Hi All,

I just became the proud (hopefully) owner of a 2001 E350 cargo van. It has high mileage but the price was right.

The front tires look close to new on the outside but show cord on the inside! There seems to be a serious camber problem. both front wheels tilt inward at the top.

Can the camber be adjusted? I would hate to buy new tires without changing something.

I also believe I need a new steering box. The current one has some play and I think the former owner tried to adjust it as it is acting "tight" and does not want to recenter naturally.

Is there anywhere on this site or any other site that details the requirements for changing the alignment, particularly the camber. complete (toe, caster and camber) adjustnent instructions would be nice).

I should mention that there is slighght front ent damage - bumper and grill- but no apparent structural damage.

Thanks,
Skip

 

I suggest ball joints and tie rods before an alignment, since it has to be done after that, they have camber inserts, that's how it's adjusted, but wheels toed in can cause similat wear. Once the above mentioned articles are dealt with, then you can be certain of the steering box.

 

I agree with maples01!

 

Maples is correct except that its toe'ed out, not in. The problem is the ball joints are worn out. As a result the bottom of the upright is deflecting out. This toes the tires and wears out the inside edge.

If the ball joints are that bad, then there are probably other parts that are in similar condition. So check all of the front end parts, including the radius arm bushings and replace everything that's worn. Then have it aligned.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

'Slight front end damage' has an insidious way of being more complicated than it looks. Often short cuts are made to get the vehicle back on the road quickly.

As others have pointed out, have the entire front end gone through carefully before investing your cash on alignment or new tires. A high mileage E-350 might have been a Heavy Hammer when that damage occurred. Check specifically to determine what front end parts might have been replaced beyond the sheet metal.

 

Well, I have fairly fixed up the front damage - jacked out the sub frame behind the grill as wall as straighting the sheet metal under the grill. I had to take the latter off to straighten it. I had to cut 2 brackets the held the sheet metal to the aformentioned sub frame. I still have to concoct a method of re- attaching the brackets. I have acquired a new grill and bumper. I found out the damage was caused by someone backing into it in a parking lot.


When inspecting the front end components, I found slight movent in the driver ball joints. It did not seem anywhere severe enough to cause the extreme negative camber exhibited the picture presented at the follwing site is pretty much what it looks like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camber_angle

I have ordered camber/caster adjusting sleeves(to 3.5 degrees) that replace the stock "0" degree sleeves at the upper ball joint attachment. I will re-place the ball joints ( not yet acquired). It appears to me that even with new ball joints abd the 3.5 degree camber adjustment it will not be enough to bring the camber close to "0".

Is it possible that the springs have worn to the point that it has caused the overall length to shorten resulting in raised I beams and increased negative camber? does anyone know the loaded spring length?

Previously, I had a 75 econoline which I had to have the "I" beams bent to bring the camber into spec. This van also had negative camber that caused inside of the front tires wear altho not as severe as the 01. there was no other way of adjusting camber that bending "I" beams. I have checked the '01 "I" beams, they appear to be straight.

I intend to dig into the ball joints this weekend any insite is appreceated.

Thanks,
Skip

 

If the coil has worn down that far the I-beam will be resting on the bump stops.

 

OK,

I have replaced the ball joints and tie rod ends. The wheel bearings looked fairly new and I assumed they were recently replaced. I cleaned and repacked and adjusted them.

I received the 3.5 camber/caster adjuster, installed them and took the van to have the alignment checked. the results showed that 3.5 was too much. the spec calls for the camber to be between 0 and 1 degrees. I was at 1.6 on the drivers side and 1.4 on the passenger side. The caster on both was within spec (1.3-6.8 on driver side 1.8-7.3 on the passenger side) I was at 4.4 and 6.3 respectively. The toe was way out.

I used those figures to calculate that I needed a 2.75 degree adjuster on the D side and a 2.5 degree adjuster on the P side. With the goal to have .7 camber on both sides and 5.1 on the D and 5.6 on the P for the caster. Apparently ford suggests .5 degree more on the P side to allow for the crown in the road. I have installed both adjusters and will and will have them checked tomorrow. I will have the toe adjusted.

Once this gets straighted out, I can proceed to other items.

-skip