The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Camber Adjustment Shop?

I have a 1953 3100. She drives straight down the road hands free, but my passenger side front tire wears unevenly and much faster than the driver's side. Does anyone know of a shop in the DFW area that bends the front axle for camber adjustment. I've been wondering if a heavy truck and trailer alignment shop would work on this old truck. I'm about to put mew wheels and tires on her but need this fixed before I do.

George

Axle bending is not that difficult- - - - -all it takes is a 20 ton bottle jack, a piece of H-beam or I-beam, and some heavy chain. The problem is in finding a shop that's willing to try to do it. Too bad you're not closer to middle Tennessee- - - -I've been doing that kind of stuff since the early 1960s! Is the uneven wear on the inside or the outside of the tread?
Jerry

Thanks for replying Jerry! I haven't taken any measurements yet but I can tell you that the tire leans slightly outward at the top and wears on the outside. My truck sits level. New king pin and wheel bearing with 2K miles. Caster adjustment is good. My guess is that the axle is bent a little “up” at the kingpin boss. If I were to do this adjustment myself the starting point would be to take a measurement using a straightedge for reference to determine how far the beam is bent upward. Is that how you get your measurement?

I have all the above-mentioned items. I'm picturing in my head the beam is the anchor with the chains securing the jack between the axel and beam. Pressure is then applied forcing the axel to bend slightly. In my case the beam would be below the axle forcing it to bend downward. I imagine it would not take much and could easily be moved too far. I also suppose experience would be a big factor in doing it correctly.

George

What you say is true, however what do you have to lose? It's already messed up. I doubt you could make it worse. Give it a shot.

Or find a shop that work on dump trucks and delivery trucks.

I have a magnetic digital angle finder. So, I could try bending using the small nuance approach until I get it to read zero. Admittedly, I'm a little nervous but I believe it would take much more force than needed to cause any damage to the axel.

I'm hoping that Hotrod Lincoln can chime back in to talk me into or out of doing it myself. "lol" I think I can do it but would very much appreciate a man who's done this many times giving me some guidance.

Please post pictures of your process. This is interesting to me and maybe others. I was a little confused about the bending. You said the wear is on the outside of the tire. Would that mean the end of your axle is bent down, making the top of the tire lean out? Just trying to picture it.

When the top of tire is leaning outward that would = positive camber. Positive camber happens when the kingpin boss is tipped inward at the bottom and outward at the top indicating that the axle is bent upward at the kingpin. To fix positive camber, I would need to apply force to bend the axle end downward slightly at the kingpin boss. The most common reason camber is off on these old trucks is because the axle is slightly bent at or near the kingpin boss. If I'm wrong someone, please correct me.

In Dallas, call Truett-Worral and ask them. They may or may not do something as small as your truck but if anyone knows who could do it, they will. Before I did that, I would look closely at your front axle beam. Years ago a friend of mine had camber adjusted on his truck and the shop discovered it was simply a matter of the axle beam having been bent. How? No clue but for some reason it was not straight and level and this caused the camber on one side to be off a wee bit. In his case it turned out to be less expensive to fix as they just had to straighten the axle. From what he said the shop told him that wasn't so uncommon. Good luck.

I think it’d be really cool to see someone attempt this and document the process.

That said: here’s another idea. Advanced design frames, axles, steering components are all over FB marketplace…and cheap.

Finding a different front axle would be easily done. Swapping all your stuff onto that axle and onto the truck would be a relatively minor pain.

The chain and bottle jack that Jerry has used can work, but in order to get the end of the axle bent downward, you'll be pushing on the high point of the arc of the bent axle, and the safest way to do it is with the axle in the truck. If the axle is loose, it's very possible that it will flip over when pressure is applied and cause injury to equipment or you. If doing it yourself, I wouldn't depend on a magnetic angle finder as you need to have both ends the same. A more precise method like measurements from a baseline (your support beam) would be better. AND you have to check that the axle isn't twisted as well as the end bent up. Here's a crude diagram for bending to get more camber. To get less camber you'd need to swap the jack and the outboard chain.

If it were me, I'd let a truck shop handle it. I once had a rear axle straightened but they messed it up. It was straight at the ends but the center housing was still angled and it eventually killed the differential because the limited slip disks started shucking the petals off into the pinion bearing. Not pretty,

I'll definitely look for a shop first. Starting with Jon's advice to check with Truett-Worral. This isn't a job I want to do but will as a last resort. I appreciate all the input and advice.

Truett-Worrall (I think I left off the last l earlier) will not cheat anyone. I've dealt with them since the late 70s. I'd give you the name of the fellow I know best there but he retired and I haven't needed anything in a while. The last thing I had them do was make me some square u-bolts.

Kevin, the chain and jack method I use is done on the truck, with a magnetic caster/camber gauge attached to the hub. I learned that procedure in the late 1950s from my father's business partner who did all the wheel alignment and frame straightening for their shop. All the bending is done outboard of the spring seat. With the proper fixtures, it's also possible to twist the axle for caster correction on one side.
Jerry

I hadn't even thought about bending off the truck as an option. A caster /camber gauge is not an expensive investment. Having the experience, know-how and getting it done right is what I'm concerned about. I'm the only one who's work on this pickup form frame off restoration till now, but this is uncharted territory. I like to do all my own work but sometimes it's better to let the professional handle critical projects that involve precision work and safety.

It would take some very sophisticated holding fixtures to do an off-frame axle bend, such as the ones a "drop axle" shop uses. Plus, how would you know for sure that the correction was correct without reassembling everything?
Jerry

Yes, I have always thought the adjustment would need to be done with the axel on.

If it were me. I'd look for another axle. I have acquired entire drive trains including engines and transmissions for free on Facebook market place. Both of them were from guys doing S-10 chassis swaps.

What Carl said. These truck parts aren't scarce enough to spend extra money on a non-rare part repair.

I'd second 52Carl's suggestion about looking in Craigslist and FB Marketplace. I frequently see front axle's offered for pretty cheap prices. I did take a quick peek in Dallas/FW Craigslist, but only found later 1955.2 and later axles at the moment. Those are not the same, so won't work for your truck unfortunately.

For your needs, a front axle from any 1941-55.1 Series 1/2 ton truck is a direct replacement for your '53 unit. According to the Chevy Master Parts Books, the casting number on the axle is "3656872" (same as the GM part number in the books) for all these year trucks.

That's a great idea that I hadn't considered. If one is available because of a S-10 swap chances are it could very well be straight. I haven't called Truett-Worrall yet. I have a 55 Bel Air on the rotisserie that's keeping me busy. I'm very excited about putting new wheels and tires on the 3100. I sent a quote request to WheelSmith but haven't heard back. I think they must prefer telephone communications which is fine. I wanted to give them the fitment specs upfront via their quote info sheet that's provided on their website before I call but I'm sure they've made several sets of wheels for AD 1'st series 3100 pickups. Hey guys, thanks for all the input and suggestions. George

If you have done your kingpins and you said it drives straight, I would be more inclined to at least make the call and talk to them. Maybe get a ballpark price on straightening the axle. Chances are that any front end you pick up will need kingpins which you will have to do before assembly and install to check if it is a good unit.

Yes, finding a shop that will do the adjustment is the first option I'll look into. Second option would be to do it myself. If I were to somehow make it worse, I would shop for another axle. The old girl is very driveable as is. I just want it to correct the camber before I put the new rubber on her. I wasn't so worried about it when buying cheap 10 ply tires, but the Michelin's and new wheels are more of an investment. I'm giving the 3100 to my daughter when I get the 55 on the road. I don't want her having any problems.

You could also call Sid at droppedaxles.com. He has the tools to fix/adjust or could give you some advice.

Chris