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Hello, I am currently working on replacing the ball joints on a 1976 f150 Dana 44 and the kit I bought came with some threaded caster/camber adjustment sleeves. I am having a very hard time finding any resources about how to set these up as I can’t find any manuals online. If anyone has some information on how to set these up or if I should just keep the old ones I would greatly appreciate it.
Update, I have learned that the sleeves are actually for setting pre load, they are just commonly called caster bushings online. I got both knuckles torqued down and within spec but have a new question regarding the sleeve sitting down further than I would like (a common problem I hear). I had to use the old sleeves as the new ones spun completely and never got remotely tight. I would like to know if it is ok to have the sleeve stick past the hole by about an 1/8 inch as pictured.
I see now that I was looking at two different things.
There are threaded sleeves that adjust distance between upper and lower ball joints once installed in the axle housing end so that is where preloading comes in.
There are inserts of sorts with offset center holes to move the upper BJ stud around within the top hole to change the caster or camber if needed.
I had never given them either much thought. I knew that camber was set in a jig when the ends were welded to the tubes at the Dana plant, before Ford ever got them. Over time, jumps, etc axles can get tweaked sometimes and slight adjustments are needed. I also knew that I changed my caster with C-bushings long ago.
Last edited by tbear853; Sep 14, 2025 at 11:10 AM.
Reason: Correction
it is called an adjusting sleeve has NOTHING to do with caster / camber on your truck ,, you make sure you have fully seated the upper ball joint onto the steering knuckle , then you install the adjusting sleeve and torque it down to 40 ft/lbs ,, then finish up by installing the new nut on the stud and torque it down to 100ft/lbs lining up the hole for the cotter pin ,, done ,, as long as the adjusting sleeve is torqued down (40 ft/lbs ) if a couple threads are exposed should be no problem ,,
yes a 1977 f150 4x4 has the adjusting sleeve as well ,, i know this for a fact as i have done the ball joints on my 1977 f150 4x4 which i bought new and still drive .
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I see now that I was looking at two different things.
