The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk how do you set the camber on a '46 chevy half ton

Hi folks,
as the title says, I don't see any adjustment looking at the front end... My truck doesn't track the best, and also sorta shimmies on the highway when you try to correct the direction your going. There is quite a bit of positive camber looking at the front of the truck. So much so the outer edges of the tires are worn quite a bit. Any help or links where I can read up on this would be great. I did a search on here but came up with nothing.

Thanks,
Jason

Hy vwjunkie, camber is changed by bending the axle, you'll have to find a good alignment shop that's been around for awhile, and has the jacks to adjust the camber. They'll also check everything from wheel bearings to caster to toe-in, good luck.

An alignment shop that services big rigs should be able to align your straight axle truck.

It's possible to set the camber with a piece of I-beam, some heavy chains, and a couple of 20-ton bottle jacks, but it also takes a few years of experience to get it right!
Jerry

If you noticed, the camber changes quite a bit when you turn either way. If your toe in is way out of spec, the wheels will display too much camber. When I was assembling mine, you could see the camber. When I went to set the toe in it was sitting at 2". With the toe in set correctly my camber is correct.

Before you have any bending done to the axle, check the king pins and wheel bearings for wear/proper adjustment. Wear or improper adjustment can cause a camber issue. If it's still off after resolving any issues there, then look into gatting the axle corrected at a good shop with the proper tools as the others have stated.

Thanks guys for all the info. I have been over the front wheel bearings, king pins and brakes just a couple nights ago. I was told they were newer by the previous owner, and they are tight. The whole front end including the tie rod ends and drag link are supprisingly not worn at all. I found the wheel bearings to be a little loose, but after preloading them correctly it didn't make any difference. The truck has a bunch of camber just looking at it straight on with the wheels straight. I'll check the to in and see where that is, but I don't think its way out like 2" like truckernix had. Bending the axle sounds like lots of fun... I would be supprised that there would be a shop willing to do that anymore, or much less know how to. Anyone from the St.Louis area here that knows of a place to go?

Thanks,
Jason

With the truck sitting on level ground put a level against the tires. It should be level or just a little pos. camber. If one is pos. & the other side neg. you could have a weak spring. Make sure each wheel is straight ahead when checking it. Like Mr. Nix says the toe in could be way off making it apear to be off on camber. You can set the toe in your self.

You can measure the camber petty accuractely with the level method. The floor has to be level between the tires. As an example, if you measure the difference from vertical between the bottom and the top of the rim you can compare it to the specs. Use the sine function in the calculator to get the sine of one deg for instance and then multiply by 16 for 16 inches. The result is .279" or the correct measurement for 1 deg.

Thanks for the info.. I have way more than one degree. Looking straight at the truck, I would guess the difference from top to bottom to be a good 1/2" or better. How would to you about bending the axle to correct that? I can see how you would do it to go the other way by bending it up in the middle with the bottle jack like was suggested above, but I would need to go down in the middle...

Jason

That was my point. At the maximum camber you are looking at somewhere around 3/8" across the rim at least, and if you are talking about the tire, it is more than that. I can't imagine how the axle would get bent without doing big damage to other parts of the frame.

I agree with Longbox55. I would go over the kingpins. I had a 49 ford..I know I know...anyway it had all the things you are describing. To look at the kingpins and try and wiggle nothing looked wrong. After I removed and replaced the kingpins and bushings it was good to go.
Don't know who your previous owner was. But I would still be inclined to disassemble and check myself.
An axle has to take a pretty good hit to knock it that far out.

I believe the specs for your camber will be something like 1 deg +/- 1/2 deg. That would give a maximum of 1 1/2 deg. That translates to .68" over a distance of 26", as in the height of a tire.

Even if it is at the max spec, to me thats too much. It doesn't handle well and the tires are wearing pretty bad. I suppose I could take apart the king pins, but do you ream them to fit in the truck? I could see reaming them off center, but if you just assemble everything and it is where it is, I don't see what that will change. I would agree the axle would have to take a hard hit, but it looks totally straight under the truck. Both tires are cambered equally as well.

Jason

Jason,

What is your toe-in setting?

Tim

Your camber specs are as I stated. Your kingpin bushings are of the "floating" type. The inner diameter is already correct for the kingpin and the outer diameter makes for a snug fit when they are pushed into the spindle assembly. There is no reaming to be done.

I agree. I wouldn't want any obvious camber. If your king pins are not worn I would contact an alignment shop that deals in trucks. To them that 1/2 ton would be like bending a piece of sheet metal after doing the large trucks.

The axle bending gets done between the spring and the spindle- - - - -NEVER in the middle! I use a piece of 8 or 10 inch I-beam at least as wide as the axle, and a foot or so beyond each tire is better. Chain the spring mount area to the I beam with several wraps of proof coil chain, then fabricate a support a foot or so inboard of the spring mount between the I beam and the axle. A piece of 3 inch square tubing works well for that. Put the bottle jack under the kingpin area, and jack it up until you can see the angle change a little. Go slightly beyond the amount you want the camber to change, as it will rebound somewhat. To increase the positive camber reverse the process- - - -chain the spindle area down, and jack up at the spring support area.

Better idea- - - - -get a pro to do the bending- - - - -when a 20-ton jack comes loose during the bending operation, it flies across the shop and takes concrete blocks out of the wall! Don't get in its way!
Jerry