Front coil springs. Camber?

Shawn6880 · Apr 5, 2015

Hello everyone, trying to get my ranger back on the road. Just finished all new brake lines which led to me finding one broken coil spring. And the other one welded on. Ordered a set of moog 866. Which are the heaviest springs I could buy. Is it common to have the camber off after install? How do I adjust?
Thanks, Shawn

SenorNoob · Apr 19, 2015

I'd say yes. Anytime, the springs are changed the camber will be off. To adjust it you'll probably need the adjustable bushings to do it yourself. If you take it to a shop, they'll likely want to charge for the adjustable ones then install some old solid bushings they already have that are the right degree of adjustment. I put the adjustable ones in myself, but I had the axle out of the truck.

adsm08 · Apr 19, 2015

You will probably end up needing a proper alignment when all is said and done, with adjustable camber bushings, which are usually easy enough to install on your own, if your axle doesn't already have them in it.

They go around the upper ball joint, held in place by a pinch bolt. Remove bolt pop bushing out, hammer new one in. At home I would have the wheel off. On a lift it is easier to get at than on a jack, and the wheel can be left on.

A fixed busing can be identified by a round head and a tab pointing out at the wheel. An adjustable one will have a hex head for a socket.

DO NOT get the "dual adjustable" ones that supposedly let you set camber and caster independent. They offer little by way of actual benefit and greatly complicate the process of aligning the front end, which most guys have enough trouble with on the old TTB trucks.

All that said I would wait a few weeks before getting said alignment. New springs for TTB axles usually settle out a bit which will have an effect on your camber. Sometimes old springs settle out too if they have been sufficiently disturbed.

4x4junkie · Apr 20, 2015

adsm08 said:
DO NOT get the "dual adjustable" ones that supposedly let you set camber and caster independent. They offer little by way of actual benefit and greatly complicate the process of aligning the front end, which most guys have enough trouble with on the old TTB trucks.

Are you talking about the 2-piece concentric bushings everyone uses (the only type of "adjustable camber bushing" that I know of)?

If anything complicates doing an alignment, it's fixed bushings that don't allow individual adjustments for camber and caster. You have to stick 0° bushings in, put it on an alignment rack and then take readings before you have any idea what degree bushings you need to choose to have both the camber and caster where they need to be (this pretty much eliminates those who DIY, which it sounded like what the OP might be doing).

If you were speaking of something else, then I guess I must not be familiar with them (both fixed and adjustable bushings for a D35 have hex heads on them).

adsm08 · Apr 20, 2015

4x4junkie said:
Are you talking about the 2-piece concentric bushings everyone uses (the only type of "adjustable camber bushing" that I know of)?

I have never had a hard time getting camber and caster in spec on a TTB axle with a solid one-piece adjustable. If one is in and the other is out rotate the bushing 180*. Maybe not both spot on together, but caster has a good bit of tolerance, as long as camber is really good. Those two-piece concentric units give me headaches just trying to read the chart.

I have aligned both my D-28s, my 35, and a number of 44s, along with a few solid 60s and the only one I ever had an issue with had just had the front axle out. I had to have them drive it for two weeks and come back to get the caster set so it didn't pull.

You really don't need to put in a zero bushing and measure it first. On most vehicles with stock suspension you slap in a 0-3 and you will be able to get it in spec.

I will admit that I can't quite hold all the geometry for it in my head, and there may be "technical issues" with what I said, but in my own experience it works. My steering wheel is straight and the edges of my tires are square, and I'm a lazy bastard and haven't rotated my tires in three years.

I did not know the D35's non-adjustable bushings had the hex head though. Seeing as how I was in middle school when that axle was discontinued I'm pretty sure I have never dealt with one in it's factory form, only ones that have been worked on before I got to them. The non-adjustable bushings I am familiar with for the 28, 44 and solid 60 are all round heads.

4x4junkie · Apr 21, 2015

I guess I've never had any trouble reading the charts...
If, say, 1° caster needs to be added to it, it's a simple matter of following the column down (or up) from wherever the bushing is currently set to and noting what letter it gets reset to (upper letter in the square), and then what letter at which it gets orientated in the beam (lower letter). Sometimes you might have to guesstimate a little if you find the bushing's current setting "in between" squares on the chart, but I've never had any trouble figuring it out.

With fixed bushings however you will rarely, if ever, get both camber AND caster right unless you do like I said and go through the whole rigamarole of putting it on a rack with a 0° bushing first.... Most you can do otherwise is set the camber best you can, leaving the caster angle off some slight amount.
The 2-piece bushing eliminates this headache (at least for me it does). On a flat freeway I'll let go of the wheel and it'll track dead straight for hundreds of feet (maybe even a thousand or more) without drifting out of the lane (not unlike most sedans do)... And this is on a DIY alignment to boot.

The D35 bushings use a design different from that of the D28, 44 & 60. The others have a tapered ball joint stud and is secured with a castle nut up top rather than a straight stud secured by a pinch bolt (D35).

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1137989,parttype,13508

Front coil springs. Camber?

Shawn6880

New Member

SenorNoob

Well-Known Member

adsm08

Senior Master Grease Monkey

4x4junkie

Forum Staff Member

adsm08

Senior Master Grease Monkey

4x4junkie

Forum Staff Member

Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad

Staff online

Members online

Member & Vendor Upgrades

Latest posts

Truck of The Month

Recently Featured

Follow TRS On Instagram

Latest Album Photos

TRS Events

25th Anniversary Sponsors

Check Out The TRS Store

Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad

Amazon Deals