TTB caster / camber adjust

[mike100]

If you don't know what TTB is your lucky or if you want to laugh at my suffering go ahead...

When I set my camber just right (wheels more or less straight up maybe with a hair of neg camber like it's suppossed to have, I get a hard pull to the right. If I dial the caster up in the right side to make it track straight I get a wheel that is sticking out so the tire wear sucks.

BTW, I have some aftermarket caster/camber upper balljoint bushings to straighten things up because I rearched the front springs to somewhere near original stock height (or higher). It pulled to the right when I bought it sagged so no big change except the ride height is correct. I need to replace the pivot bushings, but I think the camber won't change much as the leafs (F250 4x4) generally locate the axle during rest anyhow.

Ok...I haven't checked it out yet, but I heard that Superlift sells some alignment offset bushings that have caster and camber seperately adjustable. like a sleeve in a sleeve. The website suggests this but the picture is practically microscopic. Anybody know about this?

Yes, I could get a Dana 60 out of an F350, but My steering is new and the ball joints and universals are still tight in my ttb dana 50 so I think with the correct selection of bushings I can make this dog walk straight. It rides softer too, but I'd take a 60 if I could get it for nothing or next to it.

Could the pivot arm bushings really make much difference. I want to get the Superlift caster/camber bushings if what I think is true, but has anybody had to rebuild one of these ttb ford units before?

[mike100]

Found out that the caster/camber offset balljoint insert thing was not exactly like I thought, but there are alignment programs that will select the offset for you when you put in on the rack. Gonna get my pivot bushings done at 4 wheelparts wholesalers as they were $170 for the bushing r&r including the cost of the bushings. They have lifted a lot of these trucks before with the old school ttb so I guess they are pretty used to working on them. I was getting ready to do it myself as other shops were talking $500-$700! I need more caster at zero camber on my right side and my current offset is wrong now. So it will be handled by these guys I hope. I expect it will pull a little, but so long as it doesn't kill tires and stops pulling to the right hard I will be happy.


Also, I won't try to waste money aligning it again until the pivot bushings are new because I wouldn't want to do it a third time. I will let you know how it goes...

[Godzilla Jr]

$170 doesn't sound too bad a price. Had mine done to my F150 (RIP ) years ago and it ws $250. Alignment was good until I changes tire sizes, then it was out again...

[BigGrump]

Why should it pull at all. They need to adjust it correctly so it drives right. Then, what a pleasure.

Good Luck

Dennis

[mike100]

it isn't right because 1) its a Ford TTB which always pulls a little.

and 2) I had the springs re-arched and raised the front an inch or 2 which totally made my current caster cams setting unuseable for the new ride height.

[mike100]

Finally got it in to the 4 wheel parts wholesalers in the Escondido/San Marcos store... and its all good. I got a good price on the bushing install which will save my sore shoulder and from purchases of any special tools, so I guess the $100 or so I would have saved doing it myself was worth it.

The alignment and the attention to my special requests were excellent and the truck tracks great and the camber looks good, so tire wear is no longer a concern. I should be able to slap on some bigger tires without problems now.

More money was spent on the alignment than at the last front end place I was at, but it actually aligned right this time. BTW, I was able to adjust the alignment myself, even with the sloppy bushings, to drive straight, but the camber was off. I guess some places really don't know how to work on full size trucks and ford ttb in particular. It was pleasing to have competitive prices on the parts AND labor, as other shops mark up parts way too much. I usually buy stuff myself and do a lot of the labor (as an ex-mechanic) when I can.

So now I have a totally tight D50 TTB with all tight bushings, correct ride height, and ball joints (the ball joints were good when I bought it) that drives right. Yes, it is softer riding than a D60 f350 ride, and if I don't go over 285/75-16 size on the tires, I'm sure the D50 unit will hold up. The high clearance on the steering linkage is also a plus (until you lift it), so I actually appreciate the design now that it is not causing me any grief.

[BigGrump]

That sounds great, happy for your success. Do I take it correctly that you have now eliminated all pull to the right so it tracks straight down the road?


Gives us all hope as our front ends start to wear. I didn't know 4 wheel parts was that good on alignments.


Dennis

[mike100]

The newer 4x4 superduties have a standard solid axle and are not as tricky to align, but I heard they can pull a bit themselves. Camber never gets adjusted on a solid axle (its fixed) and all you do is side to side caster adjustments and the toe. The upside to the twin-traction beam (like twin I-beam on the 2wd's) is that it soaks up bumps well and transitions into driveways at an angle like there wasn't even a bump. The rear is still real stiff though. Not too bad for leaf springs.

I hope I never bend it, then I will really be in a world of hurt. Otherwise, I think it will hold up for a few more years.


P.S. yes it tracks pretty straight unless you get off the crown of the road then it will pull toawrd that side a little. It only pulls left a wee bit when I'm under power as my rear axle is not exactly perfectly square anymore, but not enough to do anything about. This actually helps in the slow lane as the crown pulls it a wee bit to the right, so they cancel each other out. Just where I like it and I'm not making any adjustments. I can get a jaguar if I want a vehicle to drive without touching the steering wheel.

Got plenty of work under the hood, but the brakes/steering/chassis got to be right before you get into the power mods and such. Have to make sure the truck is sound before too much $ gets spent.

[Tom]

The straight axles, D50 and D60 can be adjusted for camber by a bushing in the top ball joints. All of them come with it when new (with whatever angle one makes them 90 degrees from horizontal) They're easy to change without changing ball joints. You just gotta know how much you're off to correct it. I suppose this would only be required if you tweaked the axle a little bit, but it's good to know there is adjustability there.
-T