
About $1100 spent thus far.

 

[DfntPntbll]

Your best bet is to follow this tutorial or take it to a shop for diagnosis. To me, without putting hands on the truck, it sounds like your toe is WAY off. Driveway alignments are meant for simply getting the vehicle to a shop. People that say they work are looking at the short term.

 

[Vurrich]

This tutorial seems to be lacking in info.
It is good reference but I will take it to get an alignment.
Just hoping to save some money. I've spent a bunch bringing this vehicle back to life.

 

[DfntPntbll]

In what way does it seem to lack info? Not only did I give explanations about the different aspects of an alignment, but also how to diagnose bad parts and what to look for. Wanting to save money on an alignment will cost you more in the long run. But all I can do is inform you based on my 8 years of experience in the field.

 

[Vurrich]

In what way does it seem to lack info? Not only did I give explanations about the different aspects of an alignment, but also how to diagnose bad parts and what to look for. Wanting to save money on an alignment will cost you more in the long run. But all I can do is inform you based on my 8 years of experience in the field.

It's a good explanation and I did checks from this.

The info that lacks in that this is not meant to be a do-it-yourself alignment instruction but a check for bad parts.

The videos I found of guys doing alignments at home were mostly off-roaders who probably have a difficult time staying aligned. One guy claimed to be a alignment technician and said he could do as well at home.
But most only adjust the "toe" on those videos.

 

[DfntPntbll]

I'll be covering all of the methods used to inspect your front end parts and well as what to look for in regards to play and what is considered acceptable or not.

This was never meant to be a tutorial on doing an alignment. That is what professionals with proper equipment are for. As I said before, anyone claiming that you can properly align a vehicle in a driveway and get decent tire wear over the long term is mistaken. Rather, tutorials that show you that kind of information should be used as a temporary adjustment to get you to a shop with proper tools and equipment.

 

[Vurrich]

This was never meant to be a tutorial on doing an alignment. That is what professionals with proper equipment are for. As I said before, anyone claiming that you can properly align a vehicle in a driveway and get decent tire wear over the long term is mistaken. Rather, tutorials that show you that kind of information should be used as a temporary adjustment to get you to a shop with proper tools and equipment.

I understand and appreciate this.
The videos of do-it-yourselfers made it sound so simple to do a TOE job.

I can't see doing it just to get you to a shop. Why not just drive it to the shop?

 

[Vurrich]

I understand and appreciate this.
The videos of do-it-yourselfers made it sound so simple to do a TOE job.

I can't see doing it just to get you to a shop. Why not just drive it to the shop?

Took the car to get it aligned today.
The guy told us that the center link and idler arm were bad.
And I thought I checked those.

 

[gregster]

Hi im a newbie, i have a 91 s10 4x4 4.3 i recently replaced all ball joints tie rods, idler,pitman arm,had it aligned when jacked up i see it has a negative camber.does the torsion bars adjustment affect th camber. Thanks

 

[DfntPntbll]

Sorry for the severely delayed reply, but to answer the question of if torsion bars effect camber, yes they do. Any time you change a setting or part that effects the ride height of these trucks, it will effect Camber. Also, once Camber is effected, so is Caster and Toe.

When you had the truck aligned, you should have been provided a before and after printout of your vehicles specs. I would check that to see what they set your camber at.

 

[olstudieguy]

DfntPntbll, this is great info. And since you are a susp. guy you may be able to help me with some info. Im putting a 2001 Blazer front half under the front of a 52 Studebaker 2R truck. The s10 frame was cut off right at the firewall so I have little to go by for setting the suspension rotated around the axle stubs. There doesn't seem to be a straight, flat surface anywhere on the subframe, suspension, except a small flat on the bottom of the crossmember. If that surface is parallel with the road surface then I have something to start from as I splice the two frames together. The picture you have showing the centerlink looks like that flat is parallel to the ground. Any help would be appreciated. I recognize the initial post is 2 years old and you may not look at it often. anybody else hav info please share. olstudieguy

 

[DfntPntbll]

Actually, I keep pretty up to date on this thread. to answer your question, yes. I do believe that the part you are speaking about is fairly parallel to the ground at ride height. Although, I have noticed that the angle of this varies wildly from truck to truck. In my opinion, you would be fine to set it at 0 degrees parallel to the ground and align from there. Is there any chance you could post a picture of the section you are working with? Seeing the amount of frame rail you have would tell alot.

 

[olstudieguy]

Thanks for the quick reply. We tried to post some pictures and it didn't work out. The cut line is about 8 inches from the rearmost corner of the upper control arms, not much to go from. I'm going to try to get some work done this weekend on it . If we figure this picture thing out in the future I'll stick some in the Gallery, s10 suspension , a sbc 350 and 5spd from a Silverado almost make it a s10 lol

 

[DfntPntbll]

Ok, I think I know the spot. From the control arm mounts, the frame drops twice. The plate you mentioned earlier is level with the bottom of the frame rails.

 

[olstudieguy]

I looked allover the net for exactly that drawing. And this is proof of my search skills. Thank you so much. I will try to learn how to post pix and put some up when I make some progress. Have a ggod day.

 

[DfntPntbll]

Not a problem. You should also check out this pdf:

http://www.gmupfitter.com/publicat/pdf/LD/LD_ST_Truck/LD_ST_Truck_pgs.pdf