front end problem?

[k-20]

on my 79 k20 im having trouble,the out side edge of the front tyres are wearing really bad.ive checked the toe in/out and thats ok(0).
looking at the front of the vehicle though the wheels appear to be leaning in at the bottom.is this normal?is there any way to adjust this if it not?any ideas would be great,thanks.

[special-K]

Did you have camber looked at,or just toe-in?It`s rare to set camber,but can be done using shims behind the spindles.There`s a possibility the axle housing is bowed if it was jumped or really abused in the past.
These front-ends tend to eat tires if they are not rotated within 5,000 miles.

[manimal]

Also check your ball joints

[skchevota]

[trkklr77]

1 its not a ricer, hauling ass around town in a 4x4 will distroy tires faster than any thing i know of

2 your bj are probably shot, IF you camber is actualy screwed up you can get off set bj but i have never seen any thing that goes under the spindle.

3 if your axle was bent it would typicaly go the other way tops in.

4 it has lift your castor could be off and will cuase minor wear but some handeling issues.

[jacobs]

Originally Posted by trkklr77

i have never seen any thing that goes under the spindle.

I had an alignment shop install shims behind my spindles 25 years ago. They made an amazing difference.

[special-K]

Oh,I see the wheels are "in" at the bottom,not "out".You know they do that when they are cut into a hard turn.And,this is why the rotation is so important.After 5,000 miles,noticeable outer wear will show w/o rotation.I assume the shop that checked your alignment would know to check for worn parts such as ball joints before even bothering to put on machine.

[k-20]

i checked the toe in/out my self,i thought that if any thing was bent or worn the wheels would be laying in at the top(wear inside edge of tyre)springs are standard ones that have been re set(maybe 3"??)can any one tell me what the caster/camber angles should be?

[trkklr77]

if your diff cover surface is 90* vertical your castor angle will be -7* ish, means the knuckles are rotated back a little bit. what typicaly happens is that when you lift it with the springs it causes the pinion to point down and the diff cover surface is nolonger at 90* vertical. get your self some STEEL!!!! [not aluminum} angle shims in 2-4* and BOLT the to your springs between the spring and axle.

[454_72_4X4]

I'm not sure of the exact specs, but you should have a small amount of toe in. 1/16 in or so.

Originally Posted by trkklr77

if your diff cover surface is 90* vertical your castor angle will be -7* ish, means the knuckles are rotated back a little bit.

Negative (-) castor angle means the centerline of the upper balljoint is in front of the centerline of the lower balljoint.
Positive (+) castor is just the opposite. Upper BJ behind the lower BJ. I think just about a vehicles use posative castor nowdays.

Old Chevelles had negative castor. It was setup that way to make the steering easier but it wasn't good for stability at all.

[tallhoedude]

there are some aftermarket adjustable balljoints or lower kingpin caps if its a 60.i had to use them on my 60.ill try and find the website info for them if you need it.

[k-20]

Originally Posted by tallhoedude

there are some aftermarket adjustable balljoints or lower kingpin caps if its a 60.i had to use them on my 60.ill try and find the website info for them if you need it.

it running a 44.checked the ball joints yesterday,doesnt appear to be any wear/movment.havnt got around to checking the camber/caster(maybe this week end?)