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Camber and caster settings

dougsride

Full Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Messages
198
here is my readings from the alignment shop. camber- left pos .9 deg right pos .7 deg caster left neg 2.9 deg right pos 2.6 degree. got the bronco lean on left side going on. all new parts installed on front end. toe was set by shop. 4.5 lift with 35 in. tires. what do you guys think? tracks true but the caster has me troubled.
 

spap

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jan 2, 2010
Messages
2,469
If it drives well and handles well why does it have you troubled
If you’ve seen one bronco alignment you have seen one bronco alignment. There are so many slight variables when are trucks were made. Very far from robot made trucks today.
Have to go by the seat of your pants.
 

englewoodcowboy

Lick Creek Restorations
Joined
Jul 25, 2010
Messages
4,200
For starters, lean effects the alignment, lean to one side will throw camber and caster off from the other. That needs to be addressed first and foremost. Second, there are a lot of factors in suspension components these days, some items work well together while others do not. What brand lift did you go with? What radius arms do you have? If stock, did you install radius arm drop brackets. Basically to get a good driving bronco with wider than stock tires you want to see your camber around +0° to .5°, I try to get them at + .5° to accommodate the crown of the road some and not scrub on the inside of the tires. For caster, this is far more important over camber as it is what returns your wheel to center after a turn and not feel unsure when driving at higher speeds. Here the more the better but I personally want to see a minimum of +6° caster or more. With a 4.5" SL, I find it mandatory to do one of 3 things, first you can install a set of Duff Long Arms, I recommend them if you plan on doing moderate to heavy off road with on road use, second you can install a set of drop radius brackets, again I prefer and refer to Duff as theirs is the only one on the market that is adjustable by 3 settings and the third, if you have a competent mechanic or axle shop, you can have them cut and rotate your C brackets so you can achieve the minimum needed caster while reducing your driveline angles. The first 2 options will allow you to gain caster and keep the driveline angle within working specs or you will have to get a custom built high angle driveshaft and they aren't cheap nor easy to find in a pinch. Please provide more details as well as get the bronco sitting on a level surface, then get a tape measurement at the front frame horn to the ground on each side. This will give us a starting point to help you correct the issues.
 

Broncobowsher

Total hack
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
34,878
Numbers look fine. That is actually pretty good caster consider how much lift you are running. If it drive fine, it's good. In general you want the cross numbers (difference between left and right caster and camber) to be less then ½°. And you are there.
 

Broncobowsher

Total hack
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
34,878
Opps. I missed the positive and negatives. To get 5° of cross caster is not good. About the only way that can happen is the axle got twisted. Which will lead to a lean as the twisted axle is torqueing the radius arms. This could be a really jacked up axle.
 
OP
OP
dougsride

dougsride

Full Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Messages
198
axle twist

i have another 44 that i was going to refurb and add a arb and gears so i was thinking i would ride it out until i do the swap. i've been working on this thing so much i think i will just drive for a time and enjoy it . i ain't getting any younger. thanks for ya'lls input!!
 

Apogee

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 26, 2005
Messages
6,035
I don't know how you would get that much cross caster without spinning a tube in the D44. That said, if it drives okay, it's not really a safety issue and it shouldn't impact tire wear too significantly.
 
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