Increasing caster
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Increasing caster
Hey all,
I just got the truck back from the front end shop, and the man told me the front end was out of caster. You can look in my gallery and see.There is a 4" suspension lift (don't know the maker). It has the stock radius arms and drop brackets, I think the brackets are in the stock location. Heres my question:
why would adding drop brackets decrease the caster, and could I use a "spacer" or something to increase the caster?
I think I could make a spacer that is apx. 3/8" thick to put on the r.a. shaft in front of the bracket. Anybody ever tried such a thing? Any opinions?
Thanks,
DS
I just got the truck back from the front end shop, and the man told me the front end was out of caster. You can look in my gallery and see.There is a 4" suspension lift (don't know the maker). It has the stock radius arms and drop brackets, I think the brackets are in the stock location. Heres my question:
why would adding drop brackets decrease the caster, and could I use a "spacer" or something to increase the caster?
I think I could make a spacer that is apx. 3/8" thick to put on the r.a. shaft in front of the bracket. Anybody ever tried such a thing? Any opinions?
Thanks,
DS
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Caster is not that critical (on certain vehicles).2-4 degrees positive is good.I doubt a 3/8'' spacer will do much.Caster can be set at the upper balljoint or with adjustable Radius arm bushings.
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If you line up the centerline of the hub with the centerline of the wheel well. That would put everything at a theoretical 0 degree or even caster. Toward the back of the truck would be negative, toward the front positive.
The truck rides ok, it just looks a little goofy to me, being at a negative caster. I'll be putting 33" MT's on the truck and the negative caster will really show then and thats my concern.
I'm looking into aftermarket extended radius arms and stock brackets
The truck rides ok, it just looks a little goofy to me, being at a negative caster. I'll be putting 33" MT's on the truck and the negative caster will really show then and thats my concern.
I'm looking into aftermarket extended radius arms and stock brackets
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What your referring to "centerline of hub,centerline of wheel well" is setback.Caster is a line between the upper and lower balljoint.Upper balljoint farther back than the lower is positive.
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Looking at your pics,it looks like it might still have the stock radius arm brackets (can't tell for sure though).Which will pull the wheels back.If you went with stock brackets and extended rad. arms,it should correct the problem (atleast on paper).Setback is something the so called "factory engineers" figure into certain vehicles but Ford trucks aren't 1 of them.
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You're right, they are factory radius arms with 4" drop brackets. I'm waiting to hear back from some of the lift companies regarding extended radius arms now. I'll post again with any new info
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I agree. After getting away from staring at the brackets and working on something else (a/c) my mind cleared.lol
I contacted a few 4x4 dealers and have found a new set of drop brackets that are straight, as opposed to these with the offset. I'm going to order them and install them after next paycheck and see what the results are. Pics to be posted.
Thanks x 10,
Dave S
I contacted a few 4x4 dealers and have found a new set of drop brackets that are straight, as opposed to these with the offset. I'm going to order them and install them after next paycheck and see what the results are. Pics to be posted.
Thanks x 10,
Dave S